Ask the Critic: Mark Swed

Question: How difficult is it to separate your personal reaction to a concert from that of the rest of the audience, which may be exactly the opposite?

Swed: The audience matters. But before addressing this question, it is worth remembering that classical music takes in centuries’ worth of music, and music not of our time was not written for audiences of our time. Bach’s keyboard works, for instance, were mostly intended to be heard by those who played it, with maybe a second listener or student seated on the bench with the performer.

The audience for Bach’s “Goldberg” Variations was an insomniac royal. When Andras Schiff played it in the Walt Disney Concert Hall, his goal was to keep awake an audience of more than 2,000. On the other hand, Esa-Pekka Salonen wrote “Wing on Wing” precisely for the Los Angeles Philharmonic in that space and for us.

The very concept of audience, thus, is not one thing. But I am, of course, ever aware of (and grateful for) those who share a concert with me. I think we are of one mind a remarkable amount of the time. When we are not, the disagreement is just as likely to be that I am attuned to something the audience is not as it is the other way around. But considering the vast range of concerts I regularly attend, it would be pretty weird any other way.

Rarely does it happen that the entire audience’s expectations and mine are radically different. Those tend to be extreme situations, say, a concert by Andrea Bocelli or a night at the Hollywood Bowl. Take the Bowl. I am there for the music. Others may be attracted by the atmosphere, the opportunity to picnic and to socialize. We want different things.

Celebrity is, I suppose, the other problem area. Many superstar musicians -- the Pavarottis and the Perlmans -- got where they are because they really once were special. But as their fame grew, their musical priorities changed. They still represent something personal for a devoted following, but the simple fact is some superstars care more about their fan base (and $350 bottles of wine) than the music they make. It’s my job to point that out.

But in the greater scheme of things, I find this of little significance. I am happy to report that the majority of the musicians I consider the greats of today -- Salonen, Simon Rattle, Valery Gergiev, Pierre Boulez, to cite conductors -- are considered with the same regard by most audiences.

Ultimately, I expect readers to understand that, like any critic, I speak for myself. My taste is not the issue. It is useful only to begin an ongoing discussion. In that, the audience matters very much.

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