??? My First Classical Concert,What Can I Expect ???


 In my 65 years I've been to somewhere around 1000 rock/blues/reggae concerts..I've seen them all at one time or another,Led Zepp,The Stones,The Who,Pink Floyd,Carlos Santanna,SRV,BB King,Marley,Tosh,Cliff & on & on..
 But in all those concerts,I've never been to a Classical Concert..Well I decided to change that & am going to my first one in early June..Nothing big time,our small town symphony performing Bachs Brandenburg  Concerto's  at one of the bigger churches of about 500 seats..
 We'll be 6 rows from the stage,second & third seats in from center isle..In all the concerts I've ever been to,I don't ever recall listening for imaging or staging or micro detail or any of the things I sometimes listen for at home..I'm curious what I can expect regarding the Acoustics & if I get into critical listening mode what to look for as far as the technical aspects of the performance..
 Am I overthinking this adventure,should I just sit back & let the experience flow whatever direction it takes?What are your thoughts?

freediver

Showing 1 response by mahler123

I disagree it’s most of what is written above.  So you won’t see anyone lighting their  violins on fire or being lifted by a cable over the audience.

  The Brandenburg Concertos feature a lot of instrumental effects.  For example the Sixth omits violins and uses low strings only.  The Second features a very high-piccolo- trumpet that Paul McCartney liked so much when he heard it he adopted it for Penny Lane.  The Fifth is basically a harpsichord concerto in the first movement, that ends with a crazy cadenza (solo) where Bach was foreshadowing the Piano Virtuosos 150 years in the future.  The second movement is basically a chamber outing between the flute, keyboard and violin where the 3 lines weave in and out as only Bach could do so seamlessly.

  Every concerto has something special.

  Listen to the music at least twice before the concert so that it has something special familiarity.  Then when you are there are how different choirs of instruments produce the sounds .