Hey Mari--Wasn't it me who saw Leontyne Price with you? I will never forget her encore, where she sang "Summertime." She changed how I hear that song and somehow captured the feeling of summer in her performance.
Onto your real question, though. I agree with you about wishing classical concerts were less stuffy. We recently attended a chamber music concert where a friend was performing. The music was lovely. But as usual, I chafed against what I find to be the strange formality of the stage etiquette: the performers all leave stage almost as soon as they are done, and come and go if the applause continues. Then they come out again to play the next piece. Why all so uptight? Even if the music stands have to be rearranged because there's a new configuration of players, as happened at that concert, surely it can be made to feel less ponderous, more energetic. It's as if we all have to be staid and inert and only the music can have spirit, as if our appreciation can only be intellectual. Bring on the dogs, sweaters, and informality. Classical music can be fun, and personal, as you say.
Maybe I’ve told this story before, but I saw Yo Yo Ma perform with the Chicago Symphony once, debuting a new concerto by a composer who was also conducting. I remember being completely enraptured by the music, along with the rest of the audience - the applause between movements was immediate and lasted minutes. What I remember most, though, is that during the final standing ovation Ma put down his cello, leaped up, and ran to embrace the composer. They stood there holding each other tightly while the audience hollered.
I dont actually know why different firms of public are pitched differently, but I do know thst there were periods of "pitch inflation" where pitch levels had a tendency to rise. Maybe it's an effort to recreate the sound of the music at the time it was composed when pitch levels were different?
The most enjoyable classical music concert I ever attended was a string quartet in Hohensalzburg Fortress in Salzburg, Austria. I was there with my parents, dressed, no doubt as a backpacker, and it was a small venue with maybe thirty seats. The atmosphere was amazing. But when I lived in Chicago a friend talked me into a season at the symphony, and all I remember about it was being bored and constricted. I agree that atmosphere makes a huge difference, and freedom of movement would also enhance the experience. Even a Led Zeppelin concert would feel boring if you had to just sit still and silently in your tiny seat the whole time and only clap politely at appointed times. Lately, I've been tempted by candle-lit concerts in Atlanta where you sit and tables and can presumably have a cocktail or two while listening. Maybe even you're allowed to whisper to each other occasionally.
Hey Mari--Wasn't it me who saw Leontyne Price with you? I will never forget her encore, where she sang "Summertime." She changed how I hear that song and somehow captured the feeling of summer in her performance.
Onto your real question, though. I agree with you about wishing classical concerts were less stuffy. We recently attended a chamber music concert where a friend was performing. The music was lovely. But as usual, I chafed against what I find to be the strange formality of the stage etiquette: the performers all leave stage almost as soon as they are done, and come and go if the applause continues. Then they come out again to play the next piece. Why all so uptight? Even if the music stands have to be rearranged because there's a new configuration of players, as happened at that concert, surely it can be made to feel less ponderous, more energetic. It's as if we all have to be staid and inert and only the music can have spirit, as if our appreciation can only be intellectual. Bring on the dogs, sweaters, and informality. Classical music can be fun, and personal, as you say.
Maybe I’ve told this story before, but I saw Yo Yo Ma perform with the Chicago Symphony once, debuting a new concerto by a composer who was also conducting. I remember being completely enraptured by the music, along with the rest of the audience - the applause between movements was immediate and lasted minutes. What I remember most, though, is that during the final standing ovation Ma put down his cello, leaped up, and ran to embrace the composer. They stood there holding each other tightly while the audience hollered.
I dont actually know why different firms of public are pitched differently, but I do know thst there were periods of "pitch inflation" where pitch levels had a tendency to rise. Maybe it's an effort to recreate the sound of the music at the time it was composed when pitch levels were different?
The most enjoyable classical music concert I ever attended was a string quartet in Hohensalzburg Fortress in Salzburg, Austria. I was there with my parents, dressed, no doubt as a backpacker, and it was a small venue with maybe thirty seats. The atmosphere was amazing. But when I lived in Chicago a friend talked me into a season at the symphony, and all I remember about it was being bored and constricted. I agree that atmosphere makes a huge difference, and freedom of movement would also enhance the experience. Even a Led Zeppelin concert would feel boring if you had to just sit still and silently in your tiny seat the whole time and only clap politely at appointed times. Lately, I've been tempted by candle-lit concerts in Atlanta where you sit and tables and can presumably have a cocktail or two while listening. Maybe even you're allowed to whisper to each other occasionally.