Does the music matter?

Occasionally I have ordered a ticket for a concert at Carnegie Hall through the internet.
This got me on the list of people who receive a phone call during the annual fund raiser, and they also send me the program in the spring.

I glanced through it when it came in the mail this year, and noticed that Mitsuko Uchida will be playing Beethoven’s last three piano sonatas this season. This repertoire interests me. I liked her recording of the pieces when I listened to it, and I would like to hear the performance. Unfortunately I didn‘t make a note of the date, and then I misplaced the program.

Of course, I could look it up on the internet, but since I happened to be in the neighborhood of Carnegie Hall, I decided to make a detour, see whether I could find the information on the posters in the showcases on 7th Avenue, and check for other interesting concerts at the same time.

The posters look very impressive. A photograph of the artists in action takes up almost half of the space. Those people look so involved in the music, you can almost hear them play.
Below the photograph, a headline - Experience Recitals (Orchestras, Chamber Music etc)
Then, they give you the names of the performers and the dates of the concerts, an idea about prices - but in vain did I look for any piece of information on the music those wonderful musicians will be playing!

Carnegie Hall is one of the most prestigious concert halls in the world, and they don’t advertise the music!

At the beginning of the music is the composer who created it. Without the composer there is no music, and without music, who needs a performer?