Brava!

Here's an example of what happens when classical music institution managers, desperate to put butts — any butts whatsoever — in seats, cede their responsibilities, and permit marketing types a free hand:

The new radio ads for the SLSO [St. Louis Symphony Orchestra] feature a cheerful female voice talking up the weekend's offerings. [...] Then comes the tag line: "The St. Louis Symphony: It's not what you think."

Fortunately, St. Louis has at least one voice with a mainstream public pulpit to expose and properly skewer such perverse, pop-culture-inspired and –corrupted hucksterism. Writes the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's classical music critic, Sarah Bryan Miller, in response:

What's that supposed to mean?

I'm sure the idea is to fight any perceived elitist (oh, the horror!) images connected to the SLSO and its music. Unfortunately, the effect is not what they intend.

Here's what comes to mind when I think of the SLSO: It's one of the world's great orchestras, led by one of the world's great conductors, playing some of the world's greatest music — music that is beautiful, challenging, rich, complex, tragic, joyful, inspiring, intriguing, visceral, intellectual and more, thoughtfully arranged into well-balanced programs and given the best possible performance by all those involved. They perform in a beautiful hall, and the overall concert experience is usually satisfying on many levels.

Are they saying it's not all that?

Does the organization and its advertising agency think that people will bolt for the exits screaming "Run away!" (like the knights in Monty Python and the Holy Grail) if they're presented with music more complicated than the average prefab pop song?

Do they imagine their audience to be the same crowd that's currently panting for "Hannah Montana" concert tickets?

Do they think everyone's afraid of encountering any artistic challenge whatever?

RTWT here.