11/8/2014 10:29

NPR

I didn't want to say anything during the concert, but I do think that you fit in with that crowd much more than I do. You at least listen to National Public Radio. Most of the subscribers to the concert series probably listen to NPR.

To really belong, one would need to watch PBS. Many people who were absent from the concert have at times watched "Dr Who" on the Public Broadcasting System, or perhaps they will watch "Sherlock" or "Nature" on PBS. That's not what I mean. I mean you would have to watch PBS which is another thing altogether. Nobody ever says that they like to "watch CBS". They watch television; they watch particular television shows. The audience from the concert, I'm confident, will watch PBS.

This helps to explain the demographic distribution, especially the age range. As a whole, the concert audience was ancient, even older than me. There were a number of young people -- children -- accompanying their grandparents and here and there an adult child, perhaps a parent of some grandchildren. Some of the children present seem so young and unsullied that they, too, may watch PBS in imitation of their elders. Perhaps they even listen to NPR.

I'm not proposing any causality here. Subscribing to a concert series may not influence a person's preference in television. Watching PBS's self-consciously cultural programming may not greatly influence the audience's affiliation with live performance, however much PBS itself may wish it so. Perhpas an appreciation for fine music predisposes a person to favor NPR and PBS and live professional music performances. Or perhaps self classification as a member of the better class of people predisposes a person to demonstrate a penchant for choosing to participate in PBS, NPR, and fine music. I make no claim for any of these hypotheses.

I merely observe that whether one does watch PBS or listen to NPR is viable as a criterion by which we could categorize people with distinctive behavior patterns. Whether you watch PBS correlates positively with whether or not you will pay $25 to attend a live performance of baroque music (and negatively with your willingness to attend certain other venues).

As for me, I enjoyed the performance. I liked most of the music. My my mind didn't fall asleep even though my leg started to. I enjoyed being in the familiar auditorium. But I felt out of place in the audience for failing to watch PBS or even listen to NPR.


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