ABSTRACT
The traditional classical concert format originated within urban bourgeois circles in nineteenth-century Europe, and has kept itself a very stable cultural phenomenon up until today. As the world has changed radically in nearly all dimensions, the concert has kept its traditional structure and format. Many observers argue that the difficulty of attracting younger and more diverse audiences to the classical concert today is due to the conservatism of the format. In this piece, Steven Walter argues that there are many more—and primarily artistic—reasons to rethink its format. He proposes that we should think of the concert format as a vital part of the artistic process, that is, as an extension of the interpretation. From this artistic perspective, the constant development of new concert formats across all parameters is not just a gimmick or a marketing trick, but rather a vital part of a new and contemporary culture of art music.
