Classical music v Kissy Sell Out

(Apologies - this is a repost as the original seems to have fallen behind the Blogger sofa during their "difficulties" last night)

Radio 4 has been branching out, trying to shake off its fusty image a bit (whilst keeping The Archers, afternoon plays and other schedule staples for, well, mostly grandma).

But I was more than a bit surprised to hear Kissy Sell Out on the Today programme this morning. Listen here wherever you are on the globe  (It starts shortly after the 2h20 mark)

Kissy is one of Radio 1's hidden treasures. Given Chris Moyles's comments during his Comic Relief marathon, Kissy doesn't seem to be known amongst all of his Radio 1 colleagues.

He is very music-focussed and is wonderfully eclectic in his musical choice. He's also clearly passionate, infectiously so.

So, erm, what was he doing on big old serious Today?

He and Stephen Fry were giving a taste of a forthcoming gig at the Cambridge Union Society (the student union in less-Hogwartian terms).

The CSU are having them debate whether classical music is relevant to the youth of today. Fry was pro the Bach crowd's relevancy. Kissy is on the anti-s.

And me, I am inclined to agree with Kissy's points.

Classical music can be beautiful. And stirring. That's probably why so many riffs are nicked from it.

But it's the packaging, the branding.

Kissy has a point that the titles are off-puttingly ridiculous (but it'll be hard to get past that as renaming will enrage the old guard). There is an appetite for instrumentals. You don't need words to interest new audiences.

However, the way to bring in people, to change the image, is to do what happened at Latitude last year. On the eve of the festival, they had Nigel Kennedy energising the crowd. (Yeah, Latitude is a bit middle class, but it is indie-folk and hardly the Proms) If you're not familiar with Kennedy, go have a listen

That breaks down barriers. It shows people that this is music for them. ITV did the same trick by having Pavarotti sing Nessun Dorma for their coverage of the Italia 90 World Cup.

And less emphasis of the "difficulty" of listening to chewier music. That wins few friends and is frankly elitist.

So play it in festivals. Play it on the tube. (I have a recollection they have done this in Newcastle in an effort to reduce violence and it worked). Like any genre, (which is what it is, sorry) you need to catch people unawares.

But in any outreach program, don't rely on playing tiny snippets. You can't count the Champions League anthem, based on Zadok The Priest.

Rather like Radio 4, I think classical music is something that you experience the influence of from an early age but you tend to discover it for yourself as you get older. To grow into.

The debate will be here to rewatch apparently. Should be interesting....