A number of years ago I go a good reminder of what a good concert can do (I hadn't been to one in a long time, who needs to with a good stereo!). I was invited to a concert which included Tchaikovsky's 4th by a local (provincial) SO. I thought I had outgrown Tchiakovsky but I "condecended" to go. What a great toe tapping experience by an enthuiastic orchestra.!! Nothing can beat live classical concerts for scale and the immediacy of the music - but not all performances are great and thats why I still listen to my system.
"Emotionally involving" music and your system...
I recently attended a concert performance of Brahms' 1st Symphony and found the experience, quite frankly, overwhelming. I had previously heard this piece at least a dozen times on my system. I had also attended roughly a dozen live concert events over the last several years. While I found each of these listenings on my system enjoyable and each of these live performances interesting, none had any real emotional impact. On this occasion, however, I felt swept up by the music. By the time the last few chords came crashing down in the final movement I felt emotionally drained and had shivers running down my spine. I still cannot explain my reaction. Perhaps I felt that same sense of exhilaration that Brahms must have felt as he composed those last few bars, casting off the great shadow of Beethoven for at least a few brief moments. When I returned home I put a copy of this same work on my system. It had none of the emotional involvement of the live performance.
My question, then, is this: What pieces of music have you heard performed live that have had this effect on you? Have you been able to duplicate this effect at home via a recording? (I am sure some of you might think my system needs an upgrade, and I agree, but I will save that for another post.)
My question, then, is this: What pieces of music have you heard performed live that have had this effect on you? Have you been able to duplicate this effect at home via a recording? (I am sure some of you might think my system needs an upgrade, and I agree, but I will save that for another post.)