Views And Reviews: A Word Of Encouragement
When the Slaithwaite Philharmonic announced their first “Family Concert”, Paul Serotsky imagined the hall filling up with crowds of parents and children. It struck him that many of the kids would be turning up to a classical concert for the very first time.
"Then, it struck me that the same might well be true of many of the parents! Recalling my own unguided initiation, I set to and wrote this little general introduction (which has been updated a little since then). There were two hopes uppermost in my mind. The first was, “I hope this will allay some fears and whet some appetites”. The second was, “I hope to God that it doesn’t sound too bloody patronising!”
For more of Paul's informed and enlightening words on classical music please click on Views and Reviews in the menu on this page.
If you are a complete newcomer, perhaps feeling a bit worried about what you might be letting yourself in for, here are a couple of words of encouragement: don’t be! I’ve heard lots of reasons for “not liking” this so-called “classical music”, but really none of them holds water better than the average colander. So, let’s prick a bubble or two, shall we?
Some folk think that you need a brain the size of a planet, with contents to match. No, you don’t. All you need is the will to listen and the desire to enjoy. Of course, as with anything, it helps to know something about it. In my early teens I was an avid “pop” fan, and when I “discovered” classical music, all I knew about it was that I loved the noise it made.
When I switched my radio over to the (then) Third Programme, the words of the “posh-sounding” announcers went right over my head - but all that lovely Music went right on in. Gradually, in spite of my lack of attention to the announcers, some knowledge inevitably seeped through my thick schoolboy skull. Eventually my curiosity was aroused, so I went out and found myself a book . . . and that’s all there is to it, really – piece o’ cake.
Most of the music we hear serves some sort of purpose. For example, we have music for dancing, for singing, for all kinds of ceremonies, or for stirring our blood for war (or sport!), or painting the moods of stories and dramas. Music is even used to “put us in the mood” in places like restaurants or, a bit underhandedly, in shops where (unless we’re on our guard) it makes us spend more money than we meant to! Much of our classical music was originally written to meet needs like these.
But “much” is by no means “all”. Music also became an art form in its own right, so that we got music that exists only for its own sake, rather like those “abstract” paintings that aren’t pictures “of” anything. Ha! – but you need to be some sort of “expert” to understand stuff like this, don’t you? Well, maybe you do where abstract paintings are concerned, but not so with music.
This “absolute” music is the same stuff as all the other music, except that you aren’t given any “story” up front: you have to make up your own. Is that hard to do? Yes, about as hard as letting your mind go blank, then seeing what it fills up with as you listen! Or even (dare I say this?) reading what the programme-note writer has to say, to give you a bit of a leg-up. Afterwards, one way or the other, you’ll have your own ideas, which - and this is very important! -will be no less “right” than anybody else’s. As you’ll discover, in music there’s no “absolute” right or wrong.
There’s one other “problem” I should mention. Our world is one of ever decreasing “attention spans”, demanding ever shorter “sound-bites”. Classical pieces tend to be long, and people say, “Oh, I haven’t the time to sit through all that”. Well, why not? Many of those good folk wouldn’t think twice about spending even longer - a couple of hours or more - watching just one film, say, or a football match.
A classical piece is long firstly because composers usually (though not always!) have a lot to say, and also because they are artists carving intricate and fascinating patterns out of sound. Does that sound complicated? OK, look at it this way: what makes for a really good footie match? I’d say: lots of nail-biting, end-to-end action involving skilful play between two evenly-matched teams, and patterns of play that become more intricate and involving as the game goes on. Point made?
It’s probably fair to say that if you thought of a popular song as a beefburger, then you’d have to regard an extended classical piece as a four-course dinner. I reckon that would make symphonic music the equivalent of a Christmas feast, because I can think of no richer, more delicious and edifying sound on the face of this Earth than that of a symphony orchestra in full flight. You’ll be well fed tonight – I hope you enjoy your meal!
© Paul Serotsky
Link to Slaithwaite Philharmrmonic http://home.btconnect.com/Measures/newspo/aboutspo.htm
