Being considered boring isn’t the only negative connotation associated with classical music; it also suffers because it is considered elitist. This is a problem that a majority of classical music advocates of the 20th century and today perpetuated.
As interest in popular music increased, classical enthusiasts responded by not just rejecting the new style of music but claiming it was inferior to classical music. This encouraged the belief that classical music is only for wealthy, intelligent people and that you had to “understand” classical music in order to enjoy it. (Although I personally love learning about classical music, it was the result of enjoying classical music from purely listening to it first.) Instead of classical concerts being an activity the majority of people would do to be entertained, it became a “cultured” activity for the upper class to dress up and prove they were sophisticated.
Going to classical music concerts (just concerts at the time) used to be considered a social activity. People would show up, have a few drinks, and would even talk to one another while the music was playing. When hearing a new composition for the first time, audiences would often cheer after a movement they greatly enjoyed and demand it be replayed (and the orchestra would usually oblige). Orchestras would even mix and match movements when playing popular works which at times could even mean each movement played originating from four different symphonies. These movements were also spread out through the concert and separated with shorter pieces played in-between. Many composers disliked concerts being treated this way and as music became considered more important as a form of art, concert hall behavior became important too.
When going to a classical concert today, the environment has varied dramatically. We now politely (and more importantly, silently) listen to every movement of a piece before clapping and/or cheering at the very end. Talking while music is playing is definitely forbidden and you better pray you don’t have to cough or sneeze. If you thought clapping was the appropriate action in-between movements, be prepared for a group of angry scowls to be staring at you. How can we expect more people to find a passion for classical music when we condemn them for not enjoying the music “the right way”?
Somewhere between these two descriptions lies a happy medium; a concert experience that welcomes new listeners while respecting the music and other listeners. Opera succeeds in doing this because the theater aspect of opera tells the audience how to feel. When a sad event occurs we feel sad, when we hear a joke we find funny we laugh. Unlike concerts where the audience is expected to save all emotions and cheers at the end, opera encourages the audience to show their emotions during the action and audiences cheer in-between scenes. Another major problem is even if concert hall etiquette changes, the damage has already been done. How do we convince people they should listen to classical music because it is enjoyable without making it sound like a requirement?
A year and a half ago I was fortunate enough to go to a concert that attempted to fix these problems. It was the final concert of a 17 day event known as “Berlin in Lights” in New York City. This final concert was called “The Rite of Spring Project” and it featured the one and only Berlin Philharmonic, a group many consider to be the best ensemble in the world, performing the Stravinsky ballet The Rite of Spring. The Berlin Philharmonic were not the only performers that night and were joined with 200 students from various public schools in Harlem. 120 of these students were involved in dancing the ballet and although it was choreographed by Royston Maldoom, no professional dancers were used for the performance. I am not an expert on ballet and although these students weren’t “professional” they did an amazing job equal to any other group of dancers in my opinion. The other 80 students worked together to write a new composition inspired by the Stravinsky piece and their own lives.
It was possibly the greatest concert I’ve been to so far in my life. It was the first and only time I’ve listened to the Berlin Philharmonic in person and the audience experience made the concert even better. Half the crowd were people like me, all dressed up and excited to see the world famous Berlin Philharmonic. The other audience members were family and friends of the student dancers in just T-shirt and slacks. No one looked down on them for not dressing up because the orchestra members were dressed the same way! I would have preferred less candy wrapper sounds, children talking, and babies crying, but it’s a small price to pay if it encourages more people to discover an interest in classical music. I don’t know if that concert led to more classical radio listening, classical CD buying, or classical concert attendees, but it definitely impacted the lives of everyone in that concert hall that night, especially the students involved in the performance.
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Classical music is alive, growing and changing. There is clearly a historical element to classical music – the great masters of bygone eras that are staples of orchestral and operatic programming. However, there is also a vibrant new music scene in both venues! John Adams, Jennifer Higdon, Richard Wernick, Christopher Rouse, Krzysztof Penderecki, John Corigliano, Ewazen, Takemitzu… there is an enormous list of current classical composers who continue to thrive in the creation of art music. Yes, there is a massive repertoire of historical pieces performed in the concert halls of today, but there is thriving new music, much of which is incredibly accessible to audiences without formal training in music.
ReplyDeleteI will be the first to admit that there are some people in the concert hall or opera house that are there for non-musical reasons. They might be entertaining clients, or they may be a big contributor, or they might be attending out of some social expectation in whatever pretentious cliques to which they may belong. However, I believe the vast majority of the people in an audience are there to hear the concert!
As an avid concertgoer, I am constantly annoyed by the blatant disrespect that individual human beings have for each other. Classical music is an art form that is entirely about sound. As a consumer of that art form, I spend thousands of dollars a year, to hear concerts. Part of the experience I desire, is to be allowed to feel and experience what that music does to me, without major distraction. Now, if someone coughs or sneezes a time or two, I have very rarely seen a huge reaction by fellow audience members. On the other hand, if someone decides to unwrap 20 lozenges, as slowly as possible, and they have to blow their nose, cough and sneeze throughout the entire performance, I do become highly irritated. I pay good money to experience the art that I love so much, and if someone is that ill, perhaps basic manners would dictate that they excuse themselves to the lobby, and watch it on the monitor.
The analogy that always pops into my head, is the correlation between the palate upon which art music is created (silence) and the palate that a visual artist would use. Is it elitist to expect that the audience at an art museum should not draw upon or deface the works of art they are viewing? Are there many individuals that would not recognize that it would be tragically offensive if museum visitors were to take a markers and paint, and add their own noise to the works being presented to the public?
Then why is it considered elitism when consumers of art music are irritated by disrespectful and self-centered individuals who have no regard for the artistic palate that they are defacing by making noises?
I argue that it is not only the musically untrained that make this mistake. I am equally annoyed by the concertgoers that insist on being the first one to clap and scream “bravo!” at the end of a piece that would in fact deserve some reflection in the return to silence. The illustration that most comes to mind is as a performer, reaching the end of a requiem mass, and having some guy scream over the last chord, as it resonates. I don’t view this as a musician/non-musician; it’s really more of an issue of basic human respect.
Mark,
ReplyDeleteThank you for commenting on my post. I agree with what you say, music is not just a form of entertainment but is also art and it's important that audiences respect it as such. I believe the problem is that potential listeners are turned off by the idea of music as art thinking that this means it can't entertain them. My hope is that once listeners give classical music a chance and see it as a means for entertainment, they will appreciate it as art and respect it.
I'm not saying we should encourage people to make noise during concerts but how it's important to welcome new listeners and not discourage them. The main problem is a society based one; As long as there are people who answer their phones during a movie, there will be people unwrapping candy during a classical concert.
David,
ReplyDeleteThe problem I see is similar to what is going on in education... can one truly dumb down testing to the point where everyone is above average?
If society tumbles to a point where the average person doesn't have the education or artistic background to appreciate classical music, is it really classical music's job to adjust to that norm?
Of course the classical music establishment will further itself best by promoting new and young listeners. Is Gustavo Dudamel's meteoric rise to popularity an accident? I highly doubt it - this 28 year old phenom is adept and drawing in young audiences. The industry needs as many personalities like that as possible.
But, I don't think that orchestra halls and opera houses should concentrate on dumbing down to a poorly educated mass appeal. Art music is not going to be adored and appreciated by all. There will forever be those who love classical music because Pachabelly's Canyon is real relaxing, and chicks get hot over Bolero.
My own opinion is that for classical music to continue to thrive, it needs to continue to strive for the loftiest of artistic goals. For many, music has the ability to touch on parts of the human soul that are rarely accessed through any other medium. This might not happen with the masses, but it happens every day, in concert halls around the world. As long as the depths of the human condition are explored, it has reason to continue to thrive, and it will be relevant and vital in today's world. Reduce it to mere entertainment, and it will almost certainly lose out to cheaper, easier genres.
Am I entertained by concerts? Well, yes, I suppose at some of them I am. Is that why I invested my life in the pursuit of music, the teaching of music, and the study of it? Absolutely not. It runs vastly deeper.
The philanthropic individuals and organizations who support much of classical music understand that. The governments who subsidize the development of wonderful classical music (not ours, unfortunately) do so because they understand the profound importance of classical music.
Yes, we want to draw as many listeners and consumers toward classical music as possible, but I argue that it should NOT be by altering the level of the experience... we need to do a much better job educating the mass public so they are able to meet classical music at its greatest level... not dumb it down to meet society at it's lowest.
Great discussion!!! Thanks for your blog!
Hi Marc,
ReplyDeleteYou said:
"If society tumbles to a point where the average person doesn't have the education or artistic background to appreciate classical music, is it really classical music's job to adjust to that norm?"
To think that Dave suggests this is a misreading of his response to your comment. As he says, the problem lies firstly with society, and its unwillingness or perhaps inability to engage with art music.
However, classical music must indeed respond to the society that creates and consumes it. If it forces a contemporary society (a society more and more removed from the 19th and 20th century ideals that still inform the protocol of concerts) to perform in an articifical way, by clapping only at certain times, refraining from a frank verbal assessment of the music, etc., it can only hope to alienate more and more listeners. These listeners, many of them capable of interacting with art music, will instead prefer popular music, or, tragically, no music at all.
Music is governed by both mathematical, intellectual principles and those of an aesthetic or emotional nature. The effect of the latter must not be reduced by a faulty reliance upon out-moded affectation. To do so would be to spoil the cultural investment of classical music's future by alienating the present generation of music consumers. Also, the suggestion that the music itself requires such ostentation is poorly supported by argument. Whether comparing it to music's practical, improvisatory past or its multi-purpose, "on demand" future, I am concerned by the stodgy, aged display that is the modern concert.
Christopher Riley
To view a concert where individuals are expected to allow other individuals to be able to hear the music unmolested by conversation as "stodgy" is operating on a different set of assumptions with regard to manners.
ReplyDeleteIf this discussion is about people talking during concerts, then we need to shift the conversation to "how modern parents are failing to properly instruct their toddlers." By the time someone is old enough to purchase a ticket and walk into a concert venue, a firm understanding that at times one is responsible for keeping quiet should be in place.
Christopher, you may view the notion of music performed out of silence is ostentatious. You may also go to a major art museum, and hand out boxes of crayons and markers for the children to color in the paintings that are hanging there. Neither of these assumptions would be socially appropriate.
There are a great many listeners and performers of classical music who have their minds firmly wrapped around the concept that it is outrageously rude and disrespectful to talk during a certain type of concert. If a certain element of today's society can't grasp that, the they certainly do not need to be in a classical concert hall.
If there is a new world order of concertgoers who want to chat away, allow their cell phones to ring freely, and to be only partially attentive to the music that is being presented, I submit that those folks should save a hell of a lot of cash, and just buy a CD, or downloading an mp3, and talk away, while listening to a recording.
It is a pure fallacy to assert that the present generation of music consumers is failing to meet art music on its own terms. I'm not entirely sure where you attend concerts, but in the Philadelphia and New York venues where I spend most of my time, there is a vibrant and deeply enthusiastic representation of young listeners.
By purchasing a ticket, and entering a concert hall, individuals are entering an environment where certain behavioral expectations are in place. If those behavioral expectations seem out of line to an individual, perhaps they need to create a new, parallel experience for themselves, and people like them.
My own opinion is that if a subset of individuals is incapable of understanding why silence is valued so highly by consumers of art music, they will most likely not value it enough to support it financially.
If someone can't be quiet out of respect for great music, and the wishes of the other human beings in a room, then let them interact with an ipod in their own home. It is no tragedy keeping these people out of the concert hall, it's a service!
If more and more listeners are alienated by basic, fundamental manners, then BRAVO to classical music for holding a standard! Alienate away! Just because someone is capable of interacting with art music does not mean that they are behaviorally mature enough to do so. If they are not, keep them out of the concert hall until they grow up!
Basic respect and manners in the 21st century are no different than they were in the 19th and 20th. In all three of these centuries, if you enter an environment where people are paying good money to hear a concert where their expectation is dignity and respect, then be prepared to give it! If conforming to such a basic expectation is unpalatable, then don't be rude to these people that are functioning happily with a set of conventions and expectations. The concert hall performance is neither multi-prupose nor is it on demand. It's a singular purpose, and the piece(s) will be performed from beginning to end without a rewind or replay button. If one is incapable of being polite, then get out!
In case my post wasn't clear I just want to add this to it:
ReplyDeleteI'm not suggesting we should allow or want people to talk during all classical concerts. I'm just saying that concerts like "The Rite of Spring Concert" are important because they help expose people to classical music and can change their perceptions. The people talking during this concert were very young children who were friends or family members of the children on stage performing flawlessly. This was the intention the Berlin Philharmonic had and they wore T-shirts and slacks to emphasize that enjoying the music and dancing was the most important part of going to a concert. To see for themselves what classical music has to offer. By listening, seeing, learning, singing, dancing and composing, the students (and hopefully the audience) gained a higher level of appreciating music that is essential and an understanding that those without a good school music program don't get.
Mark, I think you have entirely missed the point of Dave’s original post, and he has been very generous in attempting to clarify over and over—the genre of the symphony can be elitist and if something doesn’t change, it will no longer have an audience.
ReplyDeleteAs Dave has been reiterating, no one is suggesting that people be allowed to talk at the symphony. As far as how modern parents are failing to properly instruct their toddlers, I don’t think I was much older than a toddler when I attended my first concert, and I did my fair share of kicking the seat in front of me, fidgeting, and asking how long until it was over—but if someone would have yelled at me or given me an angry look (If someone had “Kept me out of the concert hall until I grew up!”), I’m almost positive I would have never gone back to see the symphony again, and subsequently, not become a professional musician. Being able to attend the symphony at a young age (I believe I was only eleven when I first heard Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem and 16 when I had my first professional gig) helped instill a love of the classical genre that has stayed with me all my life.
I think it is elitist to say that we should “Alienate away!” potential supporters because they might just not know that it is inappropriate to talk or make noise. If you are going to proliferate this sentiment then you are doing a great disservice to musicians like me whose livelihood relies on having an audience to support us. We are entertainers. We learn a piece to the best of our ability and present it to an audience and hope that it is meaningful to them. If we didn't think it was important we wouldn't do it, but we must change if our audience changes.
My comments were not meant to apply to small children that stir in their seats. Little kids have a hard time. Obviously, parents make a judgment call when it's time to take them out to the lobby out of respect for other audience members.
ReplyDeleteThere are so many opportunities for educators to expose their students to music. Last year I spent nearly $10,000.00 taking kids to the NY Phil, and this year it will be roughly the same amount. I make a MASSIVE effort to try to spark a love of classical music in my students.
This may just be a big misunderstanding. If we're talking about 4 year olds, and literal toddlers, then of course they are going to be unable to adhere to basic etiquette that is expected at a concert. Pre-teens might have an occasional slip. By the time they are teenagers, barring any sort of psychological or physiological problem, young people should be fully capable of behaving appropriately at a concert, if educated on the expectations in that situation.
My take on the original post was that classical music needed to adjust for a mass public with a deficient capacity for manners. My comment about toddlers was intended to be sarcasm. If a young adult is incapable of sitting through a concert without talking, then they really should avoid putting themselves in that situation.
Last week at the Philadelphia Orchestra's 'college night', Dutoit had to wait while the audience clapped between each movement. I was disappointed that the orchestra didn't take the opportunity to just explain the conventions that are observed in classical music. It was an opportunity to educate an audience about what is tradition, and what is expected in a concert.
I guess the bottom line for me, is that I do believe that 99% of people are fully capable of behaving properly at a concert. Perhaps the establishment might need to take better steps to educate their audiences on appropriate behavior, rather than dumbing down expectations to the point where people who are truly there to be moved by the music are completely frustrated by the distractions and interruptions.
Dave,
ReplyDeleteI am very impressed by your thinking on this matter. I went to school to be a music teacher and spent 9 semesters concentrating on the structures of musical pieces and the etiquette that is harped on by professors to the point where concert going is no longer enjoyable. This has largely steered me away from being the music teacher that I went to 4 and a half years of college for.
I don't mean to dumb this down, but what Classical music was to the public in the past, Rock and Pop music are to the public now. It is a public gathering that encourages interaction between concert goers and, often, singing or humming along to the performance. A Dave Matthews Band concert or a Rolling Stones concert would not be the same if the crowd did not sing along with the performance. Why should classical music be any different? I often feel uncomfortable moving during a classical music concert for fear that I would disrupt another attendee with my chair squeaking.
Yes, classical music is an art form and should be respected for what it has taught many of the modern performers about musicality and expression, but there are recordings out there for you to sit in silence and listen to. We should enjoy the live medium of this art for the initial intent: bringing people together to enjoy a common love. I am in full belief that we, as the public, should not be punished for talking or humming during a classical concert with glares and sideways glances from highbrow concert-goers.
I do not mean to attack anyone with this post, I am just voicing my opinion on this forum in hopes of getting feedback from others with different ideas. Please be respectful of my views as I intend to be with yours. Thank you for taking the time to read my post.
Pat B
Mark,
ReplyDeleteThe time when silence at concerts seemed fully natural was also a time when the noises of modern life were only first starting to make an impact on the social milieu. The Victorian code of conduct has been breached in so many other ways over the past century; why does enforced unnatural silence at concerts remain? In an age of recordings, we are able to replay near "perfect" or at least the best available performances of any work we like.
Consider why one even goes to a concert. For all that a live orchestra offers an incomparable musical experience, it certainly does not equate to perfection. A concert is fundamentally a collaborative social gathering. The power lies in the audience as well as the music, and both must react to each other. The tyranny of concert protocol, with its neutering of the audience, has gone on long enough.
In an age of countless distractions, it no longer seems realistic for most people to sit silently for hours. Without endorsing such a view, I might still ask what harm there is in accomodating it, and what gains might be had by doing so. The youth is estranged from classical music. Whereas you wish to isolate it further, I say it is the responsibility of classical music to help reverse the dumbing-down of our society.