Conductor Mark Wigglesworth: Music doesn't exist without anyone listening to it

"A musician’s need to be heard is not just psychological inspiration, needy approbation, or box office compensation. We need audiences because without anyone listening, the music doesn’t exist – merely proverbial trees falling unheard in the distant forest" - conductor Mark Wigglesworth wrote in the Guardian ahead of a public concert this week with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra. The communal quality of music goes broader, he argues - "though listening to a piece privately can bring great solace or joy, the original purpose of music is to be connected by sharing something together as a community".