Is "Elitism" In Classical Music A Necessary Evil?

For years there have been prominent voices like Stephen Fry that have tried to rout out the elitist image & attitude from Classical music and make it accessible to everyone (especially the youth); but I would posit that very same elitism & snobbery is essential in classical and probably one of the only things keeping it alive right now. I think there are two main reasons for this:

1) Why does Classical music get so much subsidy in most European Countries despite very few people actually going to these concerts? very few orchestra actually operate in the black and most lose money...so what is the real reason a large part of the Classical music scene is subsidized by the government? because it is seen as culturally important to the European identity. The Classical tradition is literally one of the few things that has tied the peoples of the European continent together.

2) China. it's no secret that while interest in Classical is waning in the West, in the East (China in particular) it's just getting more & more popular. the thing is though, Classical music in China is basically a flex and seen as a signifier of class ("my daughter can play Chopin blindfolded. does your son play anything?"). don't get me wrong, i'm sure there are plenty of people there that are genuinely passionate about the music, but a large part of the appeal there (imo of course) is the elitist image of Classical music as a vehicle for social mobility...a signifier that one has rose above poverty and is now part of a comfortable middle-class.

the situation Classical music is in right now reminds me of some of the luxury European fashion brands that desperately want to break out of luxury market and be accessible for everyone but they literally can't do that because most of their appeal is tied into how exclusive they are. they are trapped in that image and can't be as fluid as a company like Nike who can appeal to everyone (rich, poor, young, old) while at the same time destroying those luxury brands in terms of profit every single year. just like the state of Classical right now, that elitist image is necessary for their survival