The unrest is silence: why ‘classical’ music traditions are under threat

From Thai gong music to Iraqi oud to American jazz, there are more classical traditions than we might imagine – and as a result of political turmoil, many of them need help to surviveUntil revolution erupted in Aleppo in 2011, Syria’s second city had been home to a musical tradition venerated for eight centuries throughout North Africa and the Levant. This music is not much heard there now – most of the players and singers have fled – any more than the world’s most