International conference discusses new research findings
What is the future of the classical concert? A question that ultimately concerns every orchestra, not just in Germany, Austria or Switzerland. A two-day international conference at the end of November 2023 provided new insights.
Martin Tröndle and his interdisciplinary research team from Zeppelin University in Friedrichhafen (South Germany) presented the initial results of their Experimental Concert Research (ECR) study, which was launched in 2018. Since 2020, parts of the audience of several chamber concert events with string quintets by Beethoven, Brahms and Brett Dean in the Pierre Boulez Saal and the Radialsystem in Berlin have been examined. Participants were asked about their expectations and experiences using questionnaires before and after the concerts. During the concerts, video cameras were used to measure the audience’s facial reactions and body movements as well as their pulse, breathing and skin conductivity, among other things.
How do people react when they listen to different pieces of music in different settings? How do they react to classical or contemporary music, to performers, moderation, changing lighting moods? What different effects do the works performed produce? Can the insights gained be incorporated into the future design of concert experiences and even program considerations? Tens of thousands of data records were collected, many of which still need to be analyzed. International interest in the initial results was huge. According to the research team, there have already been over 300 media articles and online contributions to the study itself worldwide.
Initial findings include, for example, that the listener’s pulse is synchronized by the music, but not their breathing. It was also found that there are no significantly measurable effects on the audience’s overall evaluation of the concert experience as to whether a particularly young chamber music ensemble or an older, more experienced one performs, whether the concerts were moderated or whether the lighting moods were adjusted. However, in the specific research series, the Boulez Saal, designed as an oval concert hall, was rated better than the Radialsystem, which was created from a former pumping station, in terms of ambience, seating comfort and interaction with the chamber music ensembles. This finding was interpreted by some of the 120 or so conference participants as meaning that the acceptance of individual formats is very much determined by the specific ambience of the concert spaces. On the other hand, it also became clear that traditional concert halls with inflexible seating are only ever suitable for certain, more conventional concert settings.
The conference also looked at digital and hybrid concert formats, which emerged primarily during the coronavirus lockdowns from spring 2020. It also looked at tried-and-tested and new concert formats, visitor types and audience expectations. Various lectures, short poster presentations and further partial evaluations of the ECR studies revealed some interesting aspects. Lana Zickgraf from the Basel Symphony Orchestra, for example, described how her orchestra swarmed out to the most diverse locations in the city during the renovation of the Basel Stadtcasino from 2016 to 2020: picnic concerts in the Museum of Cultures, promenade concerts in the Northern Railway Station with childcare, a Bruckner cycle in Basel Minster where the audience was seated in deckchairs, chamber concerts in the Literaturhaus, cooperation concerts with choirs from local high schools, etc. This reached many people who would otherwise never have found their way to the Stadtcasino. After returning to the original concert hall, at least some of the formats were continued in the city.
In the discussion, Constanze Wimmer from the University of Music Graz said that there is no such thing as “the classical concert”, but that there is now a great variety to choose from, from traditional to innovative to experimental. Many orchestras and event organizers are now taking precisely this approach by configuring formats in such a way that they appeal to very different audience expectations. The diversification of programs can also lead to more diversity in the audience, as in the Basel example. Many conference guests saw considerable potential here. However, artists on stage also need to rethink and redefine their roles and functions in reaching the audience, including in terms of approachability and diversity on stage.
Among the hybrid concert experiments presented, Via Visuals, presented by director Beat Fehlmann of the German State Philharmonic Rheinland-Pfalz from Ludwigshafen, stood out: online concertgoers listened to and watched a live performance of Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition. The computer camera used facial recognition to capture the emotions of the viewer and transferred them into a graphic using an AI application. Via a drop-down menu, the similarly generated graphics of other users and those of the conductor could be viewed and compared with each other. Although at home on the computer, this created a virtual community experience among the online users.
Between the opposing poles of social and aesthetic experience, four audience types were identified in the ECR study according to their motivation for attending concerts: those who simply attended the concert, those interested in the social event, concert enthusiasts and music lovers. Around 81 percent of the test subjects attended the concerts accompanied, the rest came alone. This is evidence of the high demand for social interaction about the concert and the shared experience, including meeting friends and like-minded people; motives that are already known from previous studies and that were so sorely missed during the COVID period. For event organizers, this means providing an even more pleasant concert environment. However, the music as such and the live event were most important to the participants, participation was least important. The latter is a finding that should give music education some food for thought, at least for concerts with adults.
The question of the relevance of orchestras and their offerings came up again and again. The well-known American cultural journalist Alex Ross (The New Yorker) even saw the question of relevance as a question of existence for cultural institutions, especially in the USA with its predominantly private funding. This is probably also true for Germany, but for those responsible in local and state politics, who in turn decide on cultural funding. The question of the relevance, importance and low-threshold accessibility of concert events for people can best be answered by the vitality of the music business itself, its creativity and agility. We can look forward to further research results.
Gerald Mertens
Further information on the conference and the research project:
orchestramanagement 