The other day I stood among some people listening intently as a young woman pronounced her name on the piano in what I can only describe as an awesome display of precise listening on everyone's part.

Maybe what gets in the way when we hear interpretations of written works is our need to pass judgment rather than to trust our own responses. Passing judgment involves imposing a measure of conformity to the experience, if you think about it.

I have been told by musicians in the jazz world that New York audiences are less spontaneous than audiences elsewhere in this country. The worry about not being "in" seems to keep us New Yorkers from having a good time.