They Care if You Play
They Care if You Play
The Silent Majority
Ask any classical music radio announcer. Once a year, or maybe once every five years, they’ll get an email, letter or phone call thanking them for playing a certain piece of music at a very specific time. The message will be something quite personal and poignant.
“That performance came at a time when I was absolutely at my lowest point, and hearing it brought me comfort and hope.”
“I had just lost my spouse, and hearing that piece when you played it helped me regain my faith to go on even in my deepest grief.”
At other times, the piece that was heard brought back a wonderful memory of a magical time in someone’s life.
I once interviewed a composer about a recent international award he had just received. An opera director in the Midwest heard that interview and called him the next day to talk about a commission.
You never know who’s listening.
I took care of my Mother during the last 14 months of her life. There is a cheese shop in Annapolis that I go to once a week. https://www.tastingsgourmetmarket.com/
I started bringing my Mother some of the soft French cheeses that were my favorites: Pierre Robert, St. Angel Triple Cream and Fromager d'affinois.
My mother loved those cheeses, each time expressing sheer delight, surprise and admiration for how expressively delicious they were. I can, without any doubt, say that variety of “decadent triple-crème-style cheese” improved my mother’s quality of life until the very end.
I told Stacey the shop’s owner what the store and her cheese had meant to my mother, and the pleasure she derived with each bite. Stacey is lovely, but a totally no-nonsense type of manager.
“I’d never actually thought of that being a situation or even a possibility,” she said (perhaps fighting back tears).
“You never know who’s eating your cheese,” I told her.
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People are listening to and experiencing your music one person at a time.
You never know who’s listening.
Keep showing up. They care if you play.
All Art is Personal.
"Who Cares if You Listen?" was an article written by the American composer Milton Babbitt (1916 – 2011) and published in the February, 1958, issue of High Fidelity.
In an interview with Gabrielle Zuckerman for "American Mavericks" on American Public Media in 2002, Babbitt admits that the "story" of "Who Cares if You Listen" had "pursued" and "angered" him. He goes on to state that the article was originally a lecture entitled "Off the Cuff", and that the title "Who Cares if You Listen" was not authorized by him…."the article was injudiciously cut and given its inflammatory title by an editor"
Thank you, Wikipedia, for the all of the details above.
A dear friend and longtime colleague of Mr. Babbitt assured me that he did care if you listened.
Today, there is a website, I Care if You Listen https://www.icareifyoulisten.com/, founded in December 2010 by Thomas Deneuville.
“I CARE IF YOU LISTEN was born from the desire to talk about Contemporary Classical Music—or New Music—in lay terms. Other topics include Art and Technology.”