Kyle Gann says that for him the difference between pop and classical is duration. Over a certain length, music becomes classical, while a short Schubert Lied for him is a pop music.
This is an interesting perspective. I was thinking about the attention span for classical music. It is true that you typically need to pay attention to longer. But there are Chopin pieces, parts of Bach's cello suites and violin partitas, and Schubert Lieder that are very short. Also, sections of Mompou's Música callada. Movements of classical string quartets can be brief as well. I tend to like short pieces, both as player and listener. Of course, there are long pieces too, like Mahler symphonies, but I see no reason to disdain the miniatures either. There are composers like Feldman who have very long and very short pieces.
Of course, my own poems are very short, and I like Basho...
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