How to listen to a live concert
Wen: Braveheart
As an industrial product of modern civilization, the history of recordings is just one hundred years old, and before that, the inheritance of human musical civilization, in addition to the music score, mainly rely on live performances of this living form of musical expression. For thousands of years, live listening has been the only way for ancient people to get the feeling of music, and even today, when the record industry is extremely developed, live performances are still calling thousands of music lovers to enter concert halls and dance theaters with her living kindness and warmth.
As a new contact with European classical music lovers, the charm of live performance in our minds must be full of reverie and temptation, when we are about to hold an incomparable pious excitement into the Philharmonic Hall of worship music, in order to make us from the upcoming hear the "sound" in the experience, feel the more In order for us to experience and feel more happiness from the "sound" we are about to hear, I am afraid that some of the following rules of thumb and precautions must be understood by each of our friends who have just come into contact with classical music.
Selection of concert repertoire
In big cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, there are numerous concert halls, and almost every day there are concerts, for example, the Beijing Concert Hall, which at the end of the year can be filled with performances for the next year. We must use our limited funds and limited time to select the most suitable venues for our own listening from the vast array of performances, and there are two main bases for this:
One is to choose the repertoire in which we have a strong interest and which we like to listen to, so that even if the group's own playing skills are not as good as they could be, the music itself will still be able to bring the touch that we deserve. For those who are indifferent to what they hear on the record, no matter how much others say, it's still someone else's feeling, and if the band's performance is poor, I'm afraid that the great music will never come back to your mind!
The second is to focus on some of the internationally renowned music groups, famous music artists to visit China to perform, this kind of performance is unattainable, in China is often once in decades. In particular, some of the old masters of the arts, their visit to China is likely to be the first and last performance, miss a likely to regret a lifetime. For example, cello virtuoso Rostropovich and conductor Seiji Ozawa's exchange performance at the Century Theatre in Beijing in the fall of 2000 brought to our Chinese Philharmonic audience not only the touching music, but also the charisma of the musical personalities reflected in them.
Pre-performance preparations
If you are familiar with the repertoire you are about to hear, or even have several classic recordings at hand, it is best to avoid listening to these wonderful recordings at this point, so as not to create too many preconceived barriers within yourself that could interfere with your ability to concentrate on what you are hearing live. The overall level of the Chinese Symphony Orchestra is the highest among domestic music groups, but often some of my friends show great disappointment in their live performances, and I'm afraid that the main reason is because we hear too many excellent, classic recordings of famous foreign orchestras, and the more other people's recordings are listened to, the deeper the understanding, the more obvious the gap between the National Symphony Orchestra's live performances will be in comparison, and the greater the disappointment.
If you're not familiar with the repertoire you're about to hear, then you'll want to collect as much relevant information as possible, and it's best to find a recording that you can listen to first, so that you won't be too overwhelmed and confused when you hear it live. There are many sources of information, including libraries, the Internet, and, of course, friends who love music.
Concert hall notes
In the general impression, listening to the symphony is to be suited and booted, in fact, in China need not be, after all, Western-style clothes are not our traditional ceremonial clothing, as long as the clean and neat, not sloppy, star-rated hotel lobby allows access to the dress, the concert hall are able to accept. Some classical musicians performance dress fancy jaw-dropping, such as cellist Maisky, violinist Kennedy and others, their performance dress has always been very personalized. Casual, comfortable and casual is not only the trend of modern clothing, but should also be the inevitable trend of the concert hall dress code. Of course, there are specific concerts with specific dress codes that must be adhered to.
On the day of the show, be sure to get near the concert hall as early as possible and make sure to enter early. There are many advantages to entering early, you can calm your mind, wait calmly for the music to shower you, you can have enough time to read the detailed descriptions of the music, orchestra and conductor on the program list, avoiding the hasty rummage during the performance, etc.
This is the most important thing that you can do when you are in the concert hall. Of course, most importantly, it is also the minimum respect for the performing groups and artists. Nowadays, many concert halls refuse to let latecomers enter in the middle of a movement, and even then, the short break between movements and the darkened auditorium are not only troublesome to find a seat, but also attract a blank stare and displeasure because of the effect of taking a seat on others.
The shrill ringing of cell phones and pagers in the concert hall is absolutely frightening, especially during the performance. In order to avoid the appearance of this extremely unpleasant sound, and to avoid incurring the "hate" of the surrounding crowd, you'd better turn them off before entering the concert hall. If you have to wait for an important call, make sure you set it to vibrate. Try to avoid bringing in objects that make noise, such as plastic bags, bottles, shopping bags, etc. There are free storage for these small items in the entrance halls of concert halls.
Beijing Poly Theater has now banned children under one meter two in height, which is a brilliant move! According to scientific evidence, the height of one meter two children generally do not have emotional control, that is to say, they are in the concert hall is very difficult to maintain a long time in a quiet state listening to music, they can not help but "action" consciousness not only affects the parents of the appreciation of the mood, but also disrupt the surrounding audience listening environment. Therefore, in addition to some special concerts for children, try to avoid carrying those who do not yet have emotional control of the child to the concert hall, or else it is not only the child, parents, neighboring audience, and even the conductor, they will be affected by different degrees of influence and interference.
Listening in a few points of attention
The points mentioned above are all in the service of better access to the best listening state. And when we finally hear the wonderful moving fairy music, wordless moving, we have to pay attention to those issues?
The first and foremost point is that you can't applaud or applaud indiscriminately. It is said that hundreds of years ago, when Western artists performed symphony, the audience can applaud between the movements, and encountered applause, applause is too enthusiastic, the conductor will also just play the movement improvised repeat again to entertain the audience. However, hundreds of years down the line, today's custom has been greatly changed, between the movements do not applaud has become a customary etiquette, between the movements to keep quiet not only to ensure the integrity of a grand work, but also to ensure that we appreciate the continuity of thought. Therefore, no matter how exciting the previous movement is, we can only save all our heartfelt gratitude for the end of the piece and then release it.
If you don't know much about the work you're playing, and you want to know when the song ends and when to applaud, there's a simple way to judge: before the performance, use some time to familiarize yourself with the program, understand the number of movements of the work, and when you perform, count the chapters with your heart, and in general, between chapters the conductor on the stage, the performers have a simple rest and recuperation, and the audience has some adjustments in their posture, and coughing and so on, all of them. After the end of the performance, the conductor will generally turn around and bow to thank the curtain, at this time you can indulge in applause, applause to express their gratitude to the artists. The reason you were told to count the movements by heart was to prevent you from blindly following some uninvolved people who were clapping, clamoring, and adding to the chaos between movements.
I have seen jokes in Beijing several times because of too much applause between movements. Once is the 2000 Beijing International Music Festival opening ceremony, because a large part of the audience to enjoy the government hospitality tickets, the results of Sarah Zhang's Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto, the first movement has just ended, the whole audience actually broke out in thunderous applause, warm applause alarmed outside the venue is responsible for the offering of flowers to the young lady, so she hurriedly hold flowers into the stage to offer flowers, the next scene is really embarrassing for the Chinese people. The ensuing scene was really embarrassing for the Chinese. Another time is in the Tsinghua University auditorium, Brahms' violin concerto first movement just finished, the scene is also applauded thunder, several female students are also heard, ran up to the stage to offer flowers.
The solution to the problem of blind applause, the rest is to avoid the movement between the head to head, looking through the program, drinking water, stoned and other harassing "small actions", no matter what you do "small actions", you have to first think about your actions! Whether it will affect the surrounding people, after all, this is not the home of a person listening to the stereo in the environment ah!
Many classic recordings are made by the most prestigious orchestras, the most outstanding conductors, the best recording venues, the best equipment, the most outstanding recording artists to work together, coupled with careful post-production, the kind of "heavenly disc" level of auditory performance is far stronger than an ordinary domestic live performances, if we are in an acoustic conditions are not satisfactory, the sound of the world's most important music, the sound of the world's most important music. If we listen to an orchestra with not so good quality in a concert hall with unsatisfactory acoustic conditions, we can never forget the excitement of those "heavenly albums" in our mind, and frequently make all kinds of comparisons between them, which is not only unfair, but also has no positive significance. We are here to listen to live "real" music, not to look for gaps and deficiencies, let alone to nitpick (which, of course, inevitably exist). The positive and wise thing to do is to put aside all preconceived notions and actively immerse yourself in the music you hear live, to feel the music itself, and to capture those moments that shock us and move us, which is the real purpose of listening to live music for the average musician, and only then can you afford to pay for your hard-earned money and your precious time!
When the music ends
A regular orchestra performs in the regular season, after the official repertoire, there is usually no encore (encore repertoire), while those who exchange, visiting performances, because it is rare to see and hear, the encore is always inevitable, and every time, the orchestra and the conductor will make every effort to dedicate their best, the most wonderful and moving moment, and their encore performance will be a great opportunity for us to see the music. Moment, and their encore performance, encore repertoire of how much depends largely on the audience applause, applause of the degree of enthusiasm, if you do like their performance, may wish to applaud the drums a little more fierce, a little more enthusiastic.
Out of courtesy, as long as the orchestra chief (sitting on the first violin in front of the one) did not get up to leave the stage, it is best for us audience not to get up in a hurry to leave the stage, they have come a long way to perform for you, we should not be in a hurry to rush a few minutes of the journey, right!
When you have to leave the show after being mesmerized by the music, don't forget to leave anything on your seat or at the door.
If you are willing, after listening to the concert, you may wish to communicate with some of your music-loving friends to exchange your own listening experience, or write down some of the heartfelt touches, so that more friends can be described through you, and indirectly feel those unforgettable moments of the music of a lifetime, "solo music, not as much as the crowd," which is a wonderful thing! It's a wonderful thing!
It's time to go with the flow - after the concert
Author: Hao Jian
Concerts, how do we listen
These years, the domestic symphony concerts are increasing day by day. Recently, there are many concerts in Beijing. at the end of May, Domingo came to open a solo concert, June 1, the United States Philadelphia Orchestra brought Lang Lang a piece of the Great Hall of the People opened a symphony concert; only 20 days apart, only to move two or three arrows of the ground, the three tenors and then come to go to the hole. I went to the Philadelphia concert, and the Three Tenors watched it live at home. A topic that I wanted to write a few words about when I was an undergraduate came back to bug me: will we ever listen to concerts.
What I'm trying to say here is not in any way about "not understanding the symphony". I've always felt that music is not like words, it doesn't matter whether you understand them or not, you just understand them if you like to listen to them. I've always felt that music is not like words, and that if you enjoy listening to it, you understand it. As long as you want to listen to music and enjoy listening to it, you know it and you like it. If you are a little more enthusiastic, read some books on harmony and counterpoint, and learn some music history, you will naturally be able to keep up with the development of the theme and the rise and fall of musical ideas. But if you don't know anything about music theory, just listen to it more often, and it will still be pleasing to the ear. I'm an example, I don't even know how to read music, not to mention harmony, and I can't even read simple music. But that doesn't stop me from enjoying listening, it doesn't stop me from getting a fever, and it doesn't stop me from familiarizing myself with many pieces of music.
What I'm wondering about today is whether we should respect some of the hard facts when we go to a concert, some of the visible and audible rules and customs that have been developed elsewhere over centuries. There's been a lot of talk about these rules lately among listeners and cultural figures, and I think it's interesting.
Some people will laugh at me for saying this. 20 years ago, when I was an undergraduate, I wanted to write an article for the school newspaper about the rules of behavior at concerts, and the title of the article was "When you go to a concert". It was called "When You Go to a Concert", but I never wrote it for fear of being laughed at. Now that I think about it, these rules may be a bit tedious, but they are very important. To talk about it every day may be a bit exaggerated, a bit annoying, look at how we behave at concerts, listen to what some of our culture say about this thing, I really think we need to talk about it year after year, month after month.
First of all, it needs to be preached when you're not going out. If you're going to classical concerts and operas, you should dress up. It is summer, many traditional Western men also wear suits and ties, even if it is hot to turn back to the suit on the arm. Ladies, needless to say, usually have to wear dresses, this is a ceremony, but also they show high-grade, expensive clothing or unique creative and taste opportunities. Of course, if you're seeing the landscape opera "Aida" at the Shanghai Stadium or a concert at Noon Gate Square, the attire can be a bit more diverse, and many youths and children go in travel shoes.
Then, go out must be early, because listening to concerts is the most taboo is late. As soon as the conductor comes out and stands on the conductor's platform, the whole audience should be quiet. But here we are often still crowded, cell phone pager after cell phone pager. 1996 at the end of May to bring the Philadelphia Orchestra is also Sawallisch. He played the first day in the Great Hall of the People, and when he came out some of the audience was still there. He stood on the conductor's podium, turned around several times to look at the noisy audience, and once simply left the podium. Orchestra conductor to even the audience a piece of "command", so the concert is too much Chinese characteristics. When the conductor raises his baton, latecomers have to stand in the doorway and wait until the end of the first movement or the first piece before they can go in. This is the rule for all concerts elsewhere in the world. That's what the tickets we have here require. But the management of the Great Hall of the People doesn't seem to have told its own nightly gatekeepers, men and women, about this rule so far. They let in all the latecomers, and I've seen them enthusiastically pointing out the latecomers, as well as helping the old and the young and serving them, causing a steady stream in the aisles.
Of course, the opera, how many years ago, didn't start so quietly, so there was an overture. Mr. Zhong Yunregui's youngest son, Ah Cheng, said in his Venice diary that "the opening gongs and drums of Chinese opera serve the same purpose as the overture of Italian opera in the early days, that is, to suppress the noise of the audience and to remind the play to begin. ......". Nowadays, a better custom has been formed in the exchange of ideas and is accepted by most people: the audience should be quiet during the music. It is said that in Shenzhen once happened performers and individual no line of audience "battle": that day the violin soloist Lu Siqing really, as long as the following cell phone, BB ring, he put down the violin to stop playing, he stood there looking down, when the audience is quiet, and then set up the violin, from the beginning of the play! This scene was so dramatic too.
And then there's the problem: there should be no applause between movements. I think that this rule is harder to do, and the neglect or trampling of it is most excusable in our case. Because most people who come to concerts nowadays are not so familiar with the music, as soon as the music comes to an abrupt end, people think that the piece is over, and they will very positively follow their own emotional response to the performer and give him a round of applause. In fact, the necessary condition to follow this rule is not to have a high level of musical standard, and it is not necessary to have a good knowledge of the works played on the stage. It's just a matter of having some general training, knowing how to follow the customs, and generally knowing that you shouldn't applaud between movements - just follow the lead of others who know what they're doing.
If it is not necessary to applaud between movements is a matter of musical common sense, then the performance should not have to talk and cell phone, pager sound is a matter of common sense, a little bit does not have to be **** the production party members can also have the cultivation. Sometimes it's even better. The other day Lang Lang and the Philadelphia Orchestra were leading us onstage when two or three late arrivals behind me argued over whether to ask the "audience" to leave, who had already taken their seats ahead of them!
Finally, after the set list has been completed, you can applaud for additions and returns. This is a way of evaluating and encouraging the standard of the band's performance, and perhaps of satisfying our own unfulfilled interest. More broadly, it's a conversation between us and the musicians, a regular ritual of social events. Applause is the rule; encores are not. Conductors are free not to encore when they don't want to or aren't happy. As far as the concerts I've heard are concerned, Tang Mu Hai is not a big fan of encores. When the Philadelphia Orchestra played at the Great Hall of the People in 1996, which I mentioned earlier, Sawallisch didn't play an encore either. It wasn't because of being pissed off, was it? If you're listening to an opera and a concert by an individual or a few individuals, applauding and returning to the stage are the tacit rules of the game. Two days ago at the Noon Gate's Big Three male concert, because the audience in front of them didn't respond very enthusiastically - I don't know if it was because there were more people entering with complimentary tickets and fewer insiders and true enthusiasts - the three singers couldn't get a reaction, and even the repertoire that the program had indicated was to be returned almost didn't get a chance to be heard. The paper said there were Chinese songs in the program. Probably because no one applauded them, they caved in.
The following article has to do with the etiquette of enjoying music
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How do we think about differences in cultural practices
What about all these rules that we can't do well at the moment?
Of course there are some realities, we have a somewhat Chinese audience here. Musical literacy is not very high, usually do things to earn money are not punctual, why spend money to listen to concerts should be punctual? With the usual restaurant dinner, public **** place party as if no one else, loud noise compared to us into the concert hall has been very astringent, has been suffocated, but also requires us to cell phone, pager off, but also requires the music stops can not be randomly applauded, how do I know which is the interval between the movement, which is the end of the song play elegant?
There are also some unimpressive material realities that are determined by culture and literacy. The Great Hall of the People is so big that it's only big enough to hold a lot of people. If you play in the Beijing Concert Hall, you have to sit a few hundred people. If according to the three tenors to come to the appearance fee that charge, the organizers of that way, the ticket price shall not sell 10,000 U.S. dollars? Then the music would return to the aristocracy, and we ordinary music lovers would only be able to hear it in our lifetime. But when you play in the Great Hall of the People, it's a big deal for tens of thousands of people to get in, and it's hard to be on time. In the middle of the show, one or two of the 10,000 people will have to answer their cell phones, and the rest of the audience will have to "listen to the sound of crickets.
But that's no excuse. A lot of things can be done, from the organizer's point of view, don't have Savarisch opening the gong over there and selling tickets over here. Which is not a clear call to be late. Since the parking lot has been opened in Tiananmen Square, a holy place, let all the cars parked in. Don't let the later car and become a headless fly, driving in circles around the Great Hall, he so tossed, in certainly late. The audience does not have the common sense of a concert, and the organizers know it. Latecomers had to wait until the end of a movement or the first piece before they could get in, and the tickets all quoted this requirement. But the organizers just wouldn't make it clear to their own gatekeepers, causing them to go around leading late arriving old gentlemen and grandmothers.
From the audience, it is not about our musicianship in the first place. Anyone who goes to a concert, even if he hasn't heard Dvorak, is not so ignorant of the fact that to quarrel in a concert is to risk universal condemnation. If he was three or five minutes late, it was because of the traffic jam. But the concert started more than half an hour ago, and there is still a stream of people looking for seats, can we still call this late? There is a process of habit development, and since Seiji Ozawa brought the Boston Symphony Orchestra to perform at Beijing's Hongta Auditorium in 1979, we've been listening to symphony music for more than 20 years. 20 years, and the Beijing audience is still so unruly on the whole. We are also too slow to learn. I don't think it's because we're stupid, because there are many other things that have proven many times that Beijingers are not so stupid, such as making a lot of money, corruption, development of high technology, the Five Lectures, Four Beauties and Three Favors, and our creativity for learning is definitely enough. We've been listening to Pavarotti for more than ten years. I sometimes wonder, from 1987 at the Tianqiao Theater to 2001 at the Noon Square, I do not know whether Pavarotti will not mutter in his heart: Beijing people listen to the opera or this line of work, progress is too slow. In fact, the first thing here is not a matter of musical training, this is a matter of common sense, is willing to abide by the rules of the problem. Nowadays, cell phones have a vibration function, if it is really the central leadership at any time to urgently summoned to discuss national issues, put a vibration block all together. I think it still depends on the organizers and participants have the desire to abide by the rules, there is no motivation, there is no concept of respect for others.
Of course, there is another way, is simply to develop Chinese characteristics. What to engage in what gentle and elegant, into what gentle country, as long as I come here, a water into the northwest wind, Huangtu high slope sandstorm. Symphony as long as the performance in China, when you feel well played on the applause, between the performance love to be late on the late, want to leave early on the early departure, full of casually walk away from people selling melon seeds. So what if your cell phone or BB machine rings a few times, China is a developing country and everyone is busy. The rules are not made by people, what reasoning can be made? But when I think about it, I really can't think about it. Some small things seem to have no reasoning, but behind the small reasoning there is still a big reasoning. For example, if we, from the organizers to the audience, feel that we should focus on me and develop symphonic concerts with Beijing characteristics, then you should at least make it clear to people in advance that coming to our concerts is such a thing, and that you don't want to come. I am worried that if you really make it clear to people, even if the fee is very high, not many people will be willing to come. I am also worried that if people come, they will ask for three or four points more. Because people will say that they are going to perform there as a battlefield troupe, and they have to fight and perform at the same time.
Another way is to follow the rituals that people already have as long as they have a symphony. If you want to cross your legs, kowtow, flying hand towel handles all over the place, we'll go straight to the restoration of the old theater. Singing well, give a good, show cowardice, but also in time to call a good inverted. That also have fun, also have program, also have feelings. But to play a symphony, we must follow the practice that everyone accepts, do not combine it with Chinese practice arbitrarily.
There is a rule-abiding mentality here. There are times when the rules are tedious, but since we are doing this game, we should follow them. I actually used to understand this in kindergarten. People play hopscotch, siege, and hide-and-seek, but if I do something else, they won't take me. If you brag all day long that I'm going to do Overwatch, people won't play any games with you.
With the mentality of keeping the rules, we can then advocate for the elegance. Attachment is actually following good advice. I do not know whether it is the end of the piece or how about the end of the movement, do not take me as the center, do not do what you want, follow others, and wait for others who know how to have a reaction and then follow up, which is three seconds slower, no shame.
Leaders take a good head it
I am not talking about here is the leadership to pay attention, a grasp of the end does not relax and so on. I mean the leaders do not lead a bad head. Of course, it is better to lead people to run civilization. The other day at the Wumen Square, the three tenors took a break from their halftime performance, and the chorus had already begun, when a group of leaders arrived late. One of them seemed to be Ms. Wu Yi, who is famous for her love of classical music. They didn't come before the opening, they didn't come during the intermission, they couldn't stay away, and they had to wait until the intermission was over and the performance started. I don't doubt that the leader has a high level of musical cultivation, but it seems that he lacks a little bit of the commoner's mentality, the mentality of doing as the Romans do, the mentality of courtesy, and the sense of observing the rules. A leader with such a mentality will not be able to get the right caliber easily when he talks to people about entry, and I think he will talk a few more rounds. Of course, may also be responsible for the leadership under the office agencies, then I have the courage to a little bit, can be criticized a few words of pain: your level is too low, not worthy of arranging leadership activities, so that the leadership in the country and the world in front of the face of your big shame, you should be guilty of what?
How do I remember to come to the leadership of this? Because I found a strange phenomenon. The order of listening to concerts is the slowest to be established in Beijing. It's a place where there are more musical performances, where there are more leaders, and where the cultural level of the people is no lower than elsewhere. In addition to the material factors such as the large performance venues, I think the human factor is still the first. The people here are more bullish, brave to defy *** with the rules, like to find a bullish maverick feeling, engage in a small country cultural chauvinism of the Hanzi also more. Also more or less with the official culture has to do with, give away more tickets, come to the layman more. I witnessed a row of seats are an office or a family. This kind of audience is easy to perform as if no one else is there, and they themselves tend to have the feeling of listening to the concert. It's also these areas that have the most halfway draws as well. Interestingly, the complimentary tickets are also front row seats, so visiting orchestras see these audiences first. There are still seven years to go before Beijing hosts the Olympics and builds skyscrapers, and we only have money and migrant workers on our side. But what spirit we to meet the guests, heart there is a rule-abiding common sense, there is a do what to say what rules of that point of meaning, this is not the money can be immediately piled up.
Or as the saying goes, to what mountain, sing what song, into the country to ask the forbidden, into the country, follow the customs. If we are going to listen to rock and roll, of course we don't need to be so particular. To emphasize, I love listening to symphonic music, but I have never heard symphonic music or opera as being more serious or elegant than rock, and so far I don't see any difference in morals, ideals, or sentiments between the listeners of the two. All I'm saying is that chess is the rules of chess, and Go is the rules of Go, so don't get confused.
(Hao Jian Movie theorist Beijing)