“Come back when you're older”

© facebook.com/chungkyungwha

By Richard Brewer 

From my previous blog posts, you have probably ascertained that I feel rather strongly about audiences in the concert hall, in particular young children. In writing about this once again, I am running the risk of repeating myself and sounding like a broken record. However, I'm afraid I just couldn't resist writing about this particular topic this week...



Reverberating through the classical music world this week was a concert at the Royal Festival Hall. The concert, dubbed 'The Legend Returns', was performed by violin legend Kyung Wha Chung. As the rather self-assured title suggests, this was her big comeback concert after 12 years away from the performing stage. Reviews were very positive about her performance, stating that she “gave a recital in which every note was brim-full of her impetuous, intense personality”. 



The focus point of all articles about the concert, however, was not so positive. Kyung had just finished one movement of a sonata and, as with every classical concert that has ever happened, and ever will happen, a cacophony of coughs began to ring around the hall. This then led to cause amusement amongst some of the audience, who had a light chuckle. Unfortunately one young girl had a prolonged tickle in her throat. We've all had this feeling, where you just can't stop yourself from coughing, it's not a nice feeling. The remedy is simple; cough more. 



Now, Kyung took particular offence to this innocent young girl and decided to shout something from the stage. 



“Come back when you're older”. 



I'm not quite sure where to start in response to this quote. As a professional musician, it is surely one of Kyung's responsibilities to actively ensure that all of her audience feel comfortable when at her concerts, especially young children. Also, after 12 years away, would you not just be grateful to have a full audience of 3,000 people? Whether they are young, old, animal or human, they all paid for their seat and made an effort to see her.



Kyung wrote an article on the Guardian in response to the criticism she received. Perhaps understandably, she began by commenting how classical music is still most definitely 'alive' in the 21st century. This is true, and it has been shown by the amount of national press this event has seen, despite it being negative. However, for Kyung to then go on to say how she still believed the child shouldn't have been at the concert was beyond me; as were her comments about the ways in which we should listen to classical music in the concert hall. 



Kyung believes that listening should be done in complete silence with no noise at all, as this is the only way to truly appreciate the beauty of what is being played in front of you. What she doesn't seem to understand, however, is that this is completely unnatural. Again, as I mentioned in my previous blog, I am certainly not suggesting that we should all make noise constantly through a performance. What I do believe though, is that we should all feel comfortable. Feeling uncomfortable at a concert will not lead to a positive listening experience. Kyung suggests that we need to educate young people on “the art of true listening”, also stating that children should only attend “children's concerts”. Is this not completely alienating them from the real classical music world? In doing so are we not further enhancing the pre-conceived ideas many people have about classical music concerts? It is not healthy. 



This is actually my final blog post of the year, and it is a shame to have to finish on a negative story in the classical music world. However, it has to be said that Southern Sinfonia do not feel the same way as Kyung. We want as many young children as possible to come to our concerts; we actively encourage and strongly believe that everyone has the right to experience musical excellence. I can't wait for 2015 to start so we can show our beliefs through the many exciting projects we have got coming up. 



Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

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I Wanna Hold Your Hand - Beehives and Berio at the Festival Hall

By Julia Hudson 

I’m the only girl on this blogging team, so in this post I’m going to talk about toasters, cushions, vintage, and almost certainly fashion. Consider yourselves duly warned.

If you venture into any trendy retail establishment or hip cocktail bar, you will find a smorgasbord of “retro”. Gatsby-inspired beaded flapper dresses, Smeg fridges, beehives (not the buzzing kind), and endless looks back towards a bygone era. Vintage is in, and many trendsetters are rejecting progressive design in favour of authentic or faithfully reproduced pieces of history which are permeating our daily lives.

Last week, I went to the Royal Festival Hall for the eagerly-anticipated Sao Paolo Symphony Orchestra Brazilian-themed concert, conducted by Marin Alsop. The programme was close to Alsop’s heart, mentored as she was by Bernstein, who was in turn a close supporter of Guarnieri, and who commissioned Berio’s Sinfonia, which was performed with the Swingle Singers in the second half. Introducing the pieces with a friendly, collaborative air, Alsop seemed comfortable and the orchestra responded beautifully.

Mad Men's stylish Joan Holloway

As Nick Breckenfield mentions: “Born out of post-war austerity, and conceived from the very beginning as the only permanent fixture marking the 1951 Festival of Britain, the Royal Festival Hall was always set to become the capital’s – and therefore the country’s – main music venue.” Having undergone a multi-million pound restoration in recent years, the RFH still stands as “an astounding architectural statement” in the heart of the city. To be the venue for this kind of programming, surely, showed it at its most authentic – indeed, one could have stepped back in time. As Alsop said, “all we needed was the Beatles”, or, indeed, a Dualit kettle. Mad Men's stylish Joan Holloway

But, with our embrace (on this blog, and throughout much of the classical music world) of all things forward-looking and innovative, of music fused with technology and progressive thinking, was this concert dated, out of touch and (dare we say it) passé? Surprisingly, the music still had the power to shock, and shock it did – six of my neighbours had walked out by the end of the first movement of the Berio, with its vocal grunting and squeaking and constant referencing of other works. This, considering how much has passed in society since this music was conceived – Miley’s twerking, clearly, has nothing on this.

Where is the line, then, between dated and retro? Is it down to quality, authenticity, consistency? The young, beautiful, trendy incarnation of Swingles, though, were key, as was the vibrant orchestra. However, there is something about the past which unsettles my (Eighties) generation. To pull the girl card again, I’ve just started watching Mad Men, and am finding the flagrant sexism and disregard for female intelligence disturbing. I enjoy vintage clothing, music from bygone eras and am partial to the occasional beehive, but a “real” authenticity of values and belief systems doesn’t sit well with my contemporary ones.

So, where does this leave music?  Nick Breckenfield suggests that “there are derisory claims as to the Royal Festival Hall’s plain, even austere, functionality…[but that it is] just as much a product of its times as the spirit of hope that gave birth to the Festival of Britain.” Perhaps this is the key – we don’t have to disparage or dismiss more contemporary music, with its pared-down, Bauhaus-esque aesthetic, if we view Friday’s exciting and still powerful music as a product of its times. When one considers that Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring was written less than 40 years earlier, this suddenly isn’t so hard to do.

What are your thoughts? Comment below or join in the discussion on our Facebook or Twitter pages. To see more images or find out more about Southern Sinfonia, please visit our website and Instagram!