# Would you go to a symphony concert if you hated one piece being performed? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 29, 2018, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-go-to-a-symphony-concert-if-you-hated-one-piece-being-performed/811386 "2018-03-29T01:06:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-go-to-a-symphony-concert-if-you-hated-one-piece-being-performed/811386/1 "2018-03-29T01:06:38Z")
A simple decision that I need to make by tomorrow. The Chicago Symphony Orchestra is performing Schumann’s Symphony No. 1. I love the music of Robert Schumann and this would normally be a no brain decision. However, the other major piece being performed is by Leonard Bernstein, a composer whose music I despise. I’m fairly indifferent to the Wagner overture. I actually like a lot about Bernstein as a conductor, but, wow, he wrote lousy music. Should I suffer through the Bernstein piece to hear the Schumann I love? [https://cso.org/ticketsandevents/production-details-2017-18/chicago-symphony-orchestra/nagano-conducts-bernstein/?perfNo=8613](https://cso.org/ticketsandevents/production-details-2017-18/chicago-symphony-orchestra/nagano-conducts-bernstein/?perfNo=8613) ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-go-to-a-symphony-concert-if-you-hated-one-piece-being-performed/811386/2 "2018-03-29T01:28:24Z")
Can you get in at intermission, thus skipping the first two pieces? If not, could you keep yourself occupied in the lobby while the first two play out? Sorry, didn’t answer the question: Yes, I would, especially if the tix were free. My wife and I cut out on a Shirley Jones concert at the half-way point once. ---
**Author:** ![zombywoof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/9e8a1a/32.png) [@zombywoof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zombywoof)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-go-to-a-symphony-concert-if-you-hated-one-piece-being-performed/811386/3 "2018-03-29T02:02:27Z")
Assuming you don’t think there’s any way you’ll find something to like about the Bernstein selection, there’s no reason to “suffer” through it - just sit that piece out in the lobby, at the bar, etc. (hopefully you’ll be going with a like-minded companion you can spend the time chatting with.) (Base your decision on the part you want to see, not the part you don’t want or have to) ---
**Author:** ![DavidwithanR](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/3bc359/32.png) [@DavidwithanR](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidwithanR)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-go-to-a-symphony-concert-if-you-hated-one-piece-being-performed/811386/4 "2018-03-29T02:41:51Z")
I’d go. I’d sit through the one I didn’t like too, but that’s just me - if you know you hate the piece, then I guess why suffer. ---
**Author:** ![dalej42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@dalej42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dalej42)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-go-to-a-symphony-concert-if-you-hated-one-piece-being-performed/811386/5 "2018-03-29T03:01:23Z")
The one reason for me to sit through the Bernstein is that maybe I’ll ‘get it.’ Now, I doubt this is likely. Sure, there was a lot of music I didn’t like in my late teens and early 20’s that now I love. But, I can’t think of any composer since I was 25 that I’ve changed my opinion of. But, who knows? I remember how ‘bored’ I was with Debussy when I was 17 and now he’s up there with my favorite composers. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 5:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-go-to-a-symphony-concert-if-you-hated-one-piece-being-performed/811386/6 "2018-03-29T05:01:12Z")
Sometimes works of art have to be witnessed in person to be understood. The David is like that… and The Birth of Venus. It might be worth trying to sit through it. ---
**Author:** ![AHunter3](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ahunter3/32/368_2.png) [@AHunter3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AHunter3)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 5:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-go-to-a-symphony-concert-if-you-hated-one-piece-being-performed/811386/7 "2018-03-29T05:26:03Z")
It would depend on the relative length of the one I didn’t like, plus how severely I hated it. I’ve winced my way through a Charles Ives cacaphony in order to hear Mahley’s Symphony of a Thousand with full orchestra and choir. The Ives had the single advantage of being relatively short. If it had been Richard Strauss’s _Ein Heldenleben_, I dunno. ---
**Author:** ![Allthegood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c68b51/32.png) [@Allthegood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Allthegood)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 6:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-go-to-a-symphony-concert-if-you-hated-one-piece-being-performed/811386/8 "2018-03-29T06:06:04Z")
There’s hate and there’s HATE. I really would not want to sit through that Charles Ives piece ever again – it was downright disturbing to listen to. But a piece I just don’t care for? Sure, I’d sit through it to hear something I really liked. ---
**Author:** ![Uniqueorn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uniqueorn/32/2807_2.png) [@Uniqueorn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uniqueorn)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-go-to-a-symphony-concert-if-you-hated-one-piece-being-performed/811386/9 "2018-03-29T07:25:08Z")
Yes, I would. Feeling miserable builds character. Also, I would focus on something other than the music, maybe how cute one of the violonists is or something. ---
**Author:** ![erysichthon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d07c76/32.png) [@erysichthon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/erysichthon)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 9:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-go-to-a-symphony-concert-if-you-hated-one-piece-being-performed/811386/10 "2018-03-29T09:45:12Z")
I’d actually enjoy hearing the Bernstein symphony live—I’ve only heard the old LP recording, many years ago. If it were me, I’d sit through the whole thing. But, hey, if you’re absolutely sure you’ll hate it, then get a drink from the bar and sit in the lobby until it’s over. Life’s too short to sit through stuff you don’t like. > [@dalej42](#): > > I remember how ‘bored’ I was with Debussy when I was 17 and now he’s up there with my favorite composers. That’s exactly what happened to me with Schumann. In my younger days, I didn’t like him at all; now I think he’s awesome. Lucky you, getting to hear the CSO play the Schumann 1st! ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-go-to-a-symphony-concert-if-you-hated-one-piece-being-performed/811386/11 "2018-03-29T11:55:56Z")
Go, and during the Bernstain\*\*\*\*\* piece shout, “Freebird!”, but just once. \*\*\*\*\* The Mandela spelling. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 12:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-go-to-a-symphony-concert-if-you-hated-one-piece-being-performed/811386/12 "2018-03-29T12:20:26Z")
> [@AHunter3](#): > > It would depend on the relative length of the one I didn’t like, plus how severely I hated it. > > I’ve winced my way through a Charles Ives cacaphony in order to hear Mahley’s Symphony of a Thousand with full orchestra and choir. The Ives had the single advantage of being relatively short. If it had been Richard Strauss’s _Ein Heldenleben_, I dunno. Heh. I’d go for the Ives and wince my way through the Mahler. I love me some Ives, while Mahler bores the pants off me. _Chacun a son gout etc etc._ I’ve certainly both gone to concerts where I really wanted to hear a particular piece even if the rest of the concert didn’t interest me, and not gone to concerts where a particular piece repelled me and nothing else on the program was a sufficiently strong draw. The OP will simply have to weigh the personal love/hate balance here. And while I love Bernstein’s music overall a lot his symphonies are quite possibly the weakest of his output. At least it’s “Age of Anxiety” which isn’t too horrible - “Kaddish” is filled with self-indulgent twaddle. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-go-to-a-symphony-concert-if-you-hated-one-piece-being-performed/811386/13 "2018-03-29T12:22:52Z")
I have season tickets to the Charlotte Symphony, so I go to all the concerts regardless of what I think of the particular music being played. Of course, there’s very little I “hate” in the way of classical music. Some music is less enjoyable to listen to, but there’s always something interesting to pick out of the music. If nothing else, it’s fun to watch the individual performers you like. We just had an entire Bernstein concert (100th Birthday celebrations abound right now). In that case, if you had antipathy towards him, I could understand skipping the concert. But as it is, just go and see what you can find to like. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 12:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-go-to-a-symphony-concert-if-you-hated-one-piece-being-performed/811386/14 "2018-03-29T12:26:04Z")
Being an inflatable beach-ball to blow up and release into the audience during the hated section. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-go-to-a-symphony-concert-if-you-hated-one-piece-being-performed/811386/15 "2018-03-29T12:31:15Z")
I’ve been to entire concerts of music I don’t like just to be polite and sit through with a friend. This would be a piece-of-cake decision for me. Of course I’d go! ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2018, 12:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-go-to-a-symphony-concert-if-you-hated-one-piece-being-performed/811386/16 "2018-03-29T12:35:49Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > Being an inflatable beach-ball to blow up and release into the audience during the hated section. That’s what the [BBC Proms](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1zyvlkhROU) are for. ---
**Author:** ![Allthegood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c68b51/32.png) [@Allthegood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Allthegood)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2018, 7:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-go-to-a-symphony-concert-if-you-hated-one-piece-being-performed/811386/17 "2018-03-30T07:03:18Z")
Oops. ---
**Author:** ![Allthegood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c68b51/32.png) [@Allthegood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Allthegood)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2018, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-go-to-a-symphony-concert-if-you-hated-one-piece-being-performed/811386/18 "2018-03-30T07:04:40Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > Heh. I’d go for the Ives and wince my way through the Mahler. I love me some Ives, while Mahler bores the pants off me. _Chacun a son gout etc etc._. There is _some_ Ives I can listen to, but I really do not ever want to be subjected to this again: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnDohqSZmsg](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnDohqSZmsg). There are two different sections of the orchestra playing completely different things at the same time. That may sound intriguing but it is horrible! Ugh! ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2018, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-go-to-a-symphony-concert-if-you-hated-one-piece-being-performed/811386/19 "2018-03-30T23:19:00Z")
I have sat through countless concerts, only to hear a Rachmaninov concerto or Tchaikovsky symphony. Or sometimes to hear a cherished soloist. But if you’re talking about a Chicago Symphony concert (or better yet, Cleveland ;)), it’ll be a wonderful concert, no matter what they’re playing. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2018, 11:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-go-to-a-symphony-concert-if-you-hated-one-piece-being-performed/811386/20 "2018-03-30T23:41:12Z")
I was about to say “sure, I’d definitely do it if I went to classical concerts” but then I remembered that the only time in my adult life I’ve been tempted to go to a classical show they were playing the entirety of Carmina Burana but I only like the famous beginning so I didn’t go, especially since it was a small venue and I thought it would be gauche to be seen leaving after the first part. But for rock concerts, I go to shows where I don’t particularly like some of the acts all the time. When I don’t like the headliner, whether I stay is a function of what time I need to get up the next morning. But I always see the openers even if I actively dislike them because I go to concerts alone and if I come late the best standing room spaces are taken. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/would-you-go-to-a-symphony-concert-if-you-hated-one-piece-being-performed/811386.md?page=2)