Samuel Johnson nailed the problem when he said, "Much may be made of a Scotchman, if he be caught young." Our brains imprint norms when we're children. We see that carried out with prejudices, culture, foods and certainly music. Much classical music is awesome. Certainly none could say that Mozart was a hack, and certainly none could say that many folk singers/rock singers match Mozart's musical genius. That said, I will say that a few hours of Shostakovich would leave me cold. Likewise, some people hate Dylan's work; I'm not one of them.

Our ability to recognize genius does not mean we will like it or respond to it. I had a teacher years back who loved Mahler's Ninth. He argued that it was the greatest piece of music ever written, etc. I asked him why and he lent me a vinyl recording of it for a weekend. I listened twice and just didn't hear what he heard in it. But frankly folks, Mahler's music isn't garbage despite the fact it doesn't reach me.

I would be disappointed were anyone to listen to this rendition of a Chinese folksong and say it's 'bad'. Remarks like that are meaningless. For me, the erhu stirs some part of my "my cerebellum or maybe the medulla oblongata" (thank you leeneia) and it works for me. I don't nor will I insist it work for you.