7 sound reasons to go to guitar concerts at home

I have become very enthusiastic about all online possibilities. To give you an example: In the last concert before the summer holidays, the German guitarist Stefan Schmitz played two works by the Mexican composer Eduardo Diaz, the only living composer on the program. We approached him for a live interview during the concert and so in the evening he explained the music from Mexico and told us about his background. It’s quite something: guitarists playing from Germany and Amsterdam, a composer speaking from Mexico, visitors from The Netherlands, France, Germany, Finland, Israël, America (and undoubtedly many more countries), organisation from east and west of The Netherlands, and all of this via the World Wide Web.

Most online concerts are pre-recorded and often well-directed. Livestream concert of the Belgian guitarist Raphaella Smits is an excellent example. It is like you are watching a film. Also in other online concerts, that are played and broadcasted live, I especially miss the interaction. After the last note of a piece of music is played, there is an unnatural silence, followed by the explanation of the next piece. 

The real-time guitar concerts of Gitaristen Podium have real applause. As a visitor, you simply unmute your microphone. We explain how to do this beforehand. The applause makes you realise even more that you are at a concert together, and for the guitarists it is very nice to get a reaction from their audience. After the concert there is a Q&A (Questions and Answers), in which also visitors can ask the guitarists questions.