Sat front row at the symphony...

The violin and accordion at an intimate place in Budapest.  That's a better place to hear these instruments than a prestigious concert hall.  I had a similar experience at Preservation Hall in New Orleans in 2005.  P Hall was a small cave of a room with walls of rocks and 3 benches for about 20 people. The unamplified brass and piano were exciting. All for $6 for 30 min of music, including audience requests.  Now $40, still a great deal, in comparison to a concert hall where most seats are distant.  For small ensembles, cafes are the best.  They have small ensembles in large halls just as a matter of economics, not for the optimum way to hear them.

In NYC subways, good musicians perform on the platform between the noise of trains coming.  Get close, and throw them some change for 1-2 minutes of music.  You'll learn more than from going to audio shows, dealers or concert halls.

@viper6 Yes, I’ve heard live music in NYC subways throughout the 2000s’ to 2018, the last time I visited.

LA is blasting classical music to deter homeless people from gathering at metro stations The Los Angeles Metro is using classical music on its light rail system to deter homeless people from congregating and sleeping in a downtown station.https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2023-04-04/loud-classical-music-macarthur-park-metro-los-angeles-decibel-meter

I still won’t use the LA subway for all the classical music they play because it is dangerous and dirty, plus it is 25 miles south of me (I reside in the San Fernando Valley part of LA City). Mexico City has a superior subway as well as the sterling Tokyo one.    And this appropriate article: https://www.dailywire.com/news/psychological-torture-chamber-l-a-subway-plays-classical-music-critics-go-bonkers?fbclid=IwAR3WEcUPGnV5BKOf4vI-gRaCcGIC7dJuNaqgwD_qFVKKbDoyDmAA8T3EYlw

Los Angeles County continues to promote public transit growth/development and continuously greater funding despite the current funding sufficient to provide free transportation for all who need it. Simultaneously, fewer riders of public transportation and attacks on private vehicle transportation through the elimination of streets to bicycles. 

Orchestral music, at its best, is enjoyed sumptuously not in rows 1-5, but beyond that, centrally from the 5th through the 8th rows.  Professional, performing musicians understand the concept of "soundstage" and where it is best heard.

@7452jf,

Completely agree with you in your statement regarding California Center for the Arts, Escondido. I’ve been there a handful of times myself, and in fact one of my daughters was briefly enrolled (one year) at Classical Academy Middle School directly across from.

Please tell me you’ve attended “The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park.”

:-)

@lfssbn1 YES +1