BWW Asks: Is YouTube Destroying Classical Music?

According to the National, Polish pianist Krystian Zimerman recently left the stage during one of his concerts in Essen, Germany after being distracted by a fan recording him with his phone. Zimerman claimed that not only did the incident break his concentration, but the appearance of such clips on YouTube lessons the value of his recordings with musical companies.

Soprano Diana Damrau told Die Welt: "Today, all rooms have ears. You can never feel unobserved, whether you sing in Augsburg, Glasgow or at the Met."

Video and live streaming producer Matt Jolly argued however that the increased online presence is more helpful than harmful. He told the National: "It may require a very high volume of clicks, but there are stories of classical musicians who get paid for putting their stuff on YouTube. It gives young and untried musicians a platform they wouldn't have had in the years of CD recordings - it's a lot less investment to click on YouTube than to buy a CD and so listeners explore more. There's a sense of organic discovery there that was much harder to foster in the old days."

Do you think that YouTube is helping or harming the world of classical music?

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