[Antonmb]

Greetings from Mt Baker, Petronius. My father was a classically trained pianist and, like you, I went to music school but ended up having to earn a living[emoji41]. I think there a couple of big reasons, at least here in the US, why classical is less popular:

Music appreciation is no longer taught in schools. When I was a kid, we had a music appreciation class in which the teacher played recordings of more accessible music, especially pieces that had a narrative or a natural story-line that the teacher could explain, like the Planets, Dvorak’s New World Symphony, Appalachian Spring, etc. We were also encouraged to take up a musical instrument, which the school provided at a very modest rental cost. Most kids didn’t end up rushing home to tell their parents to buy classical records, but at least they got a grounding in the basics.

The other challenge is not snobbery, but economics and access. Before recorded music, classical music, especially orchestral, was mostly accessible only to the upper classes. The average working stiff couldn’t afford to attend classical concerts, didn’t receive classical music training, didn’t understand classical, and probably considered it “high brow” and for the rich upper crust - the snobs. Most working class people did, however, have ample access to folk or “popular” music, whether played in the home on guitars and fiddles, or in taverns, beer halls and dance halls. As working class lived the American dream and ascended the economic ladder, they brought popular music with them - rather than classical music filtering down, popular music filtered up. To a large degree I think it still holds true that classical music is much less accessible to the majority of people, and ends up being primarily listened to by a smaller, more well educated elite.