Music Returning to Live Performances

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The discussion highlights a renewed appreciation for live performances after a long hiatus due to relocation and convenience factors. The recent attendance at a matinee of Riverdance, celebrating its 30th anniversary, reignited the excitement of experiencing live art, which offers a unique quality that recordings cannot replicate. The importance of volume in European classical music is emphasized, noting that live performances allow for a more immersive experience, as the music's physical presence can be felt. The preference for smaller theater settings over large stadium venues is also mentioned, with concerns about crowd sizes and acoustics. Additionally, the impact of COVID-19 on the desire to attend live events is acknowledged, reflecting a broader trend of decreased attendance during the pandemic years.
gleem
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Years ago we frequented live performances of plays, symphonies, and dance. Then we moved and our attendance dropped dramatically because the best theaters were too far away. I retired and we moved again but lost the incentive to go to a theater although one was not too far away but seemed inconvenient and perhaps expensive. But then a show that we had seen and enjoyed decades ago arrived, Riverdance(30). It has been 30 years since its introduction in 1994. My wife bought tickets. Yesterday we attended a matinee performance rekindling the exciting experience of a live performance, a performance which cannot be appreciated any other way.

A fellow attendee sitting next to me commented, "Isn't this a great way to spend a Sunday afternoon."

Yes, it was.
 
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Though I listen to a great deal of recorded music -- Youtube is miraculous -- I will go to a great deal of trouble to attend live performances. European classical music in particular evolved to sound good in real life and suffers from recording. Among other things recordings aren't loud enough, and European classical depends heavily on volume. As my music professor said, "My mother said, 'Always end the piece loud'". And that's what they almost always do.

I don't get into the crowd thing though. If I were the only one in the audience that would be fine with me.
 
Hornbein said:
Among other things recordings aren't loud enough, and European classical depends heavily on volume. As my music professor said, "My mother said, 'Always end the piece loud'". And that's what they almost always do.
That is one good thing about live performances you can feel the music, especially in a theater.

Hornbein said:
I don't get into the crowd thing though. If I were the only one in the audience that would be fine with me.
I don't particularly like stadium venues for performances with way too many people. Theaters have way fewer attendees and the acoustics are better. Covid was another thing that has lessened my desire to attend live performances during the last four years.
 
Historian seeks recognition for first English king https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c9d07w50e15o Somewhere I have a list of Anglo-Saxon, Wessex and English kings. Well there is nothing new there. Parts of Britain experienced tribal rivalries/conflicts as well as invasions by the Romans, Vikings/Norsemen, Angles, Saxons and Jutes, then Normans, and various monarchs/emperors declared war on other monarchs/emperors. Seems that behavior has not ceased.
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