when the new book by British music critic Norman Lebrecht, "Who Killed Classical Music?" arrived at our offices, several people expressed surprise -- though not exactly dismay -- to learn that the most enduring Western musical art form had kicked the bucket. Who knew? Here in San Francisco, the conductor of the local symphony, Michael Tilson Thomas, is a household name whose mug graces billboards all over the city, and the local Tower Records displays posters of Renee Fleming as prominently as those of Mariah Carey. Still, conventional wisdom has it that classical music is indeed dying, its demise hastened by the growing influence of popular music. Using Lebrecht's book as a point of departure to discuss the issue, we pitted our pop music columnist, Sarah Vowell, against classical music critic Paul Festa in an e-mail duel debating the merits of both forms of music. To see who's left standing, read on ... _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ Dear Paul: Nicely brittle in style, and crammed with research, Norman Lebrecht's death knell "Who Killed Classical Music?" mourns the decline of what he sees as a spiritual art murdered by money. The felons here are businessmen: managers, yes, record moguls, certainly; but also the star performers whose grandiose salaries are strangling workaday orchestras into oblivion. If, as Lebrecht's title suggests, orchestral music has been killed off, then my question is this: Who cares? If greed didn't slay the dragon, irrelevance would have. Fact is: Forms die. All the time. Flying buttresses, emblem books and daguerreotypes have all seen better days. Certainly this century has cultivated some fine musical minds expanding the symphonic form: Bartók, Stravinsky, Penderecki and the like. But the fact remains that modern audiences continue to prefer (when they listen to "serious music" at all) the 18th and 19th century masters. As Lebrecht writes, "It is as if the 20th century has been expunged as too disturbing, too redolent of conflict and unpleasantness. 'People go to concerts to enjoy themselves,' says the promoter, 'not to be reminded of things they came here to get away from.'" This is a century about -- at its best -- a creeping democratization, mass culture, the thrills of electricity and the glamour of stardom. Why would a hierarchical, precious, European musical tradition thrive in the face of anyone-can-do-it, sex-symbol-charged, hit-parade rock 'n' roll? Shouldn't we be surprised the form has lasted this long? Sarah _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ next page: MTV Unplugged: Live from Lincoln Center

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