??? 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 pwerahera

There are many differences between live band classical and rock concerts. First and most important is you will hear music without any distortion in this environment as opposed to amplified rock music.

Since the concert is in a church, pay attention to the long reverberation of sound, i.e., slow decay of musical notes which adds more to your enjoyment. Do you know which Brandenberg concerto they will play? The second concerto has a most unusual solo ensemble consisting of trumpet, flute, oboe, and violin. Pay attention to the trumpet and its long decay of notes unlike you have heard elsewhere. Same goes to other instruments. Bach's third concerto may be the most popular concerto grosso ever written. 

So you are in for a treat. Don't worry about imaging, layering, 3D sound-staging and other crazy stuff we pay attention to in our hi-fi audio systems. This is pure unamplified music. What you hear is the real thing. There is no comparison for this.