 This was a consequence of the Industrial Revolution, according to music critic and historian Harold C. Schonberg, which brought changes to the early 19th-century lifestyles of the working masses.The lower and middle classes began to take an interest in the arts, which previously had been enjoyed mostly by the clergy and aristocracy.In the 1830s, concert halls were few, and orchestras served mainly in the production of operas—symphonic works were considered far lower in importance.