However, I do wonder about the ‘intimidating’ atmosphere. When I was a child going to my first concerts, I don’t remember feeling intimidated by the quietness, any more than I was by the silence in the theatre, or in the cinema, or in a church, or when a teacher was talking to us. It does puzzle me that people single out classical concerts for having an ‘intimidating’ silence when they feel quite comfortable in other places where silence is the rule.

Perhaps what he is advocating is the opportunity to be introduced to live classical music in an informal atmosphere. I would love the chance to take my 4 and half year old to a concert that we can both enjoy. If he’s introduced to it in a relaxed situation, where he isn’t going to be glared at for tapping his hands in time to the music or asking a question, isn’t that better than waiting til he’s ‘old enough’ [which is when exactly] to attend a ‘proper’ concert, when it might be the last thing on earth that he would want to do?

I think it would be wonderful if classical music was played in as many different situations as possible, so that people could find the right listening environment for them. And that what might be ‘right’ one year, might be different the next.

And if the musicians know what to expect – and presumably having accepted the gig they do – then isn’t it a win-win situation all round?

It often seems to me that television has had a very bad influence on the way people behave at live events. It’s as though they feel they’re watching something on screen – something that can’t be disturbed by their antics. It often doesn’t seem to occur to them that their coughing (or whatever) might actually affect the concentration of the people playing music live in front of them.