True!Exactly..”classical” to us used to be the popular music of the day..all you need to know about it is whether you like a certain piece, or don’t!
I did learn a lot about how to listen to music when I played. There were a lot of things I "thought I didn't like very much," until we played them and I heard "what was going on in the cello," for example. (Can't think of this piece... Wagner? overture...?)
I remember something I read, written by a bassist. Their conductor was so poor, they gave him the nickname, Diode. He explained that a diode was a semi-conductor.