Norman Lebrecht on Music
Dec 23, 2020
4 minutes
THERE ARE TWO WAYS of looking back on the Covid year. It was either an unmitigated catastrophe for music and musicians, or the greatest opportunity in history. Ever an optimist, I take the latter view. Let’s not belittle the damage, though. A large chunk of the classical audience has vanished, never to reappear. When scattered concerts resumed in late summer, the over-seventies were gone. They used to be the biggest demographic and the wealthiest, but survival came first.
Many donors quit the city for country homes. New York subscribers fled. Music will be silent in America until September 2021.
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