Live or Memorex?
There are a multitude of things upon which my mind has come to a standstill. One of these is the question of live performance vs. recorded performance. As I sat way up in the balcony at last Saturday’s Philharmonic concert listening to Kernis’s beautiful Musica Celestis, an intense, often quiet, strings-only imagining of angels singing, I felt so frustrated. Not because of the music, but because of my fellow’s man’s interruptions of the music. There the string players were-waaaay the heck down there, gently playing with such sensitivity and restraint, but all I could focus on were all of the extraneous noises: a chair scraping on the floor, a cell phone going off, the guy next to me sighing at all of the noise, and the coughing. Oh, my Lord, the coughing!Studies show that Oklahoma is one of the least healthy states in the country and I definitely believe it after hearing that pointilistic symphony of phlegm. Just about every eight to ten seconds, someone else would cough. It was maddening! The whole time I was thinking, “Man, I really need to find this piece on CD, so as to really be able to appreciate it in the peace and quiet of my own home.” Hell really is other people.
Anyway, this all got me to thinking. What is the value of live musical performance? Or even, IS there anything special about it? I mean to say, is the appreciation of music being performed in front of you that much different than just listening to a recording? Of course, you have the visual component. And for me, it’s always interesting to watch musicians play- the way they move, the expressions on their face. But beyond that, is one better than the other?
A recording is of course a musical moment frozen in time, infinitely analyzable if you so desire. I guess hearing and seeing music live is to be co-creators in the ever-passing moment, surrendering some of the ability of large-scale analysis that is more natural with recordings. John Cage went so far as to make no distinction between the experience of live music and the music itself in his famous piece 4’33”.
And I’m sure some would tout the “awesomeness of sharing the experience with other people, dude,” but I tend to forget everyone else in the room other than the performers, (unless it’s impossible, like I described above.)
Another value in live performance comes about when you know the material well and you can discern what the performers are doing differently, (either in relation to tradition or in relation to how that particular ensemble has played the material), maybe even on the spur of the moment. Of course, the degrees of deviation are linked to the style or genre of music you’re listening to.
Anyway, all that to say I don’t know which I like better: live music or recordings.
posted by Mike @ 12:28 PM
1 Comments:
This is one reason I like bands that turn it all the way up to 11. When bands play really loud (such as that Wilco show from last year, that Mono show at the conservatory, or the end of "Thinkers") I get put in this mezmorized state where I don't (well, actually can't) hear anything else. For me, this is music listening at it's best. (it sucks though that this would eventually make me deaf)
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