Western Classical music’s traditions and rituals make it intimidating for the novice. Here’s a beginners’ guide to its many fascinations
It is that moment now. You wanted to go for the IPL but Neville Billimoria wouldn’t have any of that nonsense. Instead, you are inside Jamshed Bhabha Auditorium at the National Centre for Performing Arts (NCPA), Mumbai, seated right between the Billimorias and the Wadias. The atmosphere has all the electricity of a Tata annual general meeting.
And then the musicians, all elegantly dressed, walk in, to enthusiastic applause. They sit down and start tuning their instruments. Sounds of gravitas hang in the air. Neville looks at you, his face contorted in utter delight and says: “Such warm…” And you say: “I know! Bloody air-conditioning isn’t working!” Neville completes the sentence: “…tones of the double bass and the cello.”Never clap till the entire piece is over. Why? “It is a distraction,” says Geeta Purandare, who has taught piano for over 30 years. The mood and musical location (“key”) changes as one movement gives way to next. “If the musicians are distracted they may just miss the time or may start off with a wrong emphasis,” says Zubin Balaporia, once a part of the rock band Indus Creed, now a classical music fan. Why is Indian Classical music different? In Indian music each performance is extempore and the musician can acknowledge the appalause, wait for one time cycle to get over and pick up from where they had left off in the next cycle. In Western Classical music, the composers have determined the exact time and musical space and players have a limitation on interpretation. Balaporia says: “It is said that the five seconds after a Mozart symphony ends also belong to Mozart.” Practical tip? Wait for the
(This story appears in the 16 April, 2010 issue of Forbes India. To visit our Archives, click here.)