I went to see the band Letters to Cleo last week. My friend and I had no idea why they were coming to the city; he just saw them listed on a Bowery Presents e mail and bought tickets with-a-quickness. At the concert, the lead singer – no, not “Cleo”, “Kay Hanley” – said something from the stage to the effect of, “Well, there’s no real reason for these concerts, no new CD or tour. We’re not getting back together as a band. We just thought it would be fun.”
Hmmm: now when have any of my classical musician friends or clients ever done a concert “just for fun”? Their schedules are planned so far out and venue exclusivity rules are so strict that there really aren’t many opportunities to just pick up and play a concert, but presumably, professional musicians consider all performing fun; or do they? Are the NY Philharmonic musicians having fun? Is it work? Is it at least fun work?
How do we know who’s having fun and who’s not? When an artist – like Lang Lang three years ago, for example – is emotive and passionate on stage, he or she is often criticized for being unfocused, accused of being ridiculous; eyes will roll. When an artist – like Hilary or, say, the pianist Pierre-Laurent Aimard – is calm, cool and collected on stage, people comment that they are just that: too cool, emotion-less.
So, assuming everyone is actually having fun on stage – which I’m not entirely sure we can do – how could/should performers show this without being criticized for not taking “their art” seriously enough? That Letters to Cleo concert was fun – no way around it. There was no pressure on the band to sell discs or get press and the fans were all just happy to be there (despite one guy shouting out “I feel old!!”, which made us all glance around awk-weirdly). Now, at a classical concert, if We the Audience can’t tell if the performers are having fun, how can we have fun ourselves?
I sincerely enjoy (most) classical music concerts, but I’m not so sure I have fun at them. I have fun before the concert, I have fun seeing friends and colleagues at intermission; if it’s for work, I have fun going backstage and/or going out to dinner after, but the concert itself? Not really that fun. The last classical concert I did have fun at – and I’m not just saying this because I work for David – was the Bang on a Can Marathon. I sat on the steps with a whole crop of friends, folks were milling around so there was a lot of good people-watching, you could go to the Mexican restaurant next door if you felt like a drink/snack, and it went super late. I had fun! But that wasn’t in a concert hall, so I’m not sure it counts for the purposes of this discussion.
fun
[fuhn]
noun, verb, funned, fun⋅ning, adjective -noun
1. something that provides mirth or amusement: A picnic would be fun.
2. enjoyment or playfulness: She’s full of fun. -verb (used without object), verb (used with object)
3. Informal. joke; kid. -adjective
4. Informal. of or pertaining to fun, esp. to social fun: a fun thing to do; really a fun person.
5. Informal. whimsical: flamboyant: The fashions this year are definitely on the fun side. –Idioms
6. for or in fun, as a joke; not seriously; playfully: His insults were only in fun.
7. like fun, Informal. certainly not; of doubtful truth: He told us that he finished the exam in an hour. Like fun he did!
8. make fun of, to make the object of ridicule; deride: The youngsters made fun of their teacher.
Thanks for that, Dictionary.com.
First of all, like hell anyone has ever said “like fun he did.” Second, reading the definitions, it seems the problem with classical music being “fun” is the informal connotations of the word; can a concert be fun and serious at the same time? Can artists respect the repertoire, the concert halls, the audiences, and whomever/whatever else they’re supposed to be respecting while having a good time?
I’m going to see the band CSS tonight. Here is a photo I took from their concert over the summer:
They have balloons. They’re definitely having fun. And so will I.
Clearly you didn’t grow up in a conservative enough place — I sure as hell (sure as fun?) remember my teachers and parents’ friends saying “Like fun!”
Well, Connecticut was fairly conservative, but not in that way, I suppose. I’m just learning new things every day because of this blog! Thanks for reading! -AA
I have fun at concerts when the composers are having fun. There are things that happen in music that make me smile, and chuckle. There’s playfulness to be heard in music, and that’s fun. (True, many composers are very serious, or so it would seem, but the best are like Shakespeare and able to blend seriousness with wit.)
I’m amused when composers take liberties with their language and do the “unexpected”, even if I’ve heard the unexpected before. (This is a bit like enjoying a fabulous sequence of dialogue in a much-loved movie.)
I have fun at concerts when the music and/or the interpretation is outrageous or over-the-top or whimsical (but not when it’s arbitrarily so). Call me a nerd, I find that amusing.
One of my favourite pianists, who always brings a smile to my face and a bravo to my lips, is someone who is utterly bold and flamboyant in his interpretations. But this boldness and flamboyance is underpinned by a phenomenal technique and a white-hot intellect. So even the most apparently outrageous things he does never sound arbitrary but make musical sense. And that’s one of the reasons why I have so much fun at his concerts.
It’s disappointing, of course, when it appears that the performers aren’t having “fun”. But in the case of orchestral music, that’s merely one symptom of a much bigger issue: the challenge of maintaining a personal liveliness when one is a cog-in-the-wheel of the orchestral machine. Smaller orchestras and ensembles are for the most part extremely successful at communicating a sense of engagement and enjoyment in performance.
On the other hand, I don’t think we can be too superficial when it comes to the idea of a performer having “fun” while performing orchestral music. My recollection of this (and it’s been a while since I’ve performed in orchestras) is that you can indeed be having a richly layered kind of “fun” and truly enjoying yourself and taking great pleasure in what you’re communicating, but it’s not necessarily going to look like you’re having fun in a “let’s party!” way. (This is not to say that orchestras shouldn’t be looking carefully to their stage presence as other performing artists do. They should.)
I don’t kinow why the discourse seems always to have to be reduced to the one word “fun.” There are so many myriad feelings one may have at “classical” concerts, both as listener and performer, only some of which may corerspond with “fun,” and they don’t have to be all exculsive in their little compartments: edification, spiritual uplist, wit (who understands that anymore?), longing, frustration, and on and on. We need open ears and hearts and not pre-formed expected agendas of “fun.” Admittedly, the responsibility of playing well may “dampen” the stage personas of all but the very freest virtuosi. I have known many an orchestral player who frankly no longer really enjoys what he/she does and has become almost totally “routine-ized,” which is so unfortunate. I will stop rambling.
Sincerely,
Frank Daykin
I’m neither trying to reduce the quality of a concert experience to “fun”, nor am I saying it is even a necessity. But classical concerts do not fulfill my expected agenda of fun, as you say, even though I love classical music and generally enjoy the classical concert experience. I’ve never invited a friend to a concert and said, “You should come, it will be fun!” I’ve said, “It will be good” or “It will be cool”, but never fun. Just…something to think about. Thanks for reading! -AA
Yvonne’s comment is FUN. (Dec 17)
Try substituting the words: exhibitions for concerts; curator(or artist)for pianist (or violinist); artist for composer; art for music. The feeling I have in a good exhibition is exactly the same: FUN.
We get into a groove, a swing of things, perhaps same as when the piece was being made by its creator. We smile secretly at the happiness of sharing a moment. We forget about the dentist appointment the next morning. We are in a state of emotion.
Neurobiology now knows that this body state is the result of certain small protein molecules called peptides – the molecules of emotion – produced in our body. Neuro scientist Antonio Damasio tells us that when our body experiences an emotion, our brain interprets it as a feeling. In the case, FUN.
(I hope I haven’t spoiled IT)