Revisiting the classics

Before the COVID-19 pandemic struck in March of this year that is about to end, the industry of live performances was at an all-time high, not only in total revenue, but also in all the other figures, like number of events, venues, performers and spectators. The funny part is that most of the content presented in these shows is not original: all music concerts are "just" live renditions of works that already been released as recordings either by the same artist (like in pop music) or even by many artists before (as is the case in classical music); the same applies all operas and, although there are many new musicals, it is also frequent to see new versions of old plays. Even among the amateurs, we attend Christmas carol singing were the same songs are repeated year after year. Why is it so?

It is a well know fact that children love hearing the same bedtime story time and time again: even if the story is scary, after they have heard it once until the end frightening situations become much less so. Instead of keeping track of the history as a whole, which they already know, they can focus on the individual scenes, the vocabulary, the drawings. They also feel thrilled anticipating their favorite part, because they know it is going to come. Can these feelings be extended to toddlers and adults? Undoubtedly.

Photo: pixy.org

In his 2000 book "The Tipping Point", Malcolm Gladwell tells the story of how the Nickelodeon show Blue's Clues was design to improve on the performance of its precursor Sesame Street, which did not manage to maintain the attention of younger viewers (1 to 2 years of age). In a similar fashion to the bedtime stories, the show run the same episode every day for a full week before introducing a new one. The show also contained single plot line as opposed to the "magazine" format of Sesame Street, so the toddlers were able to focus on the one story rather than trying to understand each short segment separately. Pedagogical studies showed that the repetition allowed the kids to understand their story at their own speed (older ones typically grasped on the first run, the younger would need two or three) and then they start to follow along, anticipating the event that they can predict and discovering nuances that they could have missed the day before.

For adults the situation is not much different, the anticipation of an event does not necessarily detract from the enjoyment or it can even add to it. Just think about the New Year's Concert of the Wiener Philarmoniker that will take place in a couple of days: it is known to end every year with a rendition of the famous Radetzky March, where the conductor turns around and directs the audience to clap at the rythm of the music played by the orchestra. And I am sure that every participant (even the spectators from their homes) enjoys the show in spite of its predictable nature. But why is it so? Why are we ready to relive experiences, watch movies for a second time or review our favorite book?

In my opinion there are two aspects of it: on the one hand, once the story or the song is known we do not need to pay that much attention to the content and we can focus on the container, on the actual performance: does the voice of the dying character actually tremble? Why did the composer choose these lyrics and not different ones? Is it really necessary to use so many words to describe this situation? What a beautiful dress is the princess wearing! In the end, it is almost like singing or watching a different song or theater play, with the story almost as an "excuse" for the performance.

The other reason to revisit a known performance is our own evolution: we are constantly changing, and the things that we liked in the past become unpalatable later, while aspect that flew completely under the radar when we were younger suddenly become really present. I mentioned last week the risks of heading down Memory Lane with too high expectations, but if you are attentive to what you new reaction might be to an old performance, the experience can be gratifying. But this evening, I will have the same Earl Grey tea that I have always had, a man has to keep his customs. Have a good evening.