Do divides in humanities fields affect how those fields are valued by society?

Around 1900, classical composers felt that the tonal system for writing music had been exhausted of its resources and they sought out new ways of composing music. This led to a divide in the field of music. Classical music continued to explore new systems of composition, while other musicians kept with the tonal system.

Composers that continued to use the tonal system began to attract listeners from the classical field. They wrote simple, easy-to-understand, and enjoyable melodies that were more appealing to “tonal ears” than the complex, tonal-less, and intellectualized classical art music. Popular music was the result. The divide continues today. The problem with this divide is it creates misconceptions on what the musical community values, and how the study of music is viewed by the general public. For instance, rock musicians tend to be viewed as rebellious, wild, and a threat to society. Since rock music is popularized, people might believe acting like a rock star is part of what means to be a musician. This is not at all the case for the classical musicians, whose goal is to preserve the established culture, protect it, and progress it. It is this division of values in the musical community that prevents music from progressing as a whole, and in turn how society values music.

Is there a split in other humanities fields that prevents them from progressing? Do these divides affect how society views that field and in turn values it? Should the classical community be held accountable for not training musical audiences into “modern” music, or should the pop fields be responsible for encouraging the use of old systems of composition? How do you view the field of music?

Tonality

Example of new system developed for composition: Twelve-Tone system of composition - Anti-Tonality

Sound Samples:

Classical Music before 1900 written in the tonal system. These selections should sound “normal” to tonally trained ears:
Chopin’s Ballade in G minor (1830s)
Brahm’s b minor Capriccio (1870s)

Classical Music written after the tonal system was being abandoned. These should sound “abnormal/ugly/awkard” to tonally trained ears:
Schoenberg op. 19 (1911)
Copland Variations (1930)
Stravinsky – Rite of Spring (1913)

Early popular music. Sounds normal to tonally trained ears:
John Phillip Sousa (1912)
Early Jazz

Modern classical music. Should sound abnormal to tonally trained ears:
John Cage - Imaginary Landscape

Modern pop music. Should sound normal to tonally trained ears:
Yael Naim – New Soul