I remember him playing at the Purcell Room in London and The Queen Elizabeth Hall.It must have been in the mid/late 1960's.He was about 20 at the time.Such wonderful memories. Also saw him playing with jacqueline and perlman et al.
I honestly have never figured out how audience members can just sit there, ramrod straight! WTF? Don't they FEEL the music? Just LOOK at them! What a bunch of duds. When I go to classical concerts, you can bet i move! No WONDER classical music concerts are generally characterized as boring and for old people...whose arthritis is so bad, they CAN'T move! They should have a section for people like ME who need to move to the music. LOL. And another section for those who sit emotionless.
The focus is on Barenboim, his skill and technique, along with his execution of the beautiful Beethoven melodies. Don't assume the audience is bored, most likely watching in awe. We express ourselves in different ways, I bet there's at least a foot or fingers tapping somewhere in that crowd. Hasten to say, it's old fashioned, but there is a general rule of thumb that when it comes to classical solo/ensemble music and dance performances that the artists' concentration is key: any distractions will be stopped. If you're expressing yourself physically to a Beethoven sonata at a prestigious venue, either by standing up and moving your whole body or even just swaying side to side "losing yourself in the music", just be aware, you may well be removed from the auditorium for causing a distraction to the performer/s or irritation to others behind/beside you 😂 In comparison, at a rock concert it's perfectly acceptable for the audience to sing along, dance, air guitar, whoop/ cheer during a song, but it's not the same with classical - silence is the perfect backdrop to classical music performances. By all means show your appreciation at the end of the performance, but obviously be wary of the fact that you're not the only one in the audience watching a live performance 😉
