Page 156 - Media Coverage Book - 75th Aldeburgh Festival 2024

One of the reasons young people get bored in classical concerts is because they don’t feel a part of
what’s happening. They’re stuck in their little seats keeping quiet for the whole evening. Compare
that to the audience interaction that’s a part of any modern pop concert, where the musicians
speak to the audience, encourage them to clap, sing along and wave their phone lights. I’ve played
a violin at a concert which mixed classical music with electronic music. During my solo we had
people following the rhythm of my playing using the lights on their phones – that’s something
they’ll remember because they became a part of the performance.

I did a big concert in a very conventional, classical concert hall in Paris when I released my last
album, Cinéma. But the audience took their phones out and it was so lovely to be tagged so many
times on social media afterwards. Tagging feels like the modern equivalent of getting flowers after
a performance, only concertgoers can show you the particular moments that felt special to them.
In this case, I saw people had really loved my new arrangement of the theme from Le Fabuleux
Destin de Amélie Poulain and that felt wonderful. While playing, I could hear people leaving their
seats, lifting their phones. It was spontaneous, collective. As musicians we want people to feel alive
while we play and I felt like the whole hall was connected.

I know this is a controversial view. Some people think phones are disruptive. But most of the time
young people use their phones very naturally and respectfully. They don’t stand up with their arms
up for the whole show. Younger people want 15-30 second clips because that’s the right length to
upload to social media. They know how to turn off the flash and the sound on their phone. It’s
never the phone of a young person that rings loudly in concerts – that’s much more likely to be an
older person who hasn’t worked out how to put their phone onto silent mode!

Of course we need peace and quiet to appreciate music. But sometimes the atmosphere in classical
concerts can feel so tense and constraining that even as a performer I feel scared to move. I
sometimes think I’d prefer it if people cough when they need to instead of everybody waiting to
cough between movements. Music like this is human expression – let’s not forget the humanity of
everybody in the hall.

“You’ll have a better souvenir in your memory if you’ve been able

to pay attention”

Steven Isserlis, 65
Multi-award-winning cellist