“A live classical music performance 200 years ago would have been very different than one held today,” writes James Bennett II on Thursday (3/2) at New York classical radio station WQXR. “It wasn’t strange for an audience to go wild at a flourishing display of virtuosity, or jeer at a poor or ‘offensive’ performance (see: ‘Spring, Rite of’). But by the mid-20th century, live classical performances became a somewhat formal affair.… The Park Avenue Chamber Symphony is looking to change that. With its innovative series, InsideOut … PACS and its musical director, David Bernard, are trying to demystify the classical concert-going experience…. PAC’s most recent concert [was] their second InsideOut; last year saw a test, which proved to be a success.… Bernard drops classical knowledge himself and speaks to the crowd between movements…. But it’s where you sit that separates InsideOut from other live performances…. The seats are with the players themselves, in the thick of the violins or right next to a harp…. The InsideOut atmosphere delights not just the audience, but the individual orchestra members themselves.… [Violinist] Lauren Noble … calls the music a special gift to give back.”
Posted March 6, 2017
Pictured: Audience members sit among Park Avenue Chamber Symphony musicians. Photo by Alex Wen / Park Avenue Chamber Symphony
