Tonight was Beethoven’s 9th, complete with a giant choir. What I love most about a live symphony is that each instrument occupies its own location in space, and you can hear the music swirling from section to section, a sensation you just can’t experience over headphones. Also, watching the bows of the stringed instruments melt in and out of synchronization as the different chairs converge and diverge on their parts, that’s hypnotizing. I never really listen to classical music, but I love going the symphony (this is my third concert in San Francisco; twice in Davies Hall and once in Dolores Park).

11 September 2008