Violinist rues decline in musical education

The declining attention to musical education in schools is “a great sadness”, hurting children’s chances of appreciating and engaging with great classical music, according to acclaimed British violinist Charlie Siem. “I think there are more people than we know with a capacity to enjoy classical music. If there’s some sort of musical education early on, that makes a big difference,” Mr Siem told the Times of Malta. “If children are exposed to classical music early, there’s a bigger chance they’ll come back to it later on.” If the world of classical music, as it is probably safe to say, is not considered the sexiest, Mr Siem is doing his best to change that. Still only 30 years old, he is already one of the most renowned classical violinists in the world. But he has also collaborated with popular artists, including Bryan Adams and The Who, and made a name for himself in the world of fashion, where he was the face of the latest Hugo Boss global advertising campaign. “One always perceives a very solid wall between genres, especially classical music, which is seen as an elitist art form that keeps itself to itself,” Mr Siem said. He is on his second visit to Malta after having...