Cho-Liang Lin on the future of classical music in 2025

Face it. Classical music stands at a crossroads in the digital era, where TikTok clips compete with Tchaikovsky. Few understand these fluctuating times better than Cho-Liang Lin, whose career spans the twilight of traditional classical music's dominance and the dawn of its digital transformation. As both performer and educator, Lin offers unique insights into how this centuries-old art form can maintain its soul while embracing modern realities.

Classical music's journey from cultural cornerstone to specialized interest reflects broader changes in how society consumes art. Cho-Liang Lin, witnessing this transformation firsthand, sees both challenge and opportunity in this new reality. "Young musicians forget the lineage of classical music," he notes, pointing to a concerning disconnect. "They don't know who Fritz Kreisler or Jacques Thibaud were," an observation that speaks to a more profound cultural amnesia threatening the art form's foundations.

This shift manifests in declining audience numbers at traditional classical concerts, particularly among younger generations. Major institutions like the Metropolitan Opera House and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra have reported challenges maintaining consistent attendance, especially for traditional programming. However, innovative programs that blend classical elements with modern presentation styles have gained traction.

The transformation extends beyond concert halls into music education. Conservatories worldwide are reimagining their curricula to balance traditional training with contemporary skills. Rice University, where Cho-Liang Lin teaches, has introduced courses in digital music production and entrepreneurship, recognizing that modern musicians need a broader skill set than their predecessors.

Music and the Digital Tightrope
The rise of social media presents both opportunities and pitfalls for classical musicians. "People now use social media platforms to gain fame," Cho-Liang Lin observes, his tone reflecting concern rather than condemnation. "You can do short videos playing a Beatles song, and people will love it. But what counts is your quality of playing and your integrity as a musician," he adds.

Successful adaptations to digital platforms have emerged. The Berlin Philharmonic's Digital Concert Hall, launched in 2008, pioneered high-quality classical music streaming. Younger artists like Ray Chen and Esther Yoo have built substantial followings by combining serious artistry with an engaging social media presence. These examples demonstrate how digital tools can serve classical music without compromising its essence.

Globalization has also brought unexpected changes to classical music's character. “Even great orchestras around the world, it's harder to tell them apart,” says Cho-Liang Lin. “It's all gotten a little bit too blended in the top five or six American orchestras. If you put on their recordings from the 1960s, it was very distinctive, very different from each other. And now it's really hard. And I could tell an orchestra recording from the same era, clearly within two minutes, I can tell you that's a British orchestra, that's a French orchestra, that's a German orchestra, Viennese orchestra. And now it's really hard to tell.”

Modern audiences' shortened attention spans also present particular challenges for classical music. With data[1] showing Generation Z's average attention span at just eight seconds — four seconds shorter than millennials’ — the genre faces unique obstacles.

Charting New Territories
Still, Cho-Liang Lin sees hope in contemporary classical music's evolution. His commissioning of over 50[2] new works during his tenure at La Jolla SummerFest demonstrates his commitment to classical music's future. “You never know whether a piece will endure the test of time, but you have to give the piece a chance,” he says. “It's like, OK, it's like a baby. The piece is there as a baby, but you have to deliver it. I'm the doctor who brings the baby out to the public and show it to them. And whether people say, oh, that's a beautiful baby, or that's an ugly baby, I don't know. That's for them to decide, but I have to do my own job.”

But what about the next gen?

Cho-Liang Lin recalls meeting a former student who sheepishly told him she was no longer interested in playing. He responded, “I don't mind that you quit the violin. I mean, you could always pick the violin up and play in an amateur orchestra. That's a lot of fun. And you're certainly good enough for that. But now if you become a very successful banker, you can [still] do a lot of good in the music world."