FRANK COOPER , the American pianist and university professor, talks about the crisis facing American music. 'Music simply is not accorded a meaningful place in American life,' he says. ' Permissive education, seeking to sugar-coat the learning experience, has treated music almost solely as recreation and entertainment. It has contributed to an ever-increasing appreciation of so-called pop culture as though it were art, and created an attitude that whatever we happen to like is good for us. that we can be content with it.'