https://www.wired.com/story/the-science-behind-orchestras-careful-covid-comeback/

Last month, members of the Berlin Philharmonic returned home to their concert hall after weeks of isolation. They sat onstage in a loose constellation, dispersed according to local virus regulations. Only 15 players could be onstage at a time. The strings sat two meters apart. The woodwinds and brass sat five meters apart—on account of them blowing great quantities of air during a global respiratory virus pandemic, without the benefit of masks. They played music by Ligeti, Pärt, and Barber. And at the end of the performance, they bowed, smiling vaguely into an empty, silent hall. A classical music critic for The New York Times, watching the performance live from his apartment, described it as “awkward” but “also inspiring.”

Sebastian Nordmann, the director of the Konzerthaus, home of another Berlin orchestra, watched their return to the stage with interest. His orchestra had done its share of virtual experiments: a streaming concert with the pianist Lang Lang; a series of one-on-one recitals between orchestra musicians and listeners who called them on the phone. Nordmann had also given a virtual tour of the historic Konzerthaus building, which turns 200 next year. But he was growing tired of listening at a distance. “Digital is entertaining but it gets boring,” Nordmann says. “That’s not our real focus. Our focus is analog concerts in our hall. It’s a different quality of listening.” The question—for him and for musicians everywhere—is how to do that safely.