Thomas Heilman asks:

>What do you think of the idea that concertgoers these days attend concerts
>expecting some sort of psychotherapy session, some sort of cathartic
>experience? I am not saying I agree with this idea, but I have certainly
>heard it proposed.  And if this is true or an agreed-upon-truth, has this
>always been the case?

I think that SOME concertgoers may be seeking that experience - and in fact
that is one reason, IMHO, Mahler is so popular- maybe Shostakovich as well.
But the idea is not new.  Catharsis was a big part of the power of Greek
Tragedy.

Professor Bernard Chasan
Physics Department, Boston University