Roger Federer playing a violin
Roger Federer appearing in a 2013 Credit Suisse video in honour of the Lucerne Festival’s 75th anniversary

Sacred Cow

Why is ‘elitism’ celebrated in sport but not in the arts? asks Chad Vindin

It is often said that classical music is elitist, and this has always puzzled me. What I love about classical music is the music, and music consists for the most part of sounds. After all these years I still can’t imagine a way for sounds to be elitist. Is G sharp better than E? Does D claim to be superior to other notes? I genuinely don’t know what people are talking about.

There must be more to it. It might...