# If you could change 1 thing about the classical concert experience....



## classichick (Oct 18, 2007)

..what would it be?


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## Rachovsky (Jan 5, 2008)

*Dress Casual*

I have always wished that classical concerts could be attended in casual clothes. I have always pictured myself watching a nice big symphony and seeing young people like myself walk in in casual clothes, just wanting to hear a good piece of music. Theres too many rules in classical music. In some instances though, I must admit, dressing formally is a necessity. But if performing at a college or something, I think it would be much smarter to make the dress code more lenient. Just my thoughts.


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## opus67 (Jan 30, 2007)

Rachovsky said:


> I have always wished that classical concerts could be attended in casual clothes. I have always pictures myself conducting a nice big symphony and seeing young people like myself walk in in casual clothes, just wanting to hear a good piece of music.


Here's a start


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## Morigan (Oct 16, 2006)

I never dress formally when I go to the opera or the local symphony orchestra... I just wear nice clothes I guess, like if I were going out downtown or something... I think the formal dress code thing is starting to fade away...


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## anon2k2 (Dec 18, 2007)

I would like it to be much more accessible and open. I don't mean dumbed down to the point of "easy listening", as I already think the general repertoire is constricted to such a limited set of music that it couldn't get more approachable.

What I don't like is the general "white upper-middle class" attitude, look, and feel of the places when I go. That's true of just about anywhere I have attended concerts: Seattle, Portland, L.A., San Francisco, New York, Washington D.C., Boston, Cleveland, Dallas, Atlanta, and on and on and on. Maybe this is not so true in other countries.

I think that classical music is in trouble if it doesn't find ways to attract an audience that is younger and more diverse than the one it is currently serving.


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## shsherm (Jan 24, 2008)

The sad truth in the US and other places where I have attended concerts is the large number of elderly and small number of younger people. However Ballet performances have many younger people often female who may have danced at sometime in their life. I took my own children to some concerts but only my son has any interest and his is limited. I guess we need another Leonard Bernstein to ignite an interest in younger folks. Also budget cuts in education programs often affect access to the arts. More money for education in music and art would possibly bring more young people in to the concert halls.


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## Maxie (Feb 8, 2008)

I think I would love to see more younger people too. I was in Berlin last summer to hear the Philharmoniker for the first time in my life. I was pleasantly surprised to see more people in their twenties there, when I go to Amsterdam I mostly see elderly people.

The day before the concert in Berlin I also went to see a performance by high school students in the hall at the entry of the Philharmonie. They had done a project around Weill's _Die Sieben Todsünden_ (the piece the Philharmoniker were performing) and performed it on the first day the piece was going to be played. I think this is a good way of introducing young people to music that isn't in the category 'easy listening'.

My father, who teaches music at a high school, goes with his students (16-17 year olds, who do have interest in Classical music, by the way. In the Netherlands you can choose Music as a subject in school) to the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam every year. They get a tour of the building, get to attend a rehearsal of the Concertgebouw Orchestra (Oh my! I wish I could join them!) and the evening there's the concert. The music they get to hear isn't easy listening either, mostly it's work done by modern composers. Nevertheless the students are always mightly impressed at the end of the day. I think you should at least once in your life hear one of the great orchestra's 'live' to come to appreciate the music in all it's greatness.

I think we must have more of these educational programms at schools. And next to that, I also think parents have a task to at least introduce their children to classical music. I know that this would only work in an ideal world, because you all know as well as I do that most people don't care about classical music at all.

And Rachovsky, you want to dress casually? Come to Amsterdam! It's not like I myself am going to sit in the concert hall in a pair of jeans, but people do.  So I think that what is 'casual' for you would do perfectly over here.


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## anon2k2 (Dec 18, 2007)

Yes, I do think that the US has done itself a disservice in cutting away most cultural education for the sake of "raising basic education." It basically guarantees the long slow death of classical music in the US.

As for formal clothing, I see it disappearing in almost all aspects of society. I wear suits and ties at work, but it is increasingly difficult to find them anywhere except specialty stores. A large department store that I frequent had 5-10 times the selection of suits hanging on the rack as early as 5 years ago than they do today.

My position at work is the CFO/COO of a pretty large company ($100M US annual sales) and even my boss, the CEO doesn't wear suits often, nor do many of the people we meet with from other companies.


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## R-F (Feb 12, 2008)

I'm 15 years old and try to go to Classical Concerts as often as possible, which sadly arn't very frequent where I live. It is the case that whenever I go, I'm usually one of the only young people there, which does make me feel a little uncomfortable during intervals when I don't know anyone. Still, the thing I'd change would be the chairs. I've yet to go to a concert where I think I could call the chairs comfy!


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## chantiandeanie (Feb 12, 2008)

I have yet to attend a proper classical concert but I plan to make it a regular thing... I will be wearing cammo pants and a slayer shirt.


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## Guest (Feb 14, 2008)

So long as you are tidy and clean it doesn’t matter, remember others want to enjoy it as well as you so, just be considerate. It is all casual dress at New Zealand concerts.


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## EricIsAPolarBear (Aug 18, 2007)

I agree with the point above about more younger people at concerts. I went to my first classical concert last year and I don't remember seeing anybody my age except for the ushers. This might just be Scotland though.


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## Erik Helm (Dec 31, 2007)

*formal, casual dress, and casualty dress*



anon2k2 said:


> Yes, I do think that the US has done itself a disservice in cutting away most cultural education for the sake of "raising basic education." It basically guarantees the long slow death of classical music in the US.
> 
> As for formal clothing, I see it disappearing in almost all aspects of society. I wear suits and ties at work, but it is increasingly difficult to find them anywhere except specialty stores. A large department store that I frequent had 5-10 times the selection of suits hanging on the rack as early as 5 years ago than they do today.
> 
> My position at work is the CFO/COO of a pretty large company ($100M US annual sales) and even my boss, the CEO doesn't wear suits often, nor do many of the people we meet with from other companies.


I agree that formal dress standards have seen a steady decrease since the 1960's.
Just having returned from a concert, I would like to add the odd comments.
While not necessary to wear a suit, or even a tie for that matter, how one dresses is a part of how others view a person. It also can indicate respect or disrespect for self and others. Most concert halls are casual these days, but I often see young people (especially guys) dressed in what can best be described as "casualty". 
Dressing in slouchy clothes with holes has no place in a concert hall IMHO. Call me an elitist snob, but if dress standards get any lower all our kids will be running around in gunny sacks.


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## Krummhorn (Feb 18, 2007)

My wife and I usher for a local university concert hall. For the most part, people attend the venues casually dressed ... only for the really top notch programs (Itzakh Perlman or the St. Olaf Choir) did people show up in ties and/or suit coats. For the most part, people wear what is comfortable and that is acceptable in the current day and age.


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## bartleby (Feb 16, 2008)

I don't know of any classical music venue that actually has a dress code, so people are free to wear what they want. But a lot of people look forward to attending an opera or concert as something special that they do, and part of their enjoyment of the evening or afternoon is dressing nicely and being around people who are dressed nicely. Nothing wrong with that. And if such "peer pressure" is the source of the "dress code," then maybe there is something to it.

Also, the de facto dress code for the audience is not likely to change in isolation. At least in the major cities, the musicians still wear formal attire, and I do not think the audience would be pleased if the musicians came out in jeans. And the concert halls, even the newest ones, are designed in a grand manner--one that enourages a patron to, at the very least, throw a sport jacket over that open-collar shirt and jeans. The ticket prices also can be pretty fancy.

And I am not so sure that all of this should change (well, except for the ticket prices, but that's not likely to change). Of course only the music should matter, but how we perceive the music is a function, to some extent, of the circumstances in which we listen. I think that an audience in which the men are wearing suits and the women are wearing suits or dresses is an audience that, compared to an audience in khakis or jeans, is, indeed, a little less comfortable, but also just a little more alert, a little more on the edge of their seats, a little more ready to experience something special that's about to happen in front of them. Dressing up for a concert is just a way to remind ourselves that we are going to a special place to experience something special--indeed, we hope, something extraordinary. And efforts to expand the audience are more likely to succeed, I think, by selling (in the best sense of that word) the extraordinary experience of classical music to more and younger people, not by trying to convince them that's its not such a big deal.


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## Guest (Feb 20, 2008)

One thing that I have noticed over the past couple of years is that at symphonic concerts the audience is applauding between movements, this could be due to first time goers or could be a return to what used to be the norm, this does not happen at chamber music concerts [thank goodness] which tends to make me think that chamber audiences are a little bit more experienced.


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## bartleby (Feb 16, 2008)

*What About Applause at the Opera?*

I have not heard an audience applaud between movements, but the opera audiences, at least at the Met, are the most egregious applauders in New York. They applaud for sets during overtures, they step on the orchestra at the end of arias and duets, they even applaud where there is no break in the music, and, in general, they applaud like mad at every opportunity regardless of the quality of the performance. But I think there are at least three redeeming reasons. First, they are a generally good-natured lot who want to enjoy their night at the opera. Second, most of their friends do not go the opera and think going is a bit odd, so they would feel foolish having to tell their non-opera going friends (and themselves) that they spent all that money and saw a bad show. They want to tell their friends that they had a wonderful experience. Third, I think they are trying to emulate what they have been told is a European tradition at the opera. So, although all the applause at the Met can be annoying, I think the audience, if a bit unsophisticated, is, as we say around here, "good people."


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## GothicBard (Jan 8, 2008)

I think that opera is seen as more acceptable than instrumental classical, though. More people are eager to clap because more people attend that have the modern pop concert mentality- the singer is done, so we clap for him or her; the musical background doesn't matter.

Personally, I don't mind casual dress (unless it's for a prestigious performer), but there is a difference between casual and lazy. It does frustrate me when I walk into a concert hall and see torn jeans and a Metallica shirt under a rough denim vest. Elsewhere, I have no problem whatsoever, but they have no place in a classical music hall.

But for the love of God, if you are going to dress lazily, at least take a shower. Please.


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## beethoven_fan92 (Nov 15, 2007)

If we could be able to get the musicians autograph, especially if it is a well-known soloist!
I think the more people get to look into the eyes and get contact with the performes, the more interesting it gets. The last concert I went to in Oslo we could get Leif Ove Andsnes` autograph and that was a really special experience. I dont think that happens so often in classical concerts... but it should happen more often, though...
Apart from that it is far too many old people going to classical cncerts, and I cannot understand WHY??? I feel like 87,5% of the "concert goers" are over 60!
Makes me feel like an outsider... :-/ but it is quite strange..
AND I think if it could be a bit less formal, it would be better, and you would feel more relaxed..  The tickets are far to high, even childrens tickets are very steep. So many rich and sucsessfull people from the west go to classical concerts just to be seen, and to see others, instead of concentrating on the music. I think that is bad.
Music is for everyone, not just as a sign of social standing. It is very sad, but that is how I see that classical concerts are, at least here... only for the rich and intellectual.. :--(


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## Sung Cho Ling (Feb 24, 2008)

Here in Hong Kong the concert-going public is not very big but concert-goers are relatively young. A great number of young people here are learning to play musical instruments. Their parents believe this ability will improve their mental agility or they hope cultivating their children's musical talent will help them get into a 'prestigious' school.

It is good to see so many young people attending concerts. But some of them are not really interested and often the programme is not suitable for young people. It's rather annoying to see these children whispering, fidgeting or gesturing to each other across seats.

Going to concerts is very convenient here as it's a compact city and there is excellent public transport. Tickets are inexpensive and there are half-price tickets for the over 60's.

My concert experience would be better if ---
1) there are more interesting programme notes using less musical terminology that can only be understood by music school students.
2) better acoustics at the main concert hall in my city.
3) less applause at the wrong places, particularly between movements of sonatas and string quartets.


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## Guest (Mar 14, 2008)

You must not force young people into music, if there is music in the home, even if they don’t like it at the time it may surface later in life, if they are talking during the performance, then where are the parents, the children must be told. 

My experience of program notes is that, they generally state the basics: the history of both the music to be performed, the composer and the artists. A few notes now and again on the technical side, so some thing for everyone.
I wish the schools here had a bit of music appreciation, the best we seem to do is a school rock group.


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## EddieRUKiddingVarese (Jan 8, 2013)

Is a floral shirt OK?


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