# Getting to know a piece in preparation for a concert?



## EvaBaron (Jan 3, 2022)

Right now I’m going to the Royal Concertgebouw to see Sibelius’ violin concerto and Tchaikovsky’s 4th symphony. Sibelius I already know very well and the Tchaikovsky not so well. Then in 3 weeks I’m going to see gardiner conduct Brahms 2nd symphony and 1st piano concerto. My question is should I listen to the Brahms pieces before going to the concert so as to increase my enjoyment of the concert or is it more ‘magical’ to listen to a great piece for the very first time in concert?


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## mikeh375 (Sep 7, 2017)

No harm in a little pre-concert orientation Eva I suppose. It might be exciting though to hear it as you suggest - a personal premiere for you, nice.


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## 4chamberedklavier (12 mo ago)

How do you approach pieces you're familiar with? If you're like me, then either option would do. If there's a work I like, then I enjoy it much more when I'm already familiar with it. If it's a work that's just "okay", then I usually enjoy it more on the first listen or after not hearing it for a while.


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## Krummhorn (Feb 18, 2007)

I prefer to listen to pieces for the first time ... in that manner I haven't arrived at the concert expecting something that another orchestra/conductor did when it doesn't happen at the one I attend. 

Same is true with solo performances ... as a professional organist I do not listen to works that are going to be played ahead of time, rather to enjoy better the interpretation of another organist in his or her presentation. If you send 10 organists into a room with the same piece you are going to hear 10 different interpretations with varied tempo, registration (sounds used), articulation and poise.


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## Heck148 (Oct 27, 2016)

EvaBaron said:


> ...My question is should I listen to the Brahms pieces before going to the concert so as to increase my enjoyment of the concert or is it more ‘magical’ to listen to a great piece for the very first time in concert?


Either way will work...it's nice to be familar with the works, but hearing it live as a first experience is fun, too. Have fun...


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

I would read up on the music: who was the composer, what was going on at the time he wrote it, what was the initial reaction, etc. Maybe even read a simple analysis of the music - the form, the tunes, etc. Listening to a great work without any preparation can be bewildering without at least some preparation.


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## Monsalvat (11 mo ago)

I like to prepare a lot for concerts and performances but it shouldn't be a necessity if the performance itself is good enough.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

mbhaub said:


> I would read up on the music: who was the composer, what was going on at the time he wrote it, what was the initial reaction, etc. Maybe even read a simple analysis of the music - the form, the tunes, etc. Listening to a great work without any preparation can be bewildering without at least some preparation.


I agree that either way will work, but I have encountered much great music upon first hearing without any preparation. In fact, the pleasure can be enhanced by being a bolt out of the blue. It was this way for me when I first heard the Brahms PC #1 and the Prokofiev PCs 1, 2, and 3. Revelations.


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## haziz (Sep 15, 2017)

I do try to listen to the works ahead of time, but often don't have time or am not organized enough to always do this. I usually select my concert attendance based on the program, so some of the program is already a favorite composition of mine. Obviously that is not always possible, or sometimes I am very familiar with one half of the program but not the other half.

If I do have access to the program, or occasionally have a book/material that covers the composition I will try to listen, but again I am often not organized enough to consistently do this.


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## golfer72 (Jan 27, 2018)

A lot of works I like the more I hear them so I would say prep is a good thing especially from certain composers


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## EvaBaron (Jan 3, 2022)

Well I just had the Sibelius and Tchaikovsky concert and while the entire time with Sibelius I was thinking this is awesome, but I do like it better the way I know on the recording. With the Tchaikovsky I was constantly thinking this is so awesome and also at some sections so beautiful. I knew the fanfare at the beginning and the main theme from the second movement and that the 3rd movement was pizzicato. But the rest I didn’t know like how it ends and it was awesome. I think I will read up on the Brahms works but I won’t listen to them. I am actually familiar with the first movement of the Brahms 2nd symphony but that’s it


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## Botschaft (Aug 4, 2017)

I would advice you to listen to the Brahms works at least once before the concert. They are difficult works.


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

I always listen to a piece a day or so before to refamiliarise myself with it unless I've already played it recently.


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## larold (Jul 20, 2017)

For me the best concert experiences are those with music I either don't know at all, don't know well, or don't know well enough to determine what is coming next. Also the sound coming from most phones, music players and other devices is superior to what you will hear in most concert halls. So I say I am unsure if pre-listening is a help or hindrance. The better you know and like a piece the more easily you may be disappointed in a concert performance, also.


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## dko22 (Jun 22, 2021)

If I don't know a work, it's most likely to be by a fairly modern composer in which case there may not be a recording anyway. It it's an unfamiliar work by a composer I already know quite well, the odds are it isn't up to much but pleasant surprises do happen. If it's a work by a composer whose work I'm not in general particularly fond of, I'll listen and hope for the best (needless to say in this case there will almost certainly be something more appealing on the programme). I can't think of a case where I'd listen before the concert. On the other hand, if the work turns out to be a pleasant surprise, I will try and find a recording to listen to afterwards. 

It goes without saying that the average concert performance is not as good as the finest recordings and I will avoid even my favourite works when conducted by one of the many (often superstars) who I know will make a complete hash of it. Little known conductors I'll always give a chance.


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

I prepare for concerts by trying to hear the works that will be played when they are likely to be in an unfamiliar "language". So, I don't do it for, say, a Mozart piece or a Bartok one even if they are not works I have heard before but I might do it for a composer I am not very familiar with.


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## Heck148 (Oct 27, 2016)

dko22 said:


> ....It goes without saying that the average concert performance is not as good as the finest recordings....


Not exactly sure what you mean here...but for me - <<LIVE MUSIC IS BEST>>
as good as recordings can be, they are reproductions, facsimiles of the real thing, the actual event...in the live concert hall we get the "Real McCoy" what actually happened....with recordings we may get spot-miking, knob- twiddling, close miking, all of which may unnaturally alter or distort the real sound.....
Perhaps the most blatant example of this was with London/Decca in the 60s, 70s...esp the Mehta/LAPO recordings, but other venues as well.
There are, if course some works where recordings simply cannot do justice to the live experience - ie - Mahler Sym #8, Berlioz Requiem, Aho Sym #12, etc, in which the spatial effects are difficult to reproduce.


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## progmatist (Apr 3, 2021)

A compelling reason for me to familiarize myself is so I'm not the only rube applauding between movements.


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## Highwayman (Jul 16, 2018)

Brahms 2 and PC1 in a single concert? That would be an emotional roller-coaster.


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## dko22 (Jun 22, 2021)

Heck148 said:


> Not exactly sure what you mean here...but for me - <<LIVE MUSIC IS BEST>>
> as good as recordings can be, they are reproductions, facsimiles of the real thing, the actual event...in the live concert hall we get the "Real McCoy" what actually happened....with recordings we may get spot-miking, knob- twiddling, close miking, all of which may unnaturally alter or distort the real sound.....
> Perhaps the most blatant example of this was with London/Decca in the 60s, 70s...esp the Mehta/LAPO recordings, but other venues as well.
> There are, if course some works where recordings simply cannot do justice to the live experience - ie - Mahler Sym #8, Berlioz Requiem, Aho Sym #12, etc, in which the spatial effects are difficult to reproduce.


I mean interpretatively first of all. Naturally a live performance is a completely different experience and, as you say, certain massive pieces (I'd add for instance the _Leningrad _to your list) only have the full effect in the concert hall.

Actually yesterday was a good example of my practice. The concert featured the violin concerto by Weinberg. Now I know more works by Weinberg than any other composer, simply because he wrote so many symphonies and quartets. However, I'd never listened to his violin concerto as I have something of an aversion to this form and am indifferent to or even dislike most examples. So here was indeed a pleasant surprise -- a work in which empty bombast and pointless virtuosity were almost entirely absent and sensitively performed by the award-winning Roth to boot.


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## EvaBaron (Jan 3, 2022)

larold said:


> For me the best concert experiences are those with music I either don't know at all, don't know well, or don't know well enough to determine what is coming next. Also the sound coming from most phones, music players and other devices is superior to what you will hear in most concert halls. So I say I am unsure if pre-listening is a help or hindrance. The better you know and like a piece the more easily you may be disappointed in a concert performance, also.


This is true, with the Mendelssohn I was thinking that there were a lot of details missing and I’m used to a late 50’s Heifetz recording so even then it was still kinda disappointing. But with the Tchaikovsky I was just constantly in awe and I was surprised by a lot of moments in a good way.


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## EvaBaron (Jan 3, 2022)

Highwayman said:


> Brahms 2 and PC1 in a single concert? That would be an emotional roller-coaster.


Yes and Gardiner is conducting so I’m really looking forward to it. A while ago I tried listening to Brahms PC2 and wasn’t blown away by any means. Not really surprised because with most major works after 1, 2, 3 and maybe 4 listens I really like the work and it might become a favourite, like Beethoven VC.


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

I've got a gig on Wednesday night so I played a (Brahms) recording by that particular quartet, before, just to remind myself how good they are. Lol. Naw, it's standard practice for me to play the music or the quartet I'm off to see, tbh. For example when I went to see the Brodsky Quartet a few months back I played a recent Brodskys disc (different material than they played) and then a recording of the quartets I was going to see (DATM and Shosty 6) by other ensembles. I'm looking forward to hearing the Dudoks playing Haydn on gut strings on Wednesday. That particular Haydn quartet will be played in the morning, on my way to work (not by the ensemble I'm going to see). I just like to get myself in the mood.


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## EvaBaron (Jan 3, 2022)

Merl said:


> I've got a gig on Wednesday night so I played a (Brahms) recording by that particular quartet, before, just to remind myself how good they are. Lol. Naw, it's standard practice for me to play the music or the quartet I'm off to see, tbh. For example when I went to see the Brodsky Quartet a few months back I played a recent Brodskys disc (different material than they played) and then a recording of the quartets I was going to see (DATM and Shosty 6) by other ensembles. I'm looking forward to hearing the Dudoks playing Haydn on gut strings on Wednesday. That particular Haydn quartet will be played in the morning, on my way to work (not by the ensemble I'm going to see). I just like to get myself in the mood.


Difference is though that you know those works and I don’t


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

EvaBaron said:


> Difference is though that you know those works and I don’t


True. But even if I didn't I'd be playing them from a streaming site (or via YouTube) beforehand.


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## GraemeG (Jun 30, 2009)

If it's a special event for me and a piece I don't know, I'll pre-listen. Pre-pandemic (travel times!) when I bought a ticket to a great orchestra, if they were playing something unfamiliar, I thought it better not to come cold to the work. I bought a ticket to the Berlin PO playing Hindemith's _Mathis de Maler_ which I didn't know, so I did some advance listening. Also, about the last concert I heard pre-pandemic was Rattle conduction the LSO in Messiaen's _Eclairs sur l'au dela_ (also in Berlin); that piece I also didn't know at all and thought it worth studying for. Definitely worth doing. I wouldn't bother for something minor, or maybe even if the performers are a 'regular' for me.

I think the Messiaen might have been the largest orchestra I've ever seen on stage. I counted around 126 players; when there's a part for 3rd Triangle you know you're dealing with something huge...


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## OCEANE (10 mo ago)

mbhaub said:


> I would read up on the music: who was the composer, what was going on at the time he wrote it, what was the initial reaction, etc. Maybe even read a simple analysis of the music - the form, the tunes, etc. Listening to a great work without any preparation can be bewildering without at least some preparation.


I'm a music lover without any professional knowledge of music and I don't think I could understand a complicate large piece in the first listening. For attending concert with large pieces unfamiliar to me, I will definitely prepare myself with their background information and musical structure, etc, to have a better understanding for my appreciation.


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## SONNET CLV (May 31, 2014)

EvaBaron said:


> Right now I’m going to the Royal Concertgebouw to see Sibelius’ violin concerto and Tchaikovsky’s 4th symphony. Sibelius I already know very well and the Tchaikovsky not so well. Then in 3 weeks I’m going to see gardiner conduct Brahms 2nd symphony and 1st piano concerto. My question is should I listen to the Brahms pieces before going to the concert so as to increase my enjoyment of the concert or is it more ‘magical’ to listen to a great piece for the very first time in concert?


I'm not one to advise you on this question, but here's my take on your comment: ...

I tend to attend orchestral concerts (something I do not do as often as others who frequent this Forum) to hear works I know well. I know them well from recordings, generally well-produced recordings played back on quality equipment -- so the experience is a good one. Two of my favorite works are the Sibelius Violin Concerto and the Tchaikovsky 4th Symphony. I would likely enjoy hearing these works together, live in concert. A lot my depend upon who the performers are, too. Still, over the years I find I've selected concerts based largely on the work. Often as a bonus the orchestra will feature a premiere or a work I'm unfamiliar with (usually something relatively new), so I get a chance to hear the piece "for the first time". I've purchased a few recordings after hearing a piece in concert for the first time. (One I think of immediately is _The Shadows of Time_ by Dutilleux, which I first heard in a Pittsburgh Symphony concert in 2008 with Yan Pascal Tortelier on the podium. I attended the concert to hear two blockbusters live: Franck's D Minor Symphony and Ravel's Bolero, two works I virtually know "by heart". The Dutilleux, composed in the mid-1990s, and a work which had previously escaped my ears, proved a bonus for me, but resonated greatly. I have since heard this work several times via the various recordings of it currently in my collection.)

The most recent CD (actually, a SACD) added to my collection (just this past week) is Manfred Honeck's PSO recording (Reference Recordings - FR-741SACD) of Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, recorded live from concerts given June 6-9, 2019, one of which I attended at Heinz Hall for the Performing Arts in Pittsburgh. It was my fourth time hearing the Ninth live in Pittsburgh; the Ninth is, of course, a work I cherish and know well, but which I am always eager to hear one more time live in concert, though I have literally dozens of recordings of the piece in my collection. (That particular concert also featured a double concerto for clarinet and bassoon by Jonathan Leshnoff, a work previously unknown to me but which did not inspire me to rush out and purchase recordings of Leshnoff's music. My Discogs database tells me I have two discs of Leshnoff's music in my collection, and off hand I do not recall any of it by memory. Perhaps it warrants a revisit?)

So, there are many reasons, I suspect, to attend live concerts. I attend to hear music I love, sometimes to hear a certain performer, sometimes to hear I work I have never before heard "live", but I don't select concerts only on the basis of a single "set in stone" factor. Still, I won't shy away from a concert featuring works of which I have great familiarity, especially ones I love. Which means I generally don't have to listen to a work prior to the concert; chances are I know the concert pieces well already! Which is my strong reason for attending the concert in the first place!


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## Captainnumber36 (Jan 19, 2017)

When I was going to lots of Classical Concerts, I always prepared by listening to the works beforehand. That's what I like to do.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

Upon further reflection upon my experiences in first hearing a piece of music that I cherish to this day, I am again struck by my memory of being overwhelmed upon that initial exposure by the magic--I can remember where and when, for instance, I first heard _En Saga, _my first contact with the music of Sibelius. It was an old LP of Anthony Collins, probably with the LSO--the album notes themselves spoke of the wondering reaction of the musical world when _En Saga_ was first heard, that a new voice was coming over the horizon. So I would go to a concert with music new to me without preconceptions.


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## EvaBaron (Jan 3, 2022)

SONNET CLV said:


> I'm not one to advise you on this question, but here's my take on your comment: ...
> 
> I tend to attend orchestral concerts (something I do not do as often as others who frequent this Forum) to hear works I know well. I know them well from recordings, generally well-produced recordings played back on quality equipment -- so the experience is a good one. Two of my favorite works are the Sibelius Violin Concerto and the Tchaikovsky 4th Symphony. I would likely enjoy hearing these works together, live in concert. A lot my depend upon who the performers are, too. Still, over the years I find I've selected concerts based largely on the work. Often as a bonus the orchestra will feature a premiere or a work I'm unfamiliar with (usually something relatively new), so I get a chance to hear the piece "for the first time". I've purchased a few recordings after hearing a piece in concert for the first time. (One I think of immediately is _The Shadows of Time_ by Dutilleux, which I first heard in a Pittsburgh Symphony concert in 2008 with Yan Pascal Tortelier on the podium. I attended the concert to hear two blockbusters live: Franck's D Minor Symphony and Ravel's Bolero, two works I virtually know "by heart". The Dutilleux, composed in the mid-1990s, and a work which had previously escaped my ears, proved a bonus for me, but resonated greatly. I have since heard this work several times via the various recordings of it currently in my collection.)
> 
> ...


Thanks for the story, the performers were very good btw so it was extremely enjoyable. I haven’t listened to much classical music at all. A few examples of extremely good and core repertoire pieces I have never heard include every work of Bach except his violin concertos because I play the double with my teacher, not a single Mahler, Sibelius or bruckner symphony and many more. So good chances are I won’t know a piece before attending any concert


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## Judith (Nov 11, 2015)

I always try to familiarise myself with the music before a concert. Makes the concert much more enjoyable than trying to follow something that is not familiar.


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## agoukass (Dec 1, 2008)

I would say that it really depends. If I'm going to a concert and the piece is one that I know very well, backwards and forwards, inside and out, then I won't listen to it. I will just go to the concert and enjoy it or, if I don't care for the performance, grit my teeth and wait patiently for it to end. 

If the program contains something that is new to me or which I haven't heard before, I will just go to the concert blind and find out whether it is good or not.


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## Chibi Ubu (11 mo ago)

I have always been a CM listener, and as a performer as a high school / college percussionist. I know some pieces really well, but my playlist/knowledge of CM is very small. When I see a concert, it brings back grand memories if I am familiar with the composition. The thoughts I read here are spot on. Thank you all for being here... you are guiding an old guy in the twilight of his years in peace.🎧


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## EvaBaron (Jan 3, 2022)

Well today’s the day. I’m in the tram right now riding towards the Concertgebouw. Until about 4 hours ago I completely forgot the concert so I quickly listened to the 2nd symphony and am listening to the 2nd piano concerto right now, but I won’t finish it in time. Really excited to see Gardiner though and looking forward the hearing thé Concertgebouworkest


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## Merl (Jul 28, 2016)

A week tomorrow Malx and I will be listening to the Pavel Haas Quartet play Janacek's 2nd quartet. I don't think either of us will need a refresher to remember that one. 😃


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