Classical music concerts are fashionable again because the important thing is not classical music: they are the candles

Pure Zeitgeist. In times when live music It can no longer be live music A type of concerts triumphs in which music is an absolutely secondary element, regardless of the really important: The aesthetic experience. They are the concerts in the light of the candles, and although they have become an international phenomenon, they have their origin in Spain.

What are Candlelight concerts. His own name (“in the light of the candles”) makes it clear: they are Musical performances in small enclosures or emblematic spaces, illuminated only by the light of hundreds of candles, which generates An intimate and dreamlike atmosphere that wraps musicians and the public. It is a musical experience, almost always with classical music repertoires, which seeks to distance yourself from the great events With thousands of people and great scenarios: here the silences, quiet music and the atmosphere in gloom are essential.

Candle fever. Candlelight concerts emerged in 2019 as an initiative of the Spanish Platform for the Promotion and Sale of Tickets Fver. Officiallywith the aim of democratizing access to classical music and bringing it closer to new audiences. But the truth is that in Fever they knew how to understand the need for alternatives in 2019 to increasingly massive live events. The idea was to connect with the atmosphere without electricity that was lived in an original classical music concert, and from its first editions it was raised with affordable prices, so that it was popular and accessible to all types of audiences.

Made in Spain. The first Candlelight concert was held in Madrid, a city from which it extended to other European capitals such as Paris and London, and from there to the United States and more than 150 cities around the world. The initial success in Spain promoted the internationalization of the format, which today adds millions of assistants on a global scale. The official figures are 3 million viewers worldwide to date, which has led to the fact that The initial intention is extended to offer classical music concerts exclusively: Pop artists such as Queen, Abba, Coldplay or Bad Bunny were soon given way.

The candles are not for everyone. Of course, Not everything is flowers For concerts, much less if the nucleus is a subject as controversial as the “elevation” of classical music through aesthetics, simplification and interpretation of great hits of the genre. Criticism They are abundantand they go from the music quality itself To the fact, something more expected, that the candles are not such, but LED lights. It is something that the organization warns from the beginning: it is not about real candles for a security issue.

The reason for Candlelight’s success. It is clear: it makes a corner of the music that has been destined for elites during the last half century (do not remember, in that sense, the supposed and controversial “Democratization of creativity” that propose the IAS?), And does it with an aesthetic that reinforces that “elegant” ingredient of the proposal. But at the same time, we have a relatively affordable price, which popularizes the event. You could say that these concerts give way to the appetite of an audience that has always wanted to listen to classical music more popular without having to learn technicisms.

It is normal, therefore, that Candlelight bumpes both immediate commercial success and an excéptic response from experts. It implies, in any case, a clear alternative to festivals and concerts in stadiums, although given the limitations of the proposal, perhaps we do not take too long to see how this flame weakens.

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