My Dive into Classical Music: My First Concert Experience
- Andrew Moore
- Dec 10, 2019
- 3 min read
I’ve been to plenty of concerts throughout my lifetime, but never a classical music concert. When I entered Whitmore Recital Hall on a Thursday night I was immediately struck by the differences of venue. Everything was well lit, with padded seats and a scattering of people all over the room. A laptop sat in the middle of the room on a pedestal with Facebook live open. Someone approached a friend and I and asked if we could help them in going live on Facebook so that people online could view the concert. We helped out and soon the laptop was running a couple of minutes before the lights dimmed for the show.
David Fazekas, a tenor, was accompanied by Kendra Franks on piano. Both donned formal attire as they entered the stage, Franks sitting down at the piano and Fazekas standing right next to it. The two immediately launched into an upbeat and bouncy song, with dainty piano notes dancing in the air as Fazekas' voice filled the room, speaking in German. It was “Futtreise” by Hugo Wolf, an Austrian composer of the late 1800s. Fazekas smiled as he delivered the song, animating his face to match the tone of the piece. His voice contrasted the high notes of the piano by staying in the lower to middle ranges of pitch.
The first set of songs were all entirely in German, a harsher language with cutting consonants and lower vowels. Besides the very first song, most of the songs sung were more dramatic and darker, highlighting the rougher nature of the language. Words often felt heavy when Fazekas sang them, lingering and cutting through the air with harsh consonants.
I assumed the audience would clap at the end of each song, like a normal concert. But I assumed entirely wrong. There were designated times to clap, marked by the spaces on the program sheet. At the end of the applause, Fazekas and Franks would exit the stage for a brief moment, presumably to get some water or a breath and reenter with a smile.
The next songs were Spanish which differed from the harsh German. The pace was noticeably slower, with more drawn-out vowels. Oftentimes, the piano would punch into the vocals in moments of extreme emotion. Emotion was a big theme in this section, with an abundance of facial expressions from Fazekas.
After an intermission came the section of Elizabethan songs, followed by a selection of songs that seemed to come from plays or performances. The songs differed, some playful and some very dark, showcasing the broad abilities of Fazekas. Specifically, with the performance songs, Fazekas moved around the stage, which he hadn’t previously, following the actions of what he was saying, a technique which accentuated the lyrics in the song.
I found myself often feeling anxious throughout the concert. There was an implied pressure not only on the performers but also on the audience. I felt guilty as I tried to quietly shuffle papers to follow along on the song we were on. I popped cough drops to deal with my persistent cough so that I wouldn’t disrupt the performance. I had to pay very close attention to when I would express emotion and pleasure at what I just heard. To me, that killed the whole experience.
I go to concerts to feel something and be moved, but also to interact with the people around me. If I think a piece is incredible, I do not want to wait for two songs later to give the performer applause, I want to let them know in the moment. The classical concert seemed to lose my interest because I lacked a connection to the performers, and it was not their fault. I feel like the classical concert is designed for this experience, but it’s one I didn’t find myself enjoying.
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