Who Will Stand the Test of Time?

Well perhaps serious music will survive in Asia, but when an ensemble as world-class as the St. Paul Chamber Orch., located in perhaps the most sophisticated area between the coasts in the USA fails for lack of an audience, I am not inclined to think it will here.
Not to mention the Minnesota Orch., which is in top form under its present leader, has been on strike for 5 months
trying to maintain a 85-90 k avg. salary, which is not big money where a middle-class home is 350-450 K .

When the live music is gone,recorded music will go too.

I am an old man, the two worst things I have seen come into being in my long life time are TV and Rock "music".
The medium is indeed the message.

Those thinkers were stupid then, hearing recorded Classical music only makes you thrist to hear the real thing.
I am a realist by nature like any good european, only americans use wretched terms like "optimist" .

Brownsfan, I have been told by a very gifted local retired horn player (30+ years in SW German Radio Orch)who was a sub in the St. Paul CO, that lack of audience was the main factor.
The SPCO wanted to start playing in the public schools gratis, but although the State of MN could come up with a billion dollars for the new Vikings stadium, no money could be found for that/them.

No chance, last "optomistic' German was Hegel.
The most optomistic american was the one who thought gun control was possible after the slaughter in CT.Or perhaps the one who thought his order of the same Bushmaster model used would be less than the 3 year wait quoted him as he paid double price upfront to be on the waiting list.

Courant,nothing wrong with Foster and yes he does occupy a significant place in music as it relates to American cultural history.
However, comparing him to H. Schutz, perhaps second only to Bach as a composer of religious music, is like comparing a K-mart bike to a Mercedes S-500 .