In June 2020, during the dark days of the Coronavirus pandemic, Washington Post music critic Michael Brodeur embarked on a musical adventure. He traveled to Old Town, Alexandria for a much-needed offering by Neeta Helms and her musical touring company, Classical Movements. Their “Sounds of Hope & Harmony” program presented, as Michael wrote, “an outdoor trio of hour-long chamber concerts in the ‘Secret Garden’ tucked behind its former-rectory headquarters on Princess Street. The intimacy of the experience—and our collective hunger to hear just about anything—gave the feeling that audience and performers were conducting the same experiment: just being there. Even before the first notes were played, I found myself getting lost in the music of chitchat and laughter—our own birdsong.”
On the strength of that review, I decided to attend one of those Secret Garden concerts on a lovely summer evening. I can’t tell you who performed or what was played, but I vividly recall the joy of hearing live music with other fans in a romantic setting.
Four years later, I attended another event organized by Classical Movements in a slightly larger venue, La Scala, a highlight of the National Symphony Orchestra’s European tour. I remember the electric atmosphere of this concert, as Gianandrea Noseda conducted his American orchestra in his hometown of Milan. The maestro was on fire, and the orchestra musicians poured their hearts into the performance. The American contingent in the audience leapt to their feet in an enthusiastic standing ovation, which led to the whole house imitating us. The AP described it as “A triumphant return for Italian conductor Noseda as US orchestra receives rare La Scala ovation.” I overheard one woman in the drinks line saying she came to La Scala from Zurich where Noseda is general music director of the Opera so she could see him conduct on stage rather than in the pit!
Why do we feel such collective joy during a live concert? One answer is a lesson we learned from the pandemic, that is, the importance of community—whether it’s getting together with friends at happy hour or attending a live event, sharing the experience with others makes it more meaningful. According to a 2024 study at the University of Zurich* led by professor of cognitive and affective neuroscience Sascha Früholz, “this can perhaps be traced back to the evolutionary roots of music.” She added that “live performances trigger a stronger emotional response than recorded ones. People want the emotional experience of live music. We want musicians to take us on an emotional journey with their performance.”
Harvard Health concludes that “active engagement in music has many emotional and physical benefits, because it can activate almost all brain regions and networks, it can help keep a myriad of brain pathways and networks strong.”
Victor Hugo wrote that “singing is the expression of the heart; what one cannot say, one sings.” Singing was such a physical need during the pandemic that I happily rejoined my choir in live performance even though we had to sing through specially designed masks reminiscent of those beak-like plague masks from the Black Death. As many a study has concluded, and as a Washington Post headline from last summer declared: “Singing is good for you. Singing with others may be even better.”
The article went on to report “Studies have found that group singing fosters trust, cooperation, and social cohesion. In 2019, according to Chorus America, 54 million Americans sang in choirs, and were found to be more optimistic, more likely to vote, less lonely, possessed stronger relationships and were more likely to contribute positively to their communities than non-singers.”
Renee Fleming’s book, Music and the Mind,* is a treasure trove of information on the impact of the arts on our wellbeing, and the Kennedy Center’s website* features “Music and Mind Live” a free, 19-episode series featuring the renowned soprano in conversation with scientists and practitioners working at the intersection of music, neuroscience and healthcare. And if you really want to do something healthy, you can listen to these podcasts while taking a walk in nature. Here’s to multi-tasking. In chapter 2 of the book, I found the idea of “receptive musicality.” In other words, those of us who simply appreciate music are also musicians...there’s a brain area that proves it!
The science of how our brain works on music is fascinating, but subjectively, what I find most rewarding in a live performance is the intellectual pleasure of discovering something new, whether in familiar works, or brand-new compositions. When I go to a live performance, I might hear a new detail, experience the architecture of a piece, or just enjoy a delightful sound bath. I can see connections between ideas, between pieces, between eras, between lives. I can travel back and forward in time. Who has not, for example, viscerally felt all the hope and fervor of the Enlightenment when listening to Beethoven’s 9th? Sometimes, we’re so enthralled that we turn to the stranger sitting next to us, and smile in appreciation. And there’s satisfaction in understanding that we are contributing to the joy of the artists on stage, supporting musicians who have dedicated years to their craft so they can share it with us. We can be proud of our “receptive musicality.”
In a January 2024 interview with WETA Classical, NSO music director Gianandrea Noseda told us that his younger self wanted to change the world through music. Older and wiser now, he believes that: “Through music I and the orchestra together, we can change the heart and mind of people and touch them. If we get to this goal, this result, people will change and cooperate to change the world for the better.” And what could be better than to participate in that endeavor?
This season, I will heed the advice of another musician I heard recently: I’ll discover new musical experiences, open my ears and heart to a variety of performances—orchestral, chamber and solo. There’s a lot to tempt me, from the NSO playing Beethoven’s 5 to learning to dance at The Reach to celebrating Anton Bruckner’s birthday and so much more.
Sources:
*News.Uzh.ch
Live Music Emotionally Moves Us More than Streamed Music
2/27/2024
*Harvard Health
Health.harvard.edu
“Why is Music Good for the Brain?”
10/7/2020
*The Washington Post Well + Being
Alexandra Moe
6/25/2023
*Music and the Mind Live
Kennedy-Center.org
*Music and the Mind: Harnessing the Arts for Health and Wellness
Edited by Renee Fleming
Forward by Francis Collins
Viking (April 9, 2024)
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