There seems to be no shortage of books postulating either that classical music has made itself irrelevant, or that it has never been stronger or more popular. Scholar Richard Taruskin has taken the measure of both sides, and finds that “the discourse supporting classical music so reeks of historical blindness and sanctimonious self-regard as to render the object of its ministrations practically indefensible.” Still, “classical music is not dying; it is changing… Change can be opposed, and it can be slowed down, but it cannot be stopped.”