Ascona Festival in Switzerland Aims to Involve Youth in Classical Music
In the south of Switzerland, the Ascona Music Festival meet for its second year of summer concerts. The festival, founded by pianist Daniel Levy and group of his close friends, took place in Ticino and devotes itself to chamber music as well as forging relationships between the musicians, the audience, and the music. Although the 11 concerts of the festival aim to bring classical music to the entire community and tourist it gained a specific goal this year: to attract an audience filled with young listeners.
Levy said he was pleased with the audience turnout for the festival—tourists, locals, and Italians from the border were among the patrons—but he added that the group was comprised of mostly the elderly people. The lack of youth in the audience is not because of a lack of interest, he says, but because the newer generation simply is unfamiliar with classical music.
At the Ascona Festival this, Levy, along with violinist Robert Zimansky and cellist Francho Maggio Ormezowski, kept this ideas in mind. They reached out to those who might be new to classical music, in order to guide them into a possible lifelong love:
Musicians have a responsibility and should do more to help the young overcome their indifference, Levy said. If they did not manage to spark curiosity and get young people involved in music projects, there was a danger of losing whole new generations.
“We need more musicians like Yehudi Menuhin, who do not just play but also contribute to this.”
At a time where orchestras are struggling and musicians are fearing the decline of classical music in society, festivals like this are leading the way to a new future. We should not assume that young audiences have no interest in classical music. Rather, we should reach out to them, try to connect with them, so that they can experience the music for themselves and form their own opinions. As Levy points out in his interview, its very difficult for a young person to actively listen to classical music these days. Turn on the radio today, and you’ll surf through 15 pop music channels before you find the single classical station. By brining live music to youth and trying to engage them in the concert process, Levy and his colleagues are doing a great service not only to their art, but to the young generation and the community as a whole.
CHECK OUT THE ASCONA FESTIVAL AND READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE BELOW!
http://www.academyofeuphony.com/festival/en.htm
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