LISTENING TO MUSIC

New Zealand Tablet, 17 December 1908, Page 38

LISTENING TO MUSIC

People who go to concerts and engage in conversation during the performance, to the annoyance of others, richly deserve to be called to account publicly for their offence, because, whether or not one enjoys the music, one has no right to spoil it for others. At a certain concert, an exchange relates, a young man persisted in whispering loudly to the lady who accompanied him, telling her what the music ' meant,' what sort of a passage was coming next, and so on. Presently he closed his eyes and said to his companion : 1 Did you ever try listening to music with your eyes shut? You've no idea how much better it sounds.' Hereupon a gentleman who sat in the seat in front of the young man twisted himself about and said gravely : ' Young man, did you ever try listening to music with your mouth shut ?' Thenceforth the silence in that part of the hall is said to have been almost painful.