Sat front row at the symphony...

Avery Fisher Hall in NYC just recently spent millions renovating the acoustics of the hall to make it sound better.  Front row at the NY Philharmonic is way more than the $51 I spent on my ticket.  Try hundreds more.

Many years before sound recordings, they got the idea of putting the woodwinds, brass and percussion in the back, because those instruments are naturally louder than the strings.  If they put them in the front, they would drown out the strings so badly, that you would not be able to hear them.

What was most interesting to me was the Shostakovich 10th.  There were some sections in that piece that were so loud, that it was like I turned up my system as loud as it could go.  I had no idea that an orchestra could play that loud.  I guess the term I am looking for is dynamics.  It can also play extremely soft and quiet.  This is what makes listening to an orchestra live so captivating, IMHO.

I once saw Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers in New York, just before he died.  He used dynamics in his band, the only time I've ever heard a jazz ensemble play soft and loud.