Once again, Entertainment Weekly gets through a supposedly comprehensive "best of" issue — 146 pages in total, covering movies, TV, music, books, and theater — without mentioning classical music. Granted, Malcolm Arnold is cited in small print among dozens of 2006 deaths, but you can be sure that he won a mention not for his nine symphonies but for his score to Bridge on the River Kwai. Jazz is also almost completely overlooked. I wouldn't harp on this if I didn't think EW was a smart magazine. Did anyone over there see Minghella's Butterfly at the Met, hear major new CDs by Adams and Glass, or feel the loss of Lorraine Hunt Lieberson? If market share is the sole consideration, it's worth noting that Lorraine's Neruda Songs CD is currently #71 on the overall Amazon music chart, beating out the Happy Feet soundtrack and Akon's Konvicted. The crazy news these days is that classical music is regaining popularity, and it's time for mainstream publications such as EW, Time, and Newsweek — not to mention the TV networks — to pay heed.
