1 Introduction: Berthold and Magda Go to the Symphony
Berthold and Magda sit expectantly in their well-appointed seats at the
Royal Festival Hall, immersed in the low babble of the chattering classes
and looking up at the stage where the musicians make final adjustments to
their instruments. The conductor briskly scans the score, baton twitching
in his hand. Berthold is particularly excited. He loves Sibelius, as Magda
well knows – it was she who purchased the tickets as a surprise for her
partner – and the piece that is to be performed this evening – Sibelius’s
Second Symphony – is a particular favorite of his. As the conductor addresses
the musicians, baton poised in the air, the auditorium falls silent. An almost
imperceptible flexing of the conductor’s wrist coaxes the opening phrases of
the piece, suitably sotto , from the violins. Berthold inhales deeply, closes his
eyes, and prepares to scale the cold white peaks of art.^1 It was, he will opine
later as they stroll along the South Bank, a sublime, almost transcendent,
rendition of the piece.
Whether or not we empathize with the particular rapture experienced by
Berthold, the general scenario is certainly a familiar one – a performance by
a musical ensemble of a given piece of music attended by admirers who know
it well yet, as lovers do, still find exquisite pleasure in the novel inflection
of familiar routines. For, of course, what we have described is a particular
listening to a particular performance of a musical work that has enjoyed
2 The Classical Paradigm I: The Nature of the Performable Work
Philosophy of the Performing Arts , First Edition. David Davies.
© 2011 David Davies. Published 2011 by Blackwell Publishing Ltd.