Applaus between movements?

Question

What are your feelings?
Personally, I am very much against it! It disrupts the flow of the piece. I will go even further and say that I think that the coughing practice that is seen at just about every performance is ridiculous. I understand that some people need to cough or sneeze, but does everyone have to be so loud about it!

Glinzek....I'm actually quite surprised with your response. I understand that during the classical period it was commonplace to applaud in between movements, however, my issue is not a matter of history and its customs. I am questioning the logic of said practice. I think you would agree with me that logic dictates that one applauds at the completion of a work, as opposed to in the midst of the performance. Perhaps, the audience should applause in the middle of a movement, if the performer played a passage brilliantly. It is not a ballgame, or a magic show. Classical music, while at times entertaining, is not entertainment. People aren't munching on popcorn. It is a serious event, sometimes even somber. You did not provide any reasoning to support your opinion, other than merely alluding to the practices of the past. In my book, that is not quite good enough.

I'd like to thank ALL for your responses. Now to my response to a few...
glinzek - you seem to display a preoccupation with providing classical music to the masses. While very noble, it is a fruitless effort. Truth be told, classical music is not made for the masses, in much the same way, philosophy and quantum physics was not intended as a popular area of study. Your gesture to the everyman at the expense of the integrity of the music is in this mans opinion, wrong.
Second... you say "If it moves you to applaud at the "wrong" time, shall we usher you from the hall with a stern admonition to never darken our door again?", however, this is completely illogical. Would you consider it appropriate to allow audience members to applaud whenever they would like? Perhaps they should be allowed to clap during the performance. How about allowing members to jump out of their chairs and scream in elation? continued...

Furthermore, you seem do be the great defender of the "clap when you see fit" group, however, you seem to have forgotten the other audience members. There are some, who would like to hear the music to its completion without any unnecessary interruptions?
Tell me, why do you think that food is not served at performances (to be eaten during the performance)? I think that reality is an indication of the true nature of a classical concert. And yes, I do understand that there are a few exceptions....but they are exceptions, so don't use them as
"support". Lastly, the coughing and sneezing issue...I am not a heartless bastard. I understand that if you must cough you have no choice. My only issue was with the impossibly loud and disrupting level at which it is done in between movements. I have no doubt the volume can be somewhat tempered.

Now to toutvas bien....
I understand that their are comic operas, and of course that would be the exception, however, when it comes to orchestral music or a recital, even if the music is lite and comical, there is no laughing in the audience. I understand that one can question the nature of "entertainment". My point was simply that classical music is not the "entertainment" that one typically refers to when they use that word. If you look back at my second post you would see that I acknowledged that classical music can be "entertaining". Enough for now....my hand are hurting:-)
steve

Mr. bien... you ask...why I ask the question, if I am only looking for agreement...that is a complete mischaracterization. In actuality, I am looking for opinions and insights that differ from my own. However, I will not accept ones claim if it is not logically grounded...which yours are.

Answer 1

glinzek:
first of all, this isn't a snooty attitude or whatever you call it. it's called proper etiquette. and MY teacher also tells me to bow politely from my bench on stage if pple were to clap in between movements. but it isn't standard practice. I get distracted when pple do that as well. is it more important to boost your ego (as you call it) on stage or to give a good performance?

i agree with the questioner on applauds between movements, especially when the performer(s) are magically tapering off the last note of the movement and the atmosphere is one of breathtaking suspense as you see the performers slowly disengage themselves from the music in perfect stillness. people don't need to show that they *know* a movement has ended by clapping before the performer has finished properly! it's so irritating.

but there'll always be people who don't know about this and they'll go ahead and clap loudly even when no one else is doing it. fortunately most people realise something's wrong when nobody else claps and hence stop their applause.

movements of a piece are NOT separate entities by themselves. they're parts of the larger work that just happens to be separate in sound from other sections of the piece. hence, going by the practice of applauding at the end of each piece, people shouldn't be clapping in between movements.

if people are inconsiderate enough (even unknowingly) to interrupt the transition from one movement to the next without batting an eyelid, they should learn soon enough that classical concerts aren't like magic shows or campaigning speeches. and they shouldn't go on doing it to irritate others in the concert hall.

classical music is a form of entertainment, but it's a form which requires more sophistication to appreciate. it's not a carnival or circus performance that you can just clap whenever you want. in exceptional cases where perhaps the soloist has played a stunning cadenza or technically demanding passage well, it might be ok to clap, but it isn't standard practice. imagine yourself as the performer, i bet you wouldn't like it when you're trying to concentrate on playing well and the audience suddenly bursts out in applause and cheers, interrupting your train of thoughts during the performance. it's not a football match.

the coughing and sneezing can't be helped, but people shouldn't openly and inconsiderately do it at all the wrong times. between pieces is alright, during soft passages is not.

Answer 2

oh com' on .... I know when to applaud and not applaud ... just cause I know a piece isn't done that doesn't mean something fabulous hasn't happened .......shouldn't you acknowledge that despite the fact that the piece isn't done when you are moved to applause you should do it!!!!!! as pointed out in previous post when an aria is great opera goers applaud .... I attended a 20 okay 15 minute ovation for Natalie Dessay in the 2nd act of Tales of Hoffman and she had to shush the audience to continue the scene (all of it in character too) If it is exceptional applause is more than appropriate

CLASSICAL MUSIC IS NOT ENTERTAINMENT???? where did that idea come from .... it IS entertainment .. opera and ballet are the TV shows of the past ... orchestral music is the radio and lots of it are the dances of the past .... ... that statement you made is the reason many comic operas don't come off because we the audience and the artist treat it as great art and not a comedy but that's a different can of worms ;))

WHY DID YOU ASK THE QUESTION? if you only wanted people to agree with you ..... you APPEAR to be of the school that classical music should treated as a museum piece like the tomb of Le Bon Roi Dagobert.. not something alive and breathing .... if you treat classical music like a dinosauer it will be extinct like said dinosauer ... and there are amusing instrumental classical but our reverence for these pieces prevents the giggles and chuckles and performances they deserve

GLINZEK love the popcorn comment and what opera is more appropriate for popcorn munching than Samson et Dalila ;)

CLASSICAL MUSIC IS NOT FOR MASSES that makes me so very sad I guess classical music is only for the snobbish wealthy and well educated (sighs) guess I wasted all that time and better stop listening and attending

Answer 3

I guess I'm generally not in favor of it, as general practice. But really, if you've been THAT moved by a performance of the first movement of Mahler 2, for example, then I say go ahead and clap. At least the orchestra will know you're awake...

This no-clapping-between-movements concept is a relatively recent one, isn't it? I'm pretty sure that when Haydn's symphonies were premiered, there was applause between the movements, and frequently, individual movements were often encored!

I agree with the above user's post -- don't be the first to clap! But I see no need to get mad at people who do clap. It's not their fault that no one ever taught them the "right" kind of concert behavior. There are usually announcements printed about turning off cell phones (and I am thankful that, in the concerts I've attended, cell phone rings are MUCH fewer in number than they were a few years ago), so if applause is that big a deal, then maybe it should be printed in the program: "In order to preserve the unity of the composition as a whole, we kindly ask that you hold your applause until the completion of the final movement."

Answer 4

Hi Steve!

I study in a conservatory and have mandatory concert attendance. It pisses me off so much when high schoolers attend our concerts and clap at the wrong places. I wish they had a lesson on applause etiquitte cos it distracts the performers to a degree. Here's the "applause etiquitte" that I've picked up

It's ok to appluad:

At the end of a suite of movements
(ie the last movement of a chamber work, symphony, concerto etc)

Between soloists in Jazz works

At the end of an Opera

After each individual work if a collection of different works is performed (ie a choir performing a group of very small works)


It is NOT ok to clap:

Between movements in a multi movement work (ie after the second and before the third movement of a suite, symphony, concerto) etc.

The last performance before an interval in an opera.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I found the rule of thumb though is if in doubt, don't clap. Wait for the people who know the piece well to do it where appropriate. If many more people follow, then clap.

I remember reading in an orchestra programme that a handkerchief over the mouth during a cough can reduce the sound by half. I think if you anticipate you will cough, sneeze, then bring a hanky.

Answer 5

Nonsense.

I don't know when this paricular conceit started, but it used to be not unusual at all for the audience to show their appreciation between movements. During its premier, the Scherzo to Beethoven's 9th was applauded so vigorously that the movement had to be encored -- before proceding to the next movement. Nobody thought to lecture the audience on the "proper etiquette" of concert-going. At La Scala, individual arias are applauded if the audience thinks it is deserved.

The music is for the audience to enjoy. They don't have to be there. The performer is the conduit, and must show up or there is nobody there to stoke up his/her ego with applause.

This tight-a**ed, snooty attitude puts people off of classical music, and I think that's the last thing we would want to do, isn't it?

My teacher instructed me to bow politely from the bench to show MY appreciation to the audience if they committed the *gasp* horrible faux pas of applauding between movements.

C'mon people, lighten up.

EDIT:

It's not entertainment?? Then what the hell is it? Serious and somber? WRONG! Are we TRYING to discourage people from appreciating good music?

Audiences do not respond logically -- they respond emotionally --that's what it is all about isn't it?. The music is supposed to move you. If it moves you to applaud at the "wrong" time, shall we usher you from the hall with a stern admonition to never darken our door again?

And speaking of munching on popcorn, have you ever attended an opera at Covent Garden? My wife and I enjoyed an ice cream snack during the second act of "Rosencavalier", along with just about everybody else in the audience. The performers didn't seem to mind. I'll bet they wanted one too.

And if I gotta cough, then I gotta cough. If I gotta sneeze, I gotta sneeze -- can't do much about it.

Answer 6

AhhI HATE it when people clap between movements. Like if I watch someone brilliantly playing a concerto on youtube, then the audience claps and I find that disrespectful...--Don't they get a pamphlet that says 'Mvt 1: Mvt 2: Mvt 3:'? etc? Then they would understand that each movement is seperate! You don't clap in between scenes of plays. Why clap in between movements of pieces!?

Coughing is another matter. Some people really need to, but then do they realize it echos? If you must cough do so in your arm or something.
Sneezing is sometimes involuntary, but if they feel it, grab a few tissues and drone out the sound a bit.

I've never heard a cellphone go off during a concert. But if I did I would be really pissed off heh. I hear them go off in church, and that is annoying. So if I am playing in a concert, or go to one, then I would find it very disrespectful.

-matthew

Answer 7

I agree, but a lot of people who go to concerts do not realize that this is the first movement of a piece, they have no clue, I've been with people who started to clap and then felt embarrassed because they thought that the piece was over, I told this person to just watch me, and not to clap until I did, I then told her that from now on when you go to a concert and your not sure just wait until the others clap !!!!!!!!!!! I agree with the questioner, this does interrupt the flow of the piece !!!!!!!

Answer 8

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Answer 9

At least most of them turn off their cell phones.

Answer 10

It shows complete disrespect and ignorance.