Every once in a while, my friends and I gather with our instruments, a few choice drinks, and the parts to several different readable works to have a "chamber music party". We read and have fun in the music without any concern of critique from an audience. Chamber music is sometimes called "music for friends" and originally (pre 1800s) was intended for a private household gathering with friends and family - a lot like the parties many young musicians have today (though perhaps slightly more dignified... we don't wear powdered wigs or petticoats). It seems with the passing of a few centuries and the categorization of chamber music as "serious" performance music, a lot of visual musician to musician interaction has been lost. Instead of watching what looks like friends in intimate conversation, most times I feel like I'm watching a group of acquaintances who may not even like each other. If the music that comes out is good, does it matter? I think so.

It was the concert heard around New York City. Or rather, not heard.

Last week, the New York Philharmonic stopped in the middle of a concert because a cell phone went off during the performance. The phone ringing wasn’t the only story, but the audience reaction: the fellow concertgoers began to heckle the cell-phone-ringer-attendee.  It was a big enough deal that even the New York Times had a story on it. 

Talk about a bad day for everyone involved.

But this incident got me thinking about concert etiquette, and not just silencing cell phones or avoiding unwrapping cough drops in the middle of Beethoven, but some larger issues as well. 

The Grammy’s seem to have some interesting tricks up their sleeves these days. From nomination concerts, social media hype of a mystery band’s reunion, and restructuring of the categories of the awards given. 

I remember as a kid watching the Grammy award show because there would inevitably be an appearance by a favorite boy band of the 1990s gone by, or some new gimmicky transformation by the latest pop star.  Today, I didn’t even know there was even a nomination concert on television until my Twitter feed told me.

For an awards show that is supposed to recognize real achievements in music, the Grammy’s certainly feel more like an ode to popular music.  This is fine. There is a place for that, and popular artists deserve their moment; but what about all those other categories?

"I am Viagra to classical music and Aspirin to pop culture." - Hahn-Bin via Twitter.

My post last week sparked a debate about the visual side of performance that along with the festivities of Halloween got me thinking. With an industry so full of accomplished musicians (I mean, how many solo violinists can one market hold?) there comes a necessity for artists to distinguish themselves. What better way to do that than with a sleek mohawk and raccoon eyes, right? Lady Gaga has set herself apart in the pop scene with her provocative fashion (remember the meat dress?) and presentation as much as her music, if not more. Though this may be a phenomenon more akin to the crazy antics of popular culture (David Bowie and Nicki Minaj also come to mind), Hahn-Bin has dared to prove otherwise.