The Well-Tempered Ear

Classical music: Listening etiquette should be the same outdoors as in concert halls

By Jacob Stockinger

This posting is a favor to a loyal friend of The Ear.

And just maybe to many others too.

This friend, who sponsors local classical music and attends many indoor concerts, likes to go to the FREE Concerts on the Square (below) given by the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra.

The third one of this summer is tonight at 7 p.m. on the King Street corner of the Capitol Square.

The guest artist is classically trained Robert Bonfiglio (below), the “Paganini of the harmonica,” who will perform several serious works including two by George Gershwin and one by Russian composer Alexander Tcherepnin. (You can hear Bonfiglio perform the second movement of Tcherepnin’s Concerto for Harmonica and Orchestra in the YouTube video at the bottom.)

For more information about the concert and what happens at it, including food and other activities as well as a biography of the soloist, go to:

https://wisconsinchamberorchestra.org/performances/concerts-on-the-square-3-2/

However, what disturbs The Ear’s friend, who will be there tonight, is the rudeness or thoughtlessness that often interferes with appreciating the music.

“Maybe,” the Friend said, “you can post something about it and that might help.”

True, the summer event is designed for socializing and eating and drinking and having fun. And there is plenty of time for all those things.

But when the music starts, it is only fair to pay respect to the musicians who work so hard to perform it and to other listeners who want to hear it.

That means silence.

People should stop chatting, talking or laughing during the music.

They should avoid making unnecessary noise and movements and help allow other audience members to concentrate and focus on the music.

In short, the rules or etiquette for listening to music should be the same outdoors as they are indoors in the concert hall.

And that goes not only for Concerts on the Square, but also for the Concert on the Green by the Madison Symphony Orchestra, the upcoming Opera in the Park (below) by the Madison Opera on July 22 and the outdoor Concert in the Park performance on Aug. 9 by the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras.

Anyway that is what The Ear and his Friend think.

What do you think?

And how do you generally find listening to music at Concerts on the Square and other outdoor performances?

The Ear wants to hear.