What would you recommend to a younger, or new classical music listener?
Alex Ross: First, go to a live concert. Recordings capture only a fraction of what makes classical music compelling—the social experience of listening with a crowd in real time, the physical and psychological effect of hearing natural sound reverberate in a room.
I was talking to a young student of mine today. She couldn’t remember going to a concert. She thought perhaps she had “when she was a lot younger”. (She’s young now!) I always love it when a young student talks about “when I was a lot younger.” Makes me smile.
But anyway … please, please, please … if you are studying an orchestral instrument, go to an orchestra concert. K? You just might enjoy it!
