Classical Music for Dummies: Harvard Style

It is well-known that classical music puts people to sleep. It’s inaccessible, it’s arcane, and it’s boring, boring, boring. Now, it’s our job to convince you that all of those assumptions are just plain wrong.

The age of the music does not make it obsolete. The music was written by dead white guys in powdered wigs, but these are melodies and themes so transcendent and accessible that people of any race or hairstyle can easily relate. Classical music continues to resonate with modern audiences as the deepest and most adaptable of musical forms: musical interpretation breathes new and exciting life into classical music every day.

In truth, classical music is worth your attention, and some of the most engaging examples of this vital medium are right here in Boston. A bus ride and a few dollars can offer you a peek into an exciting new world, and finally give you a guiltless and properly cultured response to the question, “So, do you ever go into Boston?”

Classical music is the hidden gem of Boston’s music scene, and there has never been a better time to discover the joys of this music. When given a chance, classical music can truly have a powerful emotional impact—one boast 50 Cent could never make.

THE STUNNING HALLS

In light of the grungy cool intrinsic to many “modern” musical establishments, it may seem strange to go to a beautiful hall to enjoy music. But take the chance and you’ll be astounded at the energy—both acoustic and visual—well-designed halls can give to great music. The four halls you need to see in Boston before your four years are up are Symphony Hall, Sanders Theatre, Jordan Hall, and the Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum. Symphony Hall is best known of the bunch and the home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra. The most convenient is obviously the on-campus Sanders Theatre. The New England Conservatory features the newly-renovated Jordan Hall, which boasts near-flawless acoustics. The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, rivaling The Middle East in size, was once the home of a wealthy art collector.

THE GRATIS VENUES

When your Kong budget at last takes full control of your wallet, a classical concert is also your best bet for a cost-free Friday night. Boston teems with free concerts, most of which can be found at the large selection of music schools. The New England Conservatory has the largest presence, but the Boston Conservatory, the Boston University School of Music, and the Longy School of Music all have concert calendars full of free performances. Longy, a hop and a skip from Cambridge Common, is closer to the Yard than even the Quad. MIT also has a very eclectic concert calendar, though its hall, Kresge Auditorium, may turn off visitors with its resemblance to a giant football stuck in the mud.

THE MUSICAL THEATER

Hearing chamber music is the aural equivalent of a theatrical experience. Without a conductor, the players assume independent roles, taking turns delivering their “lines” as solos. Take, for example, Franz Schubert’s “Death and the Maiden” string quartet, a passionate work that features the cello as a tragic heroine. Without the utterance of a single word, the instruments engage in heated arguments or profess their lyrical love for one another.

Chamber music originally emerged as small groups of amateur musicians who played together for fun. Now, these tightly constructed pieces are among the most sought after among both performers and audiences.

Founded in 1983, the Boston Chamber Music Society has established itself as one of the best chamber music groups in Boston. The group is made up of eight freelance string and woodwind players from Boston and New York.

Offering six different programs a year, they feature a wide range of guest performers and composers.

Ticket prices start at $17, though student rush tickets can also be found at the Harvard Box Office for $10, at 5:00 p.m. prior to the concert. The next concert cycle, performed on March 18 and 20, features Maurice Ravel’s “Sonata for Violin and Cello,” a piece about Ravel’s traumatizing experiences in World War I—which is of particular relevance in light of today’s war-obsessed social climate.

THE TIME WARP

The trademark quality of the Handel and Haydn Society is their anachronism. The group strives to be as historically accurate as possible, using performance techniques that were common hundreds of years ago, but have fallen out of practice today.

Because the style of making instruments has evolved over the centuries, the instrumentalists also use “period instruments” to make their music sound like it did at the time of the piece’s premiere. And despite its misleading name, the society, founded in 1815, has a repertoire that extends far beyond the works of Handel and Haydn.

H&H’s next concerts are on March 12 and 13 in Sanders, and will feature Harvard’s own Plummer Professor of Christian Morals and Pusey Minister in the Memorial Church Peter J. Gomes as narrator.

THE AVANT GARDE

“The Law of Floating Objects for Flute and Tape.” This cutting-edge piece, written in 2001, features a live flutist playing a duet with a recorded tape. The Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP) will produce this work, along with other original, equally eclectic compositions, on March 15.

Some people tend to dislike contemporary classical music even more than traditional classical music, calling it “ugly noise,” but BMOP actively tries to dispel this stereotype by uniting “composers and audiences in a shared concert experience.” Since its creation in 1966, BMOP has collaborated with many of the most famous and well-respected composers of the modern age, including two-time Oscar nominee Phillip Glass.

BMOP brings these new composers to new audiences, performing not only in traditional classical music spaces but also at offbeat venues such as the Moonshine Room at Club Café in Boston.

THE BENCHMARK

The Boston Symphony Orchestra is mostly self-explanatory. It is Boston’s symphony orchestra. Throughout the academic year, the BSO performs “serious” classical works, featuring soloists and guest conductors. Tickets are cheap for college students. Student rush tickets are available, and “college cards” can be purchased for an entire season. $25 buys passes to 14 concerts free of charge, which comes out to about $1.79 per concert. That’s roughly one-fifth the cost of a movie ticket.

THE PLAYFUL ONE

Spring reintroduces the beloved Boston Pops Orchestra, a branch of the BSO. This orchestra plays lighter fare, delighting its audience with favorites such as John Williams’ “Theme from Star Wars” and John Phillip Sousa’s “Stars and Stripes Forever.” The carefree Pops atmosphere, complete with balloons and pitchers of “Pops Punch,” brings a welcome step out of the dreary winter.

THE THRILLERS

Boston Baroque performs works from the pre-twentieth century canon, but like the Handel and Haydn Society its repertoire is not limited to the Baroque. The group has been described by the magazine Stereo Review as “perhaps the outstanding period-instrument ensemble in this country.” This season, in addition to Bach and Vivaldi, the group will also perform works by Gluck and Beethoven, composers from the classical era. What this ensemble does to promote baroque music in particular, however, is thrilling. Trust us.

THE FAT LADY SINGS

Opera Boston, Boston’s foremost opera company, puts on a wide array of operas, from the classics of Puccini to more modern productions. Last year’s Nixon in China, by John Adams ’71, was a highlight of the season. Although student rush tickets are not available, tickets can be purchased at a group discount starting at $27, not unreasonable for a night at the opera.