The Well-Tempered Ear

Classical music: Are concert halls and opera houses becoming refuges and shelters from the on-line world of the Web and social media?

By Jacob Stockinger

Are concert halls and opera houses becoming refuges and shelters from the on-line world of the Web and social media?

New York Times senior music critic Anthony Tommasini (below) thinks so. He published a long essay this week justifying his view.

Along the way he also offers other suggestions, from alternative venues to informal dress, for how to increase audiences and attendance. And he thinks that live performances might help regain shortened attention spans.

In terms of the digital world, Tommasini even goes so far as to think that providing a refuge from social media could be selling points for the survival of live performances in concert halls and opera houses.

(Below bottom is an iPad in Carnegie Hall, below top, is a photo by Karsten Moran for The New York Times. Tommasini also discusses smart phones and cell phones.)

The Ear hopes Tommasini might be right, but fears he might be naïve – especially when it comes to younger audiences.

The Ear thinks that the new media may well end up being more powerful than such old media as opera and classical music. He suspects that concert halls and opera houses will end up accommodating and incorporating new media.

But he hopes he is wrong.

What do you think?

And how do you view Tommasini’s arguments or ideas?

The Ear wants to hear.

Here is a link to the essay:

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/14/arts/music/the-concert-hall-as-refuge-in-a-restless-web-driven-world.html