As an educated listener...

[m1469]

As an educated listener, what do you find yourself listening/looking for in a live performance?

1.   What is your general expectation upon buying a ticket?

2.   What is your general attitude upon entering that hall?

3.   If you do not know that repertoire personally, do you study before you go?

4.   What do you hope to learn?

5.   Are you looking for positives or negatives?

6.   Are you ever satisfied?


7.  What attracts you to purchase the ticket in the first place? (repertoire, performer, location.. etc.)

8.   (Anything else you may wish to add?)
 

Truly Honest Replies are GREATLY appreciated!

Thanks,
m1469 Fox

[musicsdarkangel]

I don't want to get to the point to where all I do is analyze pianists.

I just judge on how much it appeals to me, and I do admit, dynamics as well as technique applies.

[galonia]

1. When I buy a ticket, I am hoping for an enjoyable time - I look for value for money i.e. if it's a pianist I think is good and the tickets are reasonably priced.  Or if it's someone who is unknown, but the tickets can't be outrageously expensive.

2. Usually when I enter the hall, I tend to be very excited and keen to be entertained, educated, and enthralled.  But I'm rather excitable so I'm almost always excited.

3. I always intend to - but usually am too lazy to!!!

4. Mostly I just want to experience how others carry out a performance.

5. I don't consciously look for either, but if there's something I particularly like, or dislike, then I'll remember.

6. Yes.

7. In Sydney, location is seldom a consideration... if you want to hear a particular performer, or the performance of a particular work, then you just have to go wherever it's being performed.

8. Just wish I had more time and money to attend more performances!  I have compared ticket prices of performances in Sydney and they're heaps more expensive than overseas!  A real pity.  Plus so many musicians don't come to Australia because it's so far away.  Any great pianists out there take note - we here in Sydney want you to play for us!!!

[anda]

1.   What is your general expectation upon buying a ticket?

i'm quite privileged, i don't have to buy tickets

2.   What is your general attitude upon entering that hall?

i prefer not knowing anything about the performer - this way i know for sure i'm not biased. i go hoping i'll leave moved, impressed.

3.   If you do not know that repertoire personally, do you study before you go?

never. if i never heard the work before, i'll document after the concert.

4.   What do you hope to learn?

nothing in particular. if there's anything to learn, i'll take that and be grateful for it - anything at all.

5.   Are you looking for positives or negatives?

depends. usually, neither - especially if i don't know the performer. but if i do, i tend to be biased and look for the negatives (if i know that performer to be a poor soloist, and then it's quite easy for s/he to get me saying "all things considered, it was better than i expected") or for positives (if i know the performer to be good, and then it's easy to get disappointed if the performance isn't as good as i expected it to be) - so, in a way, i guess i'm more tolerant towards poor soloists.

6.   Are you ever satisfied?

yes, but that doesn't happen often. i guess i can count on my fingers the live performances that "satisfied" me this year.

7.  What attracts you to purchase the ticket in the first place? (repertoire, performer, location.. etc.)

any of these. especially the repertoire and secondly the performer. i don't care much where the concert is, if i'm interested in the programme or the soloist/s, i'll go.

8.   (Anything else you may wish to add?)

this is a particular thing of mine - i don't say it's good or bad, i just do this: i judge performers (and especially female performers) before they start playing by the picture they choose to put on the poster/programme/etc., and also by the way they dress. a tacky dress, or a corny picture (the pianist lying "romantically" over the keyboard dressed in a stripeless red dress, or a violonist barefoot embracing the violin lying on a red velvet rag, and stuff like that) are a sure sign of a poor taste and lack of decency. and usually that can be also heard in the performance.   99% of the cases i was right.

[Rach3]

As an educated listener, what do you find yourself listening/looking for in a live performance?

1.   What is your general expectation upon buying a ticket?

To hear music.

2.   What is your general attitude upon entering that hall?

Very generally, I think eagerness and excitment, as most music-listening does not involve [sometimes famous] pianists playing live in front of you.

3.   If you do not know that repertoire personally, do you study before you go?

Honestly, no, I don't, unless it happens to be something I anticipate months in advance... if it's a piece I know well, I might re-listen to a recording beforehand, to be more aware of what goes on in it.

4.   What do you hope to learn?

Nothing really.

5.   Are you looking for positives or negatives?

If I'm cynical I look for negatives, figuring out in detail exactly why so-and-so orchestra is inferior to so-and-so and where they are interpretively wrong makes me feel better about myself. But most of the time it's [the performers'] superior musicality which instructs me.

6.   Are you ever satisfied?

Only when I don't expect it. Surprises are fun.

7.  What attracts you to purchase the ticket in the first place? (repertoire, performer, location.. etc.)

As a student it's anything that I can get my hands on. Repertoire is a major excitment factor, as is performer. Location is nice... well, I mean Avery Fisher hall has disappointing acoustics, I guess maybe if you reword the question as 'acoustics of the performance hall', than yes that's the foremost consideration.
But yes I am very biased about the performer, &c. even before they start playing...

8.   (Anything else you may wish to add?)

I'll come back to this....

[Tash]

1.   that i will get my money's worth

2.   very excited! the first thing i do is go buy a program to see what i'm hearing (even though i generally already know) and identify what i've heard, and if i haven't, then am like oooh wonder what that's gonna sound like

3.   i'll read the little info they have in the program whilst waiting for it to start, and then re read it after i've heard the piece

4.   to increase the amount of repertoire i've listened to, and start being able to compare different musicians in their interpretations, and increase my musical knowledge on pieces and composers

5.   positives, however i do look for things i thought could have been better, but that's only in pieces i've heard before, but usuallu i'm just wrapped up in the experience and just get carried away with it

6.   yes most of the time, i only get disappointed if the pianist starts looking towards the audience- that's really annoying


7.  What attracts you to purchase the ticket in the first place? repertoire first, then performer, both in my efforts to increase my musical knowledge

8.   i agree with galonia- pianists come to australia!

[xvimbi]

1.   Honestly: a good musical experience

2.   I'm usually tired after a day of work, so my general attitude is "let's get this over with". Once inside the hall, however, I usually wake up and I'm all excited. Also, I am worried about who is going to sit next to me and if I will have enough leg room (can't enjoy a concert if I have to contort myself).

3.   I do study the material to find out when I am supposed to applaud Seriously, I found I enjoy the concert more if I don't study too much, otherwise I go into the concert with pre-conceived notions.

4.   If I can make it, I attend the pre-concert lectures. They are usually very good and definitely enhance the experience. It's a bit nerdy, though. Other than that, I am looking forward to learn about music from unknown composers.

5.   I am generally looking for positives, but I am definitely noticing negatives, and they do have a great impact on how I enjoy the concert overall. For example, I hate it when soloists play cadenzas that are clearly not in the style of the piece. I don't like show-offs, and I don't particularly like it when it is clear that the musicians are not putting in their best efforts.

6.   Only occasionally.

7.  I have season tickets to the Symphony. For recitals and other concerts, time and price affect my decisions. Sometimes, I go to see a "legend" (you never know how long they are going to stick around).

8.   I am terribly distracted by inconsiderate people, i.e. those who come too late, constantly drop their playbills, talk during the music, cough without making any effort to dampen the noise, people with breathing apparatuses. This can ruin whole pieces for me. For these reasons, I often enjoy a good recording more than a live experience. However, then there are those performances where I don't register any of that, and then I know that I had a really good time.

[m1469]

Thank you very much to all whom have responded.  This is quite helpful for me.  I would actually love to continue to hear from many more people, if you would be so kind  (even if you don't consider yourself as an "educated" listener, you don't have to divulge to anyone  , I just want to know what people are thinking about these days as it relates to this subject).

Thanks,
m1469 Fox

[Bob]

I guess I attend concerts for enjoyment or more for "study" if it's something I should know because I play piano.  So there are different expectations.

As an educated listener, what do you find yourself listening/looking for in a live performance?

1.   What is your general expectation upon buying a ticket?
If I'm paying money, it better be good.  If it's more academic, I want a good overall expericence -- good performance, interesting music, learning something new.  If it's for enjoyment mainly, I'm a little more free on the spending and then I want enjoyment.

2.   What is your general attitude upon entering that hall?
My general mindset is 'find a seat, don't look stupid or get in anyone's way.'  Usually I'm anticipating the performance, checking out the stage, flipping through the program.

3.   If you do not know that repertoire personally, do you study before you go?
If I have time, if it's a well-known performer, if I can get my hands on the score or recording, if I want to get more out of the performance....  I think I've only ever studied the score maybe 2-3 times before a performance.  It definitely changes the listening experience.

4.   What do you hope to learn?
A lot can be reviewing pieces, reviving them in my mind -- the composer, the style, that specific piece.  I want to know more of the repertoire, pick up ideas about performing, get the live sound in my ear - the stuff you can't get off a recording.

5.   Are you looking for positives or negatives?
I usually don't have goals, maybe I should.  I just take it all in.  With a world class performer, I focus on their sound a lot.  If I hear a recording of them afterward, sometimes I can hear the stuff I was first able to hear during the live performance.  It's like the recording is only a slice of their real sound.  Mistakes distract me, but if the performer plays above my ears or is poetic enough, I stop hearing mistakes and can get something on a higher level.  Those are more enjoyable concerts.  If the performer comes across as high and mighty and better than you in terms of attitude, I might purposely start listening for errors (and I will find them, they're always there in some way).  If it's a world class performer, I need them to prove it in the first piece -- again with the sound, the overall performance. 


6.   Are you ever satisfied?
Rarely.  Maybe 5% of all the concerts and recitals I've ever attended have been really satisfying.  There's a lot that goes into though, and I'm guessing some of it is me.  It's hard to dazzle the audience when they sit down exhausted.

7.  What attracts you to purchase the ticket in the first place? (repertoire, performer, location.. etc.)
Yes.  All that.  And what works with my schedule, the price, etc.

8.   (Anything else you may wish to add?)
I think the trick is for the performer to get the listener involved in the music and to get that listener so into the music that they stop hearing the tiny mistakes and flaws.

Truly Honest Replies are GREATLY appreciated!

Thanks,
m1469 Fox

[ahmedito]

Oh WOW!!! what a great idea. MARKET RESEARCH!!! Thanks m1469.... here are my answers to the survey:




1.   What is your general expectation upon buying a ticket?
I haven't bought a ticket in ages sorry... they're usually free.

2.   What is your general attitude upon entering that hall?
I sit down, I look at the program and Im impatient for it to start.

3.   If you do not know that repertoire personally, do you study before you go?
Rarely.

4.   What do you hope to learn?
Anything I can.

5.   Are you looking for positives or negatives?
Yes.

6.   Are you ever satisfied?
Definately yes.

7.  What attracts you to purchase the ticket in the first place? (repertoire, performer, location.. etc.)
Performer and repertoire.

8.   (Anything else you may wish to add?)
 This survey has been very helpful for me so far.

[Regulus Medtner]

1.   What is your general expectation upon buying a ticket?

The hope that the audience would be in really good health (cough-wise). I also expect to get good seats, so generally I buy my tickets early.


2.   What is your general attitude upon entering that hall?

Boredom until the program starts.


3.   If you do not know that repertoire personally, do you study before you go?

Almost never.


4.   What do you hope to learn?

Nothing. I hope to listen to (at least) good music making.


5.   Are you looking for positives or negatives?

No, they both usually slap you in the face upon appearence.



6.   Are you ever satisfied?

Usually yes, but almost never entirely.


7.  What attracts you to purchase the ticket in the first place? (repertoire, performer, location.. etc.)

Repertoire and performer.

[Bacfokievrahms]

1.   What is your general expectation upon buying a ticket?

I generally expect to have a pretty good time. I have a pretty good time doing anything though usually because I carry a notepad around and write lots of notes on what's going on.

2.   What is your general attitude upon entering that hall?

My attitude is one of awareness, I get a good look and feel for the place and see if there's anything out of place (like maybe there's a footpedal on somebody's face, etc.)

3.   If you do not know that repertoire personally, do you study before you go?

Depends on what my interests were leading up to the concert.

4.   What do you hope to learn?

Not really looking to learn anything but I end up learning things.

5.   Are you looking for positives or negatives?

Anything, negatives are fun to write about though.

6.   Are you ever satisfied?

I'm pretty satisifed most times.

7.  What attracts you to purchase the ticket in the first place? (repertoire, performer, location.. etc.)

usually repertoire or location

[lostinidlewonder]

The main idea behind me buying tickets to watch live peformances is to see/hear music being created. It is just totally different from listening to a CD recording. Live peformances to me are a little mystical in the fact that it is music being created, given brith to right before your eyes/ears. That is what i look for when i go to a concert. To just enjoy the fact that music is being created and produced in front of me, with all the human imprefect qualities surrounding it all.

I think it is a good idea to research the music before hand, even though i dont do that myself. If it is a good peformance you will not need to do that, the peformer will do that for you and make it entertaining as he/she does so. Even though im a professional musician and love the piano to death, i literally fall asleep if i attend a concert where the peformer just plays and says nothing. You might as well listen to a CD.

You shouldn't ever go into the hall expecting to be impressed or depressed. You shouldn't ever critic the pefromer until it has all finshed. If you start thinking like that before hand you totally waste your money. You have to push down all the critiques you may have or what you disagree with in the music and try to absorb what the peformer is presenting, even if it is totally different to what you are use to. If we sit down totally as just a listener, we will appreciate everything we hear a lot more. But if we start thinking too much and question what we are hearing, we should wonder maybe we should be attending university master classes where the forum promotes that.

I use to be like that, always critic what i hear and totally tear apart peoples ideas. But in the end i thought what is the point. We will never be totally happy with how someone plays because they are simply not us. Start appreciating music for its variety and different forms and paths, and it opens a new/interesting musical experience. I think then you can really appreciate what to you is absolutely amazing and what is just entertaining and what is just crap. You have to know how to digest crap as well as the good stuff, digesting crap increases your understanding and appreciation, something i think we all need to improve.

[Bob]

Another thing I'm looking for is to just have my ears "cleansed" and hear that live sound.  And that really doesn't require any special type of performer.  True some have better tone than others, but if I want to enjoy the live sound, than I will.