Mary Powers <[log in to unmask]> writes: >[log in to unmask] writes: > >>Breathe too loudly? I'd be happy if matronly women would manage to >unwrap >>a cough drop in under five minutes. > >OK..... > >as a lurker who listens to classical music on CD but does not go to >concerts, let me say this attitude exemplifies why I stay home. Why are >matronly women singled out? Because fat women are unwelcome? That is ridiculous. Perhaps if you did attend concerts, you'd be aware of the stereotype. Too often, someone unwraps a cough drop in ultra-slow motion. Frequently this could have been done between movements, when there was no music to disrupt, but I have actually seen the perpetrators wait until the next movement to begin, hoping that-- what?-- the music would drown out the cellophane crackling? And, yes, it almost always seems to be "matronly" women doing it, although I use "matronly" more to describe their bearing than their weight. (If I were to exclude overweight women from attending concerts, I'd have to exclude myself.) >Then I should definitely stay home. Anyway, it seems to me that if you >get that pissed off about a little crowd noise, you shouldn't be there >anyway. The distinction needs to be made between noise which is avoidable and noise which is not. If someone must sneeze or cough, one cannot always help it, and, yes, fellow audience members should be tolerant. But the slowly unpeeled wrapper, conversing during a performance, and so forth *are* avaidable, and are inconsiderate of those who actually want to concentrate on the music. >Someone make the case for me that with this attitude, there's "value added" >- obnoxious bureaucrat term - in going to a concert vs. just buying the >CD, or listening to a live concert being broadcast over the radio. Sure, and you could just watch Shakespeare on your TV screen without venturing into a theater, but it wouldn't be the same. While there are aspects of listening to a CD over a live concert (such as no mentholyptus wrappers), there is a magic in a well-done live concert that is difficult to verbalize. I find this is especially true of chamber music concerts, but, then, I'm biased. Jocelyn Wang Culver Chamber Music Series (where music lovers of all body types are welcome)