schubert
I never heard a note of classical till I was over 30 ... I am sure, very sure, that if that had that had not happened I would never , with my 8th degree education , got degrees from top US and German universities , married a beautiful educated women , and thanks to Bach, become a Christian ... I was always smart but Classical music gave me something I never had ,What's interesting about this sort of elitism is that there are similar adherents for just about every genre of music. The notion that a certain genre is more pure, more intelligent, more tasteful, more worthy, is just a consequence of cultural bias and ignorance.
"Good Taste ", without which intelligence is rather lame .And it does it in all elements of life , not just music ! No other form of music
can do that, some do just the opposite .That is why when I hear , "oh, its a just a matter of taste " I think yes, good taste and bad taste .