by Mike Telin

How much do you need to know about a piece of music in order to enjoy listening to it? In a recent New York Times interview, Finnish composer and conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen likened the experience of attending a concert without preparation to attending a sporting event without understanding the rules.

“We have been so apologetic in this, what we call classical music, that we say: ‘You don’t have to know anything, you don’t have to have any background, you don’t have to have any frame of reference, just come with an open mind, and you’ll love it,’” Salonen said during the interview. “It doesn’t quite work like that. Because if I go to an American football game not knowing anything about the rules — as, I have to admit, I don’t — it’s totally meaningless.”

On Sunday, May 15 at 5:00 pm at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Ohio City, the Syndicate for the New Arts will present a concert featuring five world premieres of works that explore the sonic possibilities of the double bass and harp. [Read more…]