Concert in the darkJanuary 30th, 2009
At the end of his career, Sviatoslav Richter liked to play in the dark with just a little lighting so he could see the keyboard. He disappeared thus in the concert hall’s shadow. But why concerts in the dark? Playing in the dark increases the concentration of the audience and allows to focus on the essential: music.
Richter used to say that there is nothing to see when a pianist is playing, nothing except work, and the spectator doesn’t need to see it. I totally agree with his thinking: a concert is above all for the ears, too often however, the pianist’s “show” prevails. We go to concerts to hear music not to see it. The problem would be perhaps that more and more people hear with their eyes…
Having tried the method on several occasions, a concert in the dark gives excellent results: a more quiet concert hall and less parasite noises. I could also feel from the public a very concentrated listening attention, and in return, I was more concentrated myself and played much better. During these experiences, the public always reacted very positively and found the experience much more pleasant.
For my part, I think that some works should be heard only in the half-light, especially for contemporary music. In this case, I do everything I can to play with the less light possible.
And you, have you ever attended this kind of concert? Did you like it? Would you attend it?
10/30/09 - 17:24
I would love to attend such a concert! Come to Indianapolis and insist upon it!
02/15/10 - 14:59
I recently performed an “inside the piano” improvisatory piece with a moog/theremin player and we performed by candle-light. This way the audience was able to listen without the distraction of wondering what I was doing bouncing and rolling all those rubber balls over the piano strings. The lights came on for the more traditional pieces.