Sound or Silence

What happened to the performer having a relationship with their audience? Throughout history there has been proven a strong bond and give and take between performer and audience. In the classical period as well, as other classical music periods, there was often even a strong relationship between the composer and the audience. This is something that was lost in the twentieth century. There needs to be some kind of give and take between audience and performer. Without that, what is the point? If a tree falls in the woods, crashing to the ground with a loud bang and no one is around to hear it, did it make a sound? If musicians do not appease their audience, the audience will cease to attend and it will be just as this age old philosophical debate. Is it then that the musician performs only silence even though they are playing music?