By now it is becoming hard to remember that, at the peak of its popularity and influence, classical music carried with it an undeniable intellectual and even moral authority, qualities which would rub off on composers and performers such as Aaron Copland, Leonard Bernstein, Albert Schweitzer, Pierre Boulez, Van Cliburn and Igor Stravinsky, all of whom would, in different ways, play leading roles within the social and cultural landscape of the cold war period.

In one respect, not so much has changed in the years since: musicians with large, loyal and enthusiastic followings continue to have an outsized influence, frequently recruited for initiatives ranging from animal rights to medical marijuana to environmental justice. The songs of Bruce Springsteen, Johnny Cash, Smokey Robinson and Garth Brooks (to take a few names at random) have been staples at candidates’ rallies for decades, their endorsements actively sought out by political figures. Musicians have also served in various political positions in recent years, among them Congressmen John Hall (of the seventies rock band Orleans) and Sonny Bono, author of landmark copyright legislation. In Latin America, Gilberto Gil and Suzanne Baca have been appointed as Ministers of Culture in Brazil and Peru respectively, positions of substantial power and influence.

That those just mentioned are all pop musicians is indicative of a widely recognized, albeit infrequently discussed, development: classical music’s precipitous loss of prestige and cultural authority over the past two or three decades. The reasons for this are a larger topic than what I will examine here. Rather I will focus on one corner of the classical music world where the fall from grace has been particularly dramatic — namely, what used to be called “contemporary” or “modern” music, but which now, insofar as it is recognized as a distinct genre, requires an additional generic qualifier: contemporary classical music.