Ted Gioia: What's behind the unexpected increase in classical music listening?

"Starting about 12-18 months ago, something shifted in music consumption patterns" - music writer Ted Gioia takes notice of a change, underpinned by six recent studies showing an unexpected increase in classical music listening. How did this happen? "Maybe that old orchestral and operatic music now sounds fresh to ears raised on electronic sounds. Maybe the dominance of four-chord compositions has created a hunger for four-movement compositions. Maybe young people view getting dressed up for a night at the opera hall as a kind of cosplay event. Or maybe the pandemic had some impact on music consumption... And it’s true, the pandemic did cause a major increase in the purchase of musical instruments. People got serious about music—so much so that they wanted to play it themselves. Perhaps it changed listening habits too".