Would a normal person like me be aware of Mozart, Bach, Beethoven, Chopin if I lived when they were alive, or it was more of a high class thing?
hi! there's lots of room for the musical historians to jump in here, but fyi, there have been a few related posts that you may be interested in:
General
Classical Music currently has a stigma of being a luxury that the upper classes are able to enjoy. Was this always the case? <- includes links to several more
How accessible would 'classical' music have been to the contemporary lower classes?
questions on the popularity/accessibility of Mozart, Bach & Beethoven (didn't find anything for Chopin)
Was classical music ( Bach, Mozart etc ) popular among young people?
How famous were people like Mozart or Beethoven in their age?
How did Baroque, Classical and early Romantic composers become famous without the use of recording?
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