The Concert Experience

For those of us who are involved with classical music, whether professionally or as an amateur, attending a classical concert is, if not a regular occurrence, something which slots into our diaries from time to time.

For those outside the genre however, the thought of spending an evening listening to a symphony orchestra, string quartet or solo pianist for a couple of hours is the last thing they would choose to do.

Indeed, with the plethora of recordings on the market, the temptation to relax at home and listen to a CD is perhaps a hard offer to turn down. Yet, the concert experience offers much more than the chance to hear specific repertoire.

A largely acoustic genre, hearing classical music live usually presents the work in a space that the composer intended. Not only does this open the landscape of the piece to the listener, by providing an appropriate space and acoustic, but also lets the audience share the ‘air’ of the performance, the medium vital for music and life.

Through an invisible field of Nitrogen, Oxygen, Carbon Dioxide and other gases, the listener is in direct contact with the performer’s interpretation and the subtle changes and nuances that are formed ‘in the moment’. This spontaneous artistic creation is surely one of the greatest assets of the concert experience.

Of course this shared experience is not always comfortable. Hard seats, not much leg-room, someone coughing a few rows in front, might be a few of the distractions along the way. Yet those who wish for a perfect environment are probably seeking a perfection that can never be obtained. Moreover, compared to most other communal experiences in modern society, the classical concert is one of the few places where you can sit, peacefully and just listen.

It is this environment that is so vital and necessary. The classical concert experience is a place to listen, a place to let your imagination awaken and for your thoughts about the music and beyond, to change and deepen.

As part of the Notes into Letters programme, creative-writing students were asked to attend some concerts and then write a piece of creative writing based on their experiences.

Read through the range of responses below: 

Sara Bynoe

Sara Bynoe grew up in Canada. She hates snow and camping and loves chocolate chip cookies. Career highlights include: being quoted on NPR’s ‘All Things Considered’, performing at Latitude, her book launch at the KGB bar, acting in an American TV show, and getting her music on the radio – ok, college radio, but it still counts. Currently Sara is working on a novel based on her time working as a street promoter and her ‘complicated’ relationship with her boss who quit to be a male stripper. For more information, videos and text please visit www.SaraBynoe.com

Resonance by Sara Bynoe

Glockenspiel by Sara Bynoe

Jonathan Holt

Jonathan Holt is a self-employed copywriter and editor. As a part-time MA student on the Creative & Life Writing programme at Goldsmiths, he writes fiction. He is working on a novel set in New Orleans before the storm.

‘I was secretly dreading the Strauss tone poem, because of its overexposure. To my surprise this was precisely what opened my ears (and eyes) to the kind of listening Nietzsche’s protagonist recommends in the text on which the piece is based: “Must one first batter their ears, that they may learn to hear with their eyes?’

Hearing with your eyes by Jonathan Holt

Seraphima Kennedy

Seraphima Kennedy was born in London in 1979. She studied at Edinburgh before moving back to London in 2003. Originally a short story writer, she started to write poetry a few months ago. She is currently doing an MA in Creative Writing at Goldsmith’s College, and has travelled in China, Cuba, Egypt and Tunisia.

‘Music is often associated with water and with myths, and particularly with an exotic ‘orient’.  This is an associative piece that grew out of a single word: reeds. The story developed from there into the story of Moses being hidden in the bulrushes, and I wanted to use the rich vocabulary associated with those themes in the poem. The experience reminded me of music’s ability to take us out of ourselves, or rather into ourselves, so that we are among all our memories at once. It also reawakened a love of ‘classical’ music.’

The Mystery of the Reeds by Seraphima Kennedy

Jocelyn Page

Jocelyn Page is a poet, originally from rural New England, currently living in Greenwich with her husband and two young sons.  She is studying on the MA in Creative Writing at Goldsmiths College and is presently interested in exploring the genre of prose poetry.

‘The experience of creating a piece of written work from aural input was a first for me, and particularly challenging as I tend to rely on my eye to form cinematic-type images which I later put into words.  I found it helpful during the performances to shut my eyes to close off the visual, so as to heighten the listening process.  The result, for me, was a feeling of texture and movement that produced many different emotions and ideas, some of which led to this piece.’

A Life by Jocelyn Page

Anna Poppa

Anna Poppa is a writer and postgraduate student on Goldsmiths University’s MA course in Creative and Life Writing. Squeezebox was inspired by listening to Astor Piazzolla’s Aconcagua – Concerto for Bandoneón, String Orchestra and Percussion. Anna is currently working on her first novel, and can be contacted via email to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)

Squeezebox by Anna Poppa

Barry Tench

Born in rural Shropshire in 1958 and now living New Cross, London. I am a published poet and short story writer, currently on the Master’s @ Goldsmiths. I have done poetry readings in Shropshire and London.

‘The Royal Festival Hall is a magnificent venue, but so accessible. We had terrific stalls seats and a wonderful view of the performances. I have never before attended such a prestigious event and it really made an impression on me. The music was of such a high quality and the orchestra amazing, the soloists inspiring and the opportunity to watch great conductors at work was fabulous. Thanks very much.’

Canvas 1 and 2 by Barry Tench