Jon Johanning discusses what might be the best way to listen to an
unfamiliar piece of music:

>Your point about CDs is well made, but I think there is a difference
>between record collections and concerts.  The former are entirely
>personal constructions, and the latter are public events.

I had kind of a revelatory experience listening to an pretty modern
piece of CM called "Dark Sun," performed by Sacramento's *2nd* symphony
orchestra, the Camilia Symphony.  What I noticed was how much the visceral
impact of the live performance enhanced my experience in a way that an
audio-only experience would not.  The piece was for choir and orchestra
and called for many hand-held percussion instruments to be distributed
among the players and singers.

It worked.  Had I listened to the work on CD I would have turned it off.

I'm not rehashing the old assertion that live is better, but I do find that
some modern music, especially the kind that contains elements of what many
categorize as World music, is better seen as well as heard.

John Smyth