House of Shem: Why We're Listening to Classical Music Differently at Bridge Book
Why We're Listening to Classical Music Differently at Bridge Books
By Francois Smit
Classical music in South Africa has become the cultural equivalent of that fancy china your grandmother kept in a locked cabinet - technically impressive, historically significant, and absolutely terrifying to actually use.
Which is absurd, because this music holds genuine power. Not prestige or gatekeeping, but the power to move you, challenge you, transport you somewhere unexpected. The problem isn't the music. It's the locked cabinet.
So: Is classical music relevant to us in Johannesburg, 2026? And how do we engage with it honestly - acknowledging its colonial baggage whilst claiming its transformative potential for ourselves?
That's what Listening Spaces attempts.
Every month at Bridge Books, maximum 20 people gather to listen to classical works together. The approach mirrors what Bridge Books does with literature - creating space where people share perspectives, joys, and discoveries without pretension. We discuss context, listen properly together, then talk about what we actually experienced.
This socialised learning creates something Johannesburg does brilliantly: connection through shared discovery. When someone shares their uninformed yet passionate perspective sitting next to someone with formal training, and both realise they're hearing something new together - that's when gatekeeping dissolves. Nobody's the expert. Everyone's learning.
We've explored Beethoven's Symphony No. 7, Schubert's String Quintet, and Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition.
Coming up Valentine's Day: Stravinsky's Rite of Spring(s) - commemorating his 1962 performance in Springs by the Russian Maestro himself.
Get Tickets here
The Bridge Books location matters. Downtown Johannesburg creates different possibilities than intimidating concert halls. There's an intimacy here that signals: this is accessible exploration, not precious gatekeeping.
Come through. Bring your curiosity, your questions, your honest reactions. We'll figure out what this music means to us, together.
Shem, ne - you wished you joined us earlier, right?