Concerning the Audience

As I was doing some research on Henryk Górecki, I came across a statement made by the composer.  In a 1994 interview Górecki discussed the audience and the potential influence on his music.  He said,

I do not choose my listeners. What I mean is, I never write for my listeners. I think about my audience, but I am not writing for them. I have something to tell them, but the audience must also put a certain effort into it. But I never wrote for an audience and never will write for because you have to give the listener something and he has to make an effort in order to understand certain things. If I were thinking of my audience and one likes this, one likes that, one likes another thing, I would never know what to write. Let every listener choose that which interests him. I have nothing against one person liking Mozart or Shostakovich or Leonard Bernstein, but doesn't like Górecki. That's fine with me. I, too, like certain things.

This quotation really resonates with me.  Often colleagues of mine would comment about how they would tailor their music to the audience's supposed likes and dislikes.  They would intentionally avoid composing certain things because they want the audience to like their music.

I believe that composing for the audience could compromise the integrity of the music.  As a composer I agree with Górecki.  I know and understand that there will be people who do not like my music.  That is fine.  I do not want to get caught up in composing "music for the masses."  I want to compose music that says what I have to say.

As an audience member, I truly appreciate Górecki's comments.  I enjoy listening to music that challenges me and expands my musical horizons.  I do not want to hear music by a composer who is concerned about his or her audience.  I have heard pieces like this and you can tell that the composer is trying too hard to please the audience.  These piece tend to be predictable, because there is nothing new that the composer is saying.

I believe that Górecki is on to something when he says "the audience must also put a certain effort into it."  An exciting aspect of music is interpretation.  Interpretation comes not only from the performer, but the listener as well.  Each member of the audience can take different things away from the performance.  Even multiple performances by different performers can elicit different responses from the same audience.  This is why it would be difficult to compose for the audience.  It is also what makes music enjoyable.