Shorter concerts are making classical music more accessible

BY CHRISTOPHER LEON

Relaxed performances are gaining popularity because they turn a formal, classical concertgoing experience into one that’s more casual and inviting to those with different accessibility needs when experiencing live music. In a similar spirit is Quick Fix at Half Six — a concert series defined by short durations and high context. In place of an experience that sprawls into the evening, this concert series from the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra features events that are just one hour long and start at an earlier timeframe. It brings benefits to many concertgoers — those who can attend after a day at work when attention spans may be functioning at a reduced capacity; families who may face challenges in planning a longer and later evening out; people whose brains enjoy context and information about the music delivered in an easy-to-digest and friendly way.

We sat down with Nicholas Bochner (pictured above) who serves the MSO through Learning and Engagement, and who tells us more about this concert format that has built a loyal following since its relatively recent inception.

The next Quick Fix at Half Six features Beethoven’s Second Symphony conducted by Chad Kelly (pictured below). The concerts are also Auslan interpreted and wheelchair accessible.

Nicholas, what brought about the idea for the Quick Fix at Half Six concert series with MSO — and how has this non-traditional concert format so far been received by audiences?

The Quick Fix at Half Six series was actually a byproduct of the COVID pandemic. During 2021 we were forced to perform two 1-hour performances rather than a full-length program due to social distancing rules. We found that this many of our existing audiences enjoyed this format, and we saw a new, more casual audience join us in the concert hall as well. Now we see families, office workers, and our loyal, existing audiences come together on Monday nights for a dose of culture.

The Quick Fix series has been well received by our audiences. In line with all our performances, audience interest ebbs and flows in line with repertoire choices. It’s been wonderful to use Quick Fix programs to highlight specific pieces of repertoire and provide some context for these works. We are looking forward to growing these audiences even more across 2026 and beyond!

What do you feel are the benefits of the series for listeners?

The series offers the opportunity to experience masterworks of the repertoire with the benefit of some guidance and context from our Assistant Conductor Daniel Corvaia. Rather than a traditional pre-concert talk, this information is part of the main performance with the full orchestra on stage giving the opportunity for Daniel to pull things apart a little bit with the live musicians.

The musical works on the next Quick Fix at Half Six program traverse three different periods in music history, differing in form and function. What narrative is the MSO exploring with this program?

This concert explores two really important innovations in the development of large-scale orchestral form and expressive capacity. CPE Bach was key in moving forms from the Baroque approach of single short movements, each keeping to one expressive character, towards the possibility of longer forms that traversed a range of moods and characters. Beethoven picked up from CPE Bach, delivering us the fully formed expressive capacity of the modern orchestra. This concert carries us through this journey through music.

Chad Kelly will be conducting this concert and has a background in historically informed performance. How do you expect Chad to approach this concert, and how does he work with the MSO to bring these new concert formats to life for audiences?

Like all our guest conductors, Chad will bring his unique perspective and experience, working with MSO musicians through the rehearsal process to create a unique fusion of musical voices. The Quick Fix presentation will come to life through Daniel Corvaia’s engaging presentation. Daniel and Chad have worked together to ensure a seamless, entertaining, and informative experience.

Orchestras like MSO are looking to new mediums and formats to accommodate a broader audience appeal. From an accessibility perspective, what are the differences between the MSO’s Quick Fix and Relaxed Performances concepts, which both make concerts accessible but in different ways?

MSO’s Quick Fix is an evolution of the Ears Wide Open format created by Richard Gill, which was itself, a version of the presented concert that has been popular for many years, with one of the most famous versions the ones presented by Leonard Bernstein. These concerts seek to invite new audiences by demystifying the music and creating a sense of connection with performers.

The Relaxed performance that are also on offer seek to engage audiences who have traditionally had challenges coming into the concert hall due to some kind of disability, perhaps physical or neurodiversity, by relaxing traditional attitudes to noise and movement during concerts.

Where do you see the MSO taking these new formats in the future? How would you like to see these types of series develop?

The presented Quick Fix at Half Six format is still relatively new, so it will be nice to give it a few years to settle in and see how the audience takes to it, but in future I think we are only limited by our imaginations as to what we could do.

As we respond to audiences’ desire to feel closer to performers, we could tailor formats to the specific skills and interests of performers, and of course there will be the possibility of exploring integrating technology, for example; some way of audiences submitting questions in real-time, or perhaps adding video packages as part of the presentation.