Classical music is keeping a surprising number of people sane during lockdown – including me

A Mozart symphony or a Sibelius tone poem can have a calming effect, writes Andy Martin

Daniel Barenboim conducts the West-Eastern Divan Orchestra and Martha Argerich in Tchaikovsky’s Piano Concerto No. 1 (Photo credit: BBC/ Chris Christodoulou)

Even if Covid-19 can induce anosmia, crippling our sense of taste and smell, it has no detrimental effect on hearing. Lockdown has, if anything, sharpened our auditory senses and we are increasingly seeking consolation in music. We were forced to drop out, so we tuned in and turned on.

But what kind of music strikes the right note? A new survey from the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra shows that, even if we are not going to concerts, we are listening to more orchestral music in isolation than in the same period last year (51 per cent in 2020, a mere 22 per cent in spring 2019; and more young people than old; and more in London than the South West). Before you say that these are obvious results from such research, I should add that the research was carried out by respectable market researchers using a sample of over 2,000 people.

To state an interest: I’ve got a couple of ancient vinyl recordings done by the RPO (English orchestral works, Thomas Beecham conducting). And I once heard them playing all the Beethoven symphonies at the Royal Albert Hall, although not on the same night. Now they normally play at Cadogan Hall, as well as recording film soundtracks and trying to increase access and performing in homeless shelters.