There is much to be gloomy about for the state of classical music, writes Norman Lebrecht. “Why the world has gone off classical concerts is a conundrum in which almost every reasonable assertion is disputable. Take the attention-span thesis. Many in the concert world believe that its decline stems from the public’s flickering tolerance for prolonged concentration. If politicians speak in soundbites, how can we expect voters to sit through a Bruckner symphony? It is a persuasive argument but one that I have come to find both fatuous and patronising.”