History Main / ClassicalMusicIsBoring

Related to TrueArtIsBoring and/or TrueArtIsIncomprehensible. Contrast OrchestralBombing. Can sometimes transpire when characters are AtTheOperaTonight. Of course, this can be something of a FandomBerserkButton for real-life fans of ClassicalMusic.

Classical Music -- and other forms of "high" culture -- are frequently shown as being incredibly dull. Apparently everyone who enjoys it is really just incredibly pretentious and is just pretending to enjoy it. The honest, working-class heroes like rock and roll or kickin' country music... and typically the stuffy classical fans wind up dancing to it by the end as well.

Related to TrueArtIsBoring and/or TrueArtIsIncomprehensible. Contrast OrchestralBombing.

* This trope is averted with many, many film scores using classical music. This goes at least as far back as ''Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey'' and definitely after ''[[Film/ANewHope Star Wars: A New Hope]]'' in which Music/JohnWilliams classical score soundtrack became a top seller on the music charts. Since then, Williams and many of his contemporaries like Music/DannyElfman and Music/HansZimmer have become mainstays in popular culture for their classical film scores.

* In ''WesternAnimation/AquaTeenHungerForce'' Meatwad is playing his new rap CD from MC Pee Pants, which is driving Frylock crazy. Frylock tries to get him to listen to some [=CD=]s by some "real gangsters, from the 17th century", which Meatwad tentaively accepts. Of course as soon as Frylock leaves the room, Meatwad goes back to playing the rap CD.

* ''Film/{{Titanic}}'' had the stuffy UpperClassTwit environment filled with slow chamber music, while the lower decks had people merrily dancing to jaunty popular tunes. Played with in that the classic music keeps playing as the boat sinks as an invocation of Classic Music Is '''Calming'''.

* OlderThanSteam. Joseph Haydn supposedly wrote a joke (an unexpected fortissimo) in his "Surprise" Symphony to awaken the audience.

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': In order to try and look more "cultured", [[MayorPain Mayor Quimby]] allows the construction of an opera house. The opening night is Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, full house... ''and every single Springfieldian leaves after the first four notes are played'', with them saying that it was the most "interesting" part of the symphony, ''and stampeding their way out'' when [[KnowNothingKnowItAll Lisa]] [[NiceJobBreakingItHero tells them that the rest of the symphony lasts several hours]]. [[EvenEvilHasStandards Quimby gets mad enough at the amount of resources that the house's construction required and everybody else letting it go to waste]] that he mournfully calls them "dumb rednecks".

[[folder:Comics]]
* ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes: One gag has the following dialogue.
->'''Hobbes''': It’s “The 1812 Overture.”\\
'''Calvin''': I kinda like it. Interesting percussion section.\\
'''Hobbes''': Those are cannons.\\
'''Calvin:''' And they '''[[TrashTheSet perform this in crowded concert halls]]'''?? Gee, I thought [[ClassicalMusicIsBoring classical music was boring]]!
-->--'''''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'''''
[[/folder]]

* Music/FrankZappa, despite being a classical composer himself, held the opinion that he felt that most classical music before the 20th century was ''boring to him''. He adored 20th century composers such as Music/EdgardVarese, Music/IgorStravinsky, Music/BelaBartok, Music/CharlesIves, Anton Webern, Music/OlivierMessiaen,... because their work was more personal, adventurous and less monotone. He went into more detail in his autobiography ''Literature/TheRealFrankZappaBook'' where he explained that most classical music from previous centuries was written to please some king, duke or abbott who forced composers to make everything sound according to their wishes. In that regard it's [[NotSoDifferent not much different]] from mainstream pop music nowadays, only with record producers forbidding artists to make songs that clash with their conventional tastes. Recent research has proven, however, that Zappa did often listen to pre-20th century composers like Music/JohannSebastianBach, Henry Purcell, Music/RichardWagner,... too and was more knowledgeable about their music than he showed to the outside world.

* Music/FrankZappa, despite being a classical composer himself, held the opinion that he felt that most classical music before the 20th century was ''boring to him''. He adored 20th century composers such as Music/EdgardVarese, Music/IgorStravinsky, Music/BelaBartok, Music/CharlesIves, Anton Webern, Music/OlivierMessiaen,... because their work was more personal, adventurous and less monotone. He went into more detail in his autobiography ''Literature/TheRealFrankZappaBook'' where he explained that most classical music from previous centuries was written to please some king, duke or abbott who forced them to make everything sound according to their wishes. In that regard it's not much different from mainstream pop music nowadays, only with record producers forbidding artists to make songs that clash with their conventional tastes. Though recent research has proven that Zappa did often listen to pre-20th century composers like Music/JohannSebastianBach, Henry Purcell, Music/RichardWagner,... too and was more knowledgeable about their music than he showed to the outside world.

-->-- '''Music/JustinBieber''' (to Creator/LudwigVanBeethoven), ''WebVideo/EpicRapBattlesOfHistory''

* In ''WesternAnimation/HulkHogansRockNWrestling'', [[{{Heel}} chief heel]] [[RoddyPiper Rowdy Roddy Piper]] likes classical music, in contrast to Hulk Hogan's preference for... [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin well, you know]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': In order to try and look more "cultured", [[MayorPain Mayor Quimby]] allows the construction of an opera house. The opening night is Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, full house... ''and every single Springfieldian leaves after the first five notes are played'', with them saying that it was the most "interesting" part of the symphony, ''and stampeding their way out'' when [[KnowNothingKnowItAll Lisa]] [[NiceJobBreakingItHero tells them that the rest of the symphony lasts several hours]]. [[EvenEvilHasStandards Quimby gets mad enough at the amount of resources that the house's construction required and everybody else letting it go to waste]] that he mournfully calls them "dumb rednecks".

* In ''WesternAnimation/AquaTeenHungerForce'' Meatwad is playing his new rap CD from MC Pee Pants, which is driving Frylock crazy. Frylock tries to get him to listen to some CDs by some "real gangsters, from the 17th century", which Meatwad tentaively accepts. Of course as soon as Frylock leaves the room, Meatwad goes back to playing the rap CD.

-->--'''Music/JustinBieber''', to Creator/LudwigVanBeethoven, in ''WebVideo/EpicRapBattlesOfHistory''

Classical Music -- and other forms of "high" culture -- are frequently shown as being incredibly dull. Apparently everyone who enjoys it is really just incredibly pretentious and is just pretending to enjoy it. The honest, working-class heroes like rock and roll or kickin' country music . . . and typically the stuffy classical fans wind up dancing to it by the end as well.

Before the advent of rock and roll in the 1950s, this trope used {{Main/jazz}} and swing as the populist counterparts to "stuffy" classical music thereby making it at least OlderThanTelevision.

[[AC:{{Advertising}}]]

* In [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVrxddbiow4 this commercial for Silly String]], an adult party is clearly portrayed as boring as classical music plays. When they bring in the advertised product, the music turns upbeat as everyone has fun.

[[AC:{{Film}}]]

* ''Film/{{Titanic}}'' had the stuffy UpperClassTwit environment filled with slow chamber music, while the lower decks had people merrily dancing to jaunty popular tunes. Played with in that the classic music keeps playing as the boat sinks as an invocation of Classic Music Is '''Calming.'''

[[AC:{{Literature}}]]

* ''Literature/{{Discworld}}''

** In ''Discworld/{{Snuff}}'', Sam Vimes, who also grew up going to music halls, characterises classical music as "You couldn't hum it, and at no point did anybody shout 'Whoops, have a banana!'" Although it's somewhat averted in that even he can recognise that Tears Of The Mushroom's harp recital is something special.

[[AC:LiveActionTV]]

[[AC:{{Music}}]]

[[AC:WebOriginal]]
* In ''EpicRapBattlesOfHistory'', Music/JustinBieber was pitted against Creator/LudwigVanBeethoven, and one of Justin's arguments was this trope.
-->''"Cuz my voice is incredible
-->And your music is terrible
-->Who even listens to Classical anywa-haaaaay?"''

[[AC:WesternAnimation]]
* This trope in invoked and then subverted in an episode of ''{{WesternAnimation/Arthur}}'' when D.W. gets YoYoMa to come to the library to play cello. Arthur and his friends are sure it's going to be boring. Francine has invited her uncle, jazz musician Joshua Redman, for the same day. The kids hope that the two will get into a fight. An ImagineSpot has them in a wrestling ring; Ma pulls out his cello and puts Redman to sleep. But on the day of the meeting it actually goes well, both get along and Redman expresses his enjoyment of classical music.

* In ''[[HulkHogansRockNWrestling Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling]]'', [[{{Heel}} chief heel]] [[RoddyPiper Rowdy Roddy Piper]] likes classical music, in contrast to Hulk Hogan's preference for…[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin well, you know]].

* In ''[[HulkHogansRockNWrestling Hulk Hogan's Rock 'n' Wrestling]]'', [[{{Heel}} chief heel]] Rowdy Roddy Piper likes classical music, in contrast to Hulk Hogan's preference for…[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin well, you know]].

* In HulkHogansRockNWrestling, [[{{Heel}} chief heel]] Rowdy Roddy Piper likes classical music in contrast to Hulk Hogan's preference for…[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin well, you know]].

* ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'': In order to try and look more "cultured", [[MayorPain Mayor Quimby]] allows the construction of an opera house. The opening night is Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, full house... ''and every single Springfieldian leaves after the first five notes are played'', with them saying that it was the most "interesting" part of the symphony, ''and stampeding their way out'' when [[KnowNothingKnowItAll Lisa]] [[NiceJobBreakingItHero tells them that the rest of the symphony lasts several hours]]. [[EvenEvilHasStandards Quimby gets mad enough at the amount of resources that the house's construction required and everybody else letting it go to waste]] that he mournfully calls them "dumb rednecks".