I haven't been to the Toronto Symphony Orchestra (TSO) in probably over a decade. Do they now play the national anthem at the beginning of every performance? I wasn't expecting it and I couldn't find anything written about it on their website or in the programme so it threw me for a loop when the conductor came out and then immediately cued up the orchestra to stand and start playing. And then the audience scrambling to get to their seats a measure or so in. I mean, it was lovely to hear the piece beautifully played, but I did think through the logistics of this. Anyway, something to consider.
At some point during the concert, I also starting thinking about the learned etiquette or culture of (classical music) performances. Knowing that applause is reserved for the end of a piece (as opposed to, for example, the end of each movement of a concerto). That a standing ovation seems to be common practice for soloists and at the end of a concert. I don't think I'm knowledgeable and experienced enough to know if they are always warranted, but I'm also not making any statements about the quality of this particular performance. But I do also wonder the typical knowledge base of audience members and would assume that while there would be folks who are knowledgeable/experienced enough to make an appropriate judgment, there are others who don't. I can imagine there are folks that are also follow the crowd's response. And do soloists always come prepared with pieces for encores - is this now a standard expectation and/or part of the culture? Does it come hand in hand with the standing ovation phenomenon? Are audiences trying to get more bang for their buck?
I started thinking about the accessibility of such performances. Who attends these concerts? What is the demographic? How do parents introduce their children to classical music and/or this etiquette/culture? What efforts to organizations take on this front? (I remember taking a field trip to Roy Thompson Hall - including being encouraged/allowed to play a Bach piece on their organ; I remember getting handouts and activities targeted to kids from a performance; I remember benefiting from TSOUNDCHECK.) I know that my parents were very deliberate with the experiences that I was afforded as a child. And the literal investment that it entailed. I am so grateful.
I started thinking about what I would do to if introducing someone to their 'world'. I started thinking about the benefits of sitting in different areas of the concert hall and what might be more/less visible. (Note: if I go to a concert with a pianist, I have a preferred sitting location.)
I had forgotten about the amount of stars that exist in Roy Thompson Hall. The expedition to the women's washroom was enlightening (they are plentiful, but a set up that is not necessarily intuitive).
Anyway, can you tell that I can have an active mind and that, while the performance itself was enjoyable, my mind still wandered to various places?
Here are the concert details from the TSO website (pasting here because who knows if the actual page will disappear after the season is over).
***
Eva Ollikainen and acclaimed pianist Mao Fujita bring the full range of emotion to Brahms’s stormy Piano Concerto No. 1, followed by Stravinsky’s The Firebird, a spellbinding work that bursts with vivid orchestral colours, transporting listeners to a fantastical realm of daring heroes, enchanted princesses, and otherworldly magic.
Eva Ollikainen, conductor
Mao Fujita, piano
Brahms: Piano Concerto No. 1
Arvo Pärt: Symphony No. 1 “Polyphonic”
Stravinsky: Suite from The Firebird (1919 revision)
