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

If you ever get the chance to hear a Mahler symphony (especially #2) live, grab the experience.  Some wag said the Mahler wrote for HiFi!

The dynamics (pppp to ffff) and shades of tone run from ethereal to brutal.

Incidentally I use Mahler 2 as an audition piece as it tests timbre, dynamics and frequency response.  There are also sections with voices.

There are many recordings of this (I have about 8) including Solti LSO (1966, London) and Rattle City of Birmingham(2017, Warner).  Presto Music (THE best source that I have found for "classical" music - their catalog goes from mediaeval tp present day) lists about 200 recordings of the work.

If you go to the site https://www.prestomusic.com/classical you can hear clips.  If you want to give your system a work out try this symphony.

Yeah I was in HS back in the 60s.I was I Arts n Music Class .This teacher would get us free tickets to Lincoln Center,Bway  Musicals Shows.I saw Operas ,Classical Music , Is Ballet .I was only 14 a freshman and they were so interesting, hearing Music I really never heard.I was a bubble gum rocker lol...So it was a wonderful experience...

Expect to understand Classical music like never before. Symphonic music can be beautifully recorded. But in my experience,  no recording catches the immense and detailed sonics of a symphony orchestra.  Once you hear it, you gain a new understanding of the music and the talent behind it. For me, it was a wonderful experience and we have become hooked.

Sooo,went to the concert last night..
 Some take aways:
 The biggest this that hit me during the show was how amazing todays stereo gear is..From the tone of instruments,to imaging & staging,reverberant sound,pretty much everything,we have it REALLY good these days when it comes to reproducing these sounds in our homes!
Speaking of imaging & staging..I was surprised at how similar sound staging is to hearing it at home but I think our gear might be a touch artificial when it comes to imaging..It seemed instruments sounded a little homogenized..You could clearly pick out where the different sections were located but you had to really focus hard to actually pick out individual instruments within the various groups..Also noted & enjoyed was the similarity of depth of field to a good home system & how difficult it is at home to get the width of the stage even close...
 The Harpsichord is a truly underrated & maligned instrument,most likely because it takes a really good system to allow it’s unique voice to sing & not come off as a bag of cats fighting,much like bag pipes I think...
 I LOVE the tone of the French horn & Timpani..Out of all the horn types there is something unique & special about the sound of that Frenchie,same with the Timpani,which had be conjuring images of mounted knights on ancient battlefields..
 I had no idea there was such a thing as WOOD FLUTES or how dissimilar they sound to the metal flutes of today..They don’t have that slightly brassy,shrill tone of modern flutes..The tone is similar, but the wooden flute has,for lack of a better way to describe it,an easy,relaxed tone that is quite beguiling..
 Acoustics..REALLY high ceilings & fan shaped architecture..Not near as much reverberant sound as I expected...
  Lastly it struck me that I am OLD!It was wonderful to actually stay seated & not have to fight to see over some animal with his gf sitting on his shoulders to see the stage..Thinking back I wonder how the hell we survived some of the concerts we went to in the late 60’s & 70’s!!!
  Thoroughly enjoyable experience..I’m looking forward to another,only full orchestral next time!
 

It sounds like you were at a concert featuring Historically Informed Performers (HIP).  Wood flutes and oboes have unique timbres.  They can be a problem in very large auditoriums and in smaller venues they can lack some dynamic range but have their attractions in the right settings.  HIP horns and trumpets sometimes lack valves and are a b**** for the player who has to do all the work with breath control.

  The harpsichord can be beautiful, especially in Bach Brandenburg #5, which I believe was on the program.  It also gets lost in a large hall.

  The sound stage, etc are a product of the venue and might be completely different in a different space.  IMO venues matter with acoustic instruments and not so much with electrified going through a sound processor.

  Modern gear is great but no system can equal a full symphony orchestra in a good hall.  Our gear just attempts to create an illusion but even a seven figure system in a cathedral like home misses the boat by a mile.  It might be different with pop.