Some recent experiences, both as a performer as well as sitting in the audience listening to another artist, have made me express how disturbing it has become to listen to classical music these days.
Sometimes things around the concert seem to get more importance than the actual music itself. Be it the chief guest (who is mostly late), the speeches by the guest/s of honour (who are not chief guest/s), lighting of the lamps by everyone on stage or the group photo at the end of all these ceremonies, all this could easily take 30-40 minutes while both the audience as well as the artist, sitting backstage in the green room, are waiting impatiently for the performance to start.
The artist is then told that he/she has a maximum of 40-45 minutes to perform. As a member of the audience, all I want is listen to the music I have come to listen to, and as an artist waiting, all I want is start performing. Instead of being told to cut short my concert to accommodate these speeches, I want to be able to play longer for my audience. I do understand that some things need to be done for protocol but as long as it’s done within reasonable limits, it’s okay. Only when things get stretched that it becomes bothersome.
To add to all these miseries, we have the annoying cell phones ringing during the performance, creating its most annoying music and disturbing everyone. Some people are so shameless that even after announcements by everyone concerned and placards placed as you enter the auditorium, they fail to switch off their phones.
The other thing that is very annoying is what some of the videographers and the photographers do. Please note that I have nothing against these people who are doing their jobs. In fact, some of my best friends are photographers and I admire their work tremendously. What they see through their eyes and are able to capture is indeed amazing. It’s the annoying few who think they can stand right in front of you, blocking your view or shoving a blurring bright light right into your face. But the real artists do their work silently without disturbing anyone. I even had a request once by a videographer who asked me to smile for the camera during my performance. Once I stopped the concert right in between since at the most inopportune moment, the organiser asked for tea and snacks to be served to the ‘chief guest’. Poor guy was so embarrassed when I stopped and put down my instrument that he did not know where to hide his face. He was profusely apologetic later, but I cannot understand the need for this kind of sycophancy when as an artist, I feel on top of the world. As a musician, I feel all the sacredness and purity in this world lies in the seven notes of our music, the sapta swara. If I do worship anything at all, it is my art because I believe that art is greater than the artist.
Saskia and I have initiated a movement called ‘Silence Concerts’ that will not only elevate the listeners but the artist too, since it will create a platform where only the music remains the chief guest, the guest of honour and where there are absolutely no external disturbances of any sort. Before entering the concert, the audience is told what to do and more importantly, what not to do. During the Silence Concerts, we request the audience to not applaud even at the end of the concert since the applause disturbs the energy that is created by the music.
sitar@shubhendrarao.com