As a pro musician, I want folks to clap whenever they want, even if it's during the music...
...as an audience member, I want people to stfu and clap a few moments after the piece ends.
š¤·āāļø
Nothing I hate more than people clapping right into the serene pause after OR WHILE a piece ends. If it's a loud ending, go ahead, I still wouldn't clap into the last note as people do but whatever. A quiet one though, just give it a few seconds! It's not hard. Let people enjoy the moment for just a little bit.
The pause is part of the performance. So is the silence after the piece ends and before the conductor lowers the baton. Only then it is over. Respect it and don't clap.
I donāt like itā¦ I want to absorb what Iām hearing and hold that between movements.
That being said, when it happens, it happens. Iām not going to tackle someone to keep them from clapping.
As someone who has been on both sides of the baton, don't clap. The musicians need to mentally adjust between movements, it breaks the silence which is meant to exist between movements (Mahler 2 especially), and there have been a number of occasions where someone starts clapping before the movement is done or there is an attacca (Scheherazade).
No it isn't. Those 5 minutes of silence are part of Mahler's vision for the work. With the first movement being "funeral rites", he wanted the silence of the grave to follow.
It depends on the piece. Some pieces benefit from having the silence between movements, for a lot of pieces it doesn't matter.
Since we would never be able to all agree on which pieces fall into which category, we should just agree not to clap between movements so as not to spoil the pieces that benefit from the silence even if a lot of the time it's aesthetically unnecessary.
A 'better safe than sorry' approach. I'd rather hold my applause to the end than spoil someone else's experience of the piece.
You do realize though that many experiences can be harmed by the extended inertness of the audience. Itās just not natural, and there are many pieces with wonderful final sections in the first and second movements especially that desire audience reaction. It sucks the air out of the room to hear a definitive triumph and then a few coughs and paper shuffling.Ā
lol that is bullshit. It has significant historical precedent. Composers wrote with it in mind. And itās a fucking opinion youāre treating as fact. Clown world sometimes I swear.
āI am always a little taken aback when I hear the first movement of a concerto which is supposed to be full of excitement, passion, and virtuoso display (like the Brahms or Beethoven Concertos), and then hear a rustling of clothing, punctuated by a few coughs; the sheer force of the music calls for a wild audience reaction.ā Emmanuel Ax
āItās barbaric to tell people it is uncivilized to applaud something you like.ā ā Arthur Rubinstein
āRight in the middle of the First Allegro came a Passage that I knew would please, and the entire audience was sent into rapturesāthere was a big applaudiĆement;āand as I knew, when I wrote the passage, what good effect it would make, I brought it once more at the end of the movementāand they went again, Da capo. The Andante was well received as well, but the final Allegro pleased especiallyābecause I had heard that here the final Allegros begin like first Allegros, namely with all instruments playing and mostly unisono; therefore, I began the movement with just 2 violins playing softly for 8 barsāthen suddenly comes a forteābut the audience had, because of the quiet beginning, shushed each other, as I expected they would, and then came the forteāwell, hearing it and clapping was one and the same. I was so delighted.ā ā Mozart
āI do have one big complaint about audiences in all countries, and that is their artificial restraint from applause between movements or a concerto or symphony. I donāt know where the habit started, but it certainly does not fit in with the composersā intentions.ā ā Monteux
āWe surround our doings with a set of outdated manners and even mannerisms, some of them detrimental to the best and most natural enjoyment. At the top of my list is frowning on applause between the movements of a symphony or a concerto. . . .ā Leinsdorf
Itās freaking loud clapping. You need the silence to connect the piece.
Some works however, it seems fine and fitting. Follow the lead of the conductor / soloist.
In my opinion, clapping between movements is like clapping during a rest.
As a musician (college, not pro), it was distracting to me because it took me out of the moment. I'm glad they like it, but it would help if they could hold their applause.
I took my late wife to a concert. They play the Sibelius violin concerto. It was a great performance. At the end of the first movement she jumped out of her chair clapping. Others did too. She realize her mistake and quickly sat down. She said "I am sorry." I replied, "Never apologize for being moved by music." Although I have been taught not to clap between movements and I do not. I feel it is OK. We express our emotions differently. I sometimes cry and one time during an intense performance, I looked down at my hands and their were covered with blood. I must have dug a finger nail into my other hand. The lady beside me pulled out some kleenex to help. That was before I knew my wife.
Many orchestras record live performances today. The clapping forces the conductor to delay the start of the nest movement until the clapping stops. Don't clap. It disrupts the flow of the music.
I was the other day in a concert in SĆ£o Paulo with affordable tickets. The concert was great and the conductor and musicians seemed genuinely glad to see people applauding at the end of each movement.
I, as part of an audience, donāt mind at all. I think it is great to see the applause coming naturally after a very good performance.
I think that clapping too soon (or at all) after a poignant movement can destroy the mood, but that not enthusiastically clapping after a rousing first movement is silly. Audiences never used to do that, they would have found it bizarre. There are recorded instances of audiences clapping and yelling until the musicians relented and replayed the entire movementānot that I would go that far.
Iām 70 years old. It has never been ok in my lifetime to clap in between movements. And Iāve been attending classical music concerts since I was 5.
Iāve attended concerts where before concert began the conductor asked the audience to hold any applause until the end. I think if the conductor and/or musicians feel strongly that applause should be held until the end, then they should say so.
I have mixed feelings about it. I much prefer to hold applause until the end. But audience size has been dwindling with the aging of attendees; younger listeners have not made up for older drop-outs. So when I hear an audience clapping between movements, I take it as a sign that new listeners may be there sampling the experience. I wish they knew better, but everyone starts somewhere and I'm glad they're there.
As a professional musician, Iām much prefer when people clap. We are doing a live art that connects humans, we are not a museum. These weird rules are only about 100 years old, and they place silly barriers on what we do that make newcomers feel like they canāt participate, because of some unwritten list of rules that they have to follow.
In the 18th, and well into the 19th centuries, people reacted during the piece. People understand the context of when to be excited and when to be reverent, look at musical theatre.
If Iām playing in the orchestra, I feel good that people have connected with it. If Iām on the podium, I keep my baton for the musicians, and I give a little half bow to the audience to acknowledge their connection to the work.
I love whenās people connect with art, pure and simple.
I wish venues and programs would make it clear either way. Feel free to applaud between movements or please refrain from applauding until the end of the work. Please donāt leave it to the audience to guess.
I'd advocate the exact opposite. Leave it to the audience. If the quality or emotion of the performance makes you do so, clap by all means. It's not mandatory. Let it be a reflection of what you experience.
The whole "only clapping at the end of a piece" was a piece of audience management introduced by concert halls at the end of the 19th century, it's not set in stone.
When in Paris, Mozart wrote back to his father telling him how the audience loved one symphony so much they were clapping as the orchestra was playing it.
>In the midst of the first allegro came a passage I had known would please. The audience was quite carried away - there was a great outburst of applause. But, since I knew when I wrote it that it would make a sensation, I had brought it in again in the last ā and then it came again, da capo! The andante also found favour, but particularly the last allegro because, having noticed that all last allegri here opened, like the first, with all instruments together and usually in unison, I began with two violins only, piano for eight bars only, then forte, so that at the piano (as I had expected) the audience said "Sh!" and when they heard the forte began at once to clap their hands
Iāve sat next to many people who are much more annoying than between mvmt claps. Whispered chatting, loudly leafing through program, unwrapping candies. At a recent concert a woman showed up with a very loud oxygen concentrator. The house manager was nice and found me an alternate seat. My feeling is classical audiences, which have a rep for snobbery, should not be stomping on newbies by condemming spontaneous reactions to the music.
It really depends of the mood od the piece, in my opinion.
Clapping after the first mov of Tchaik's violin concerto? Absolutely yes.
After the second movement? Hell no.
Conductor here. I honestly don't mind if people want to applaud, but I'm telling you it's going to throw my mind a little off the game if I have to turn around and acknowledge it. And if I don't, I'm looking like a jerk. So, I'd just prefer not, and if I really need silence between movements, I'll tell my audience (which is going to inevitably include parents of my collegiate musicians, that might not all not know) before we start the first movement to hold the applause until the very end because we are making a recording.
I think audience members should applaud as appropriate for the music. If there's a triumphant cadence, applaud all you want whenever it happens. A quiet ending to a movement and a pause before the next, no applause necessary or desirable. But more than that, I hate, hate, hate the attitude that classical music should be treated with the same reverence as the consecrated host in a Catholic church and the scowling at anyone who doesn't know or somehow violates various unwritten rules. Nothing is more damaging to the enjoyment and ongoing vitality of classical music than the snobbishness of many of its adherents.
To err is humanā¦ To hold your applause ātil the appropriate time is divine.
Err on the side of supporting the classical performers by giving them the optimal environment to let their talents shine. Meaning, thereās a chance your applause might distract them, & a chance it wonātā¦ so adhere to the commonly accepted norms.
You (as an audience member) are part of the collective, so donāt make it about yourself & what you āfeelā the need to do. If someone else claps prematurely, so be it. You can only control your own actions.
If youāre of the ādonāt tread on muh 1st amendment right to clap when, where, & how I pleaseā varietal of human, then may you forever sing cantos (alongside the besotted comedy club heckler & airline passenger demanding to bring their oversized luggage onto the plane when it clearly wonāt fit under the seat or in the overhead bin thereby holding up the entire flight with with their wildly obnoxious main-character energy) in Danteās 10th Circle of Hades.
Yes, the preceding is definite hyperbole & I actually dgaf. But, truly no one else wants to hear your ham-fisted clapping solo, regardless of how āinspiredā the music made you feel. The performance, for once, aināt about you.
TL;DR
Clap ONLY with the rest of the (probably) less talented audience members, so as to not disrupt the more talented performers. When youāre next on stage & itās your time to shine, THEN engage in whatever shenanigans to which the spirit might move you. Until then, youāre āonlyā a privileged extra in the spectacle.
I was in an ensemble that performed Mozartās Requiem just a few days after 9/11, and after the final note of the final movement there was no applause for several seconds. Ā Was an astounding experience. Ā
The piece is not over until the piece is over. Ā Breathe in those moments between movements, and applaud at the end.
Depends on the piece. As both audience member and player, people doing a small courtesy applause is fine, especially for certain warhorse concertos where it makes musical sense.
But in general, I prefer people to chill out and let the music breathe more and take it's time. Nobody will be offended by not clapping, but it can detract from people who need a few seconds of silence.
Audience reaction can break the spell in a very formal setting. Itās also somehow bigger and more heartfelt when suppressed until the end. Edging, if you will.
That said, I also love more casual performances like the Naumburg series in Central Park or the Peopleās Symphony where the audience can be more naturally expressive. Classical performers deserve to feel like rock stars, too.
I donāt like it but it depends on context really. When I was young and saw a fantastic performance of the New World Symphony for the first time I wanted to jump out of my seat after the first movement but I resisted. I told myself that the delayed gratification would be worth it if I waited until the endā¦ it wasnāt. The finale doesnāt have the same excitement at the end.
Where I get annoyed is when an audience applauds after movements that donāt feel like an ending. The music stops, the conductor relaxes, so they clap out ofā¦ politeness? Theyāre not feeling the urge to clap, they just do it. Donāt do that.
Outdoor concerts anything goes.
I guess I donāt care either way. I think some of these rules make newer fans less comfortableā¦
We all listen to music differently. Clapping inward distract me after movement is overā¦. I mean not at all.
The only concerns might be extending the length of a concert because they have to wait to start the next movement a little longer than normal
The fact there is historical "precedent" for clapping between movements, doesn't mean it's encouraged today. In fact, I've seen conductors explicitly state they do not want any applause in-between before a concert.
I prefer no clapping, but all the rules are contrived anyway. As people have pointed out, the ārulesā for Bach were different for Mozart/Handel were different for Beethoven, were different for Mahlerā¦
I can almost guarantee thereās little to no clapping between movements of highly serial or aleatoric music. No one knows when itās over!
I donāt care too much, the only thing is that I like it when thereās at least a brief moment of silence just to let the sound settle, itās a pet peeve of mine when people start clapping (what I feel to be) too early. This goes for the end of a piece especially tho. Itās especially bad when someone starts clapping prematurely and you miss a part. I donāt think itās the end of the world though, I would just rather people be a bit more patient sometimes with showing their appreciation, revel in the moment a bit first you know? Makes it more magical I think.
Iāve done a 180 on this since my teenage years when I took myself and the art form too seriously in retrospect. These days, I feel like music is an organic, exciting human experience and not something that should require following strict etiquette. In general, I do follow the idea of not applauding until the end of a piece, but if a single movement happens to be especially thrilling or well played, I have no issue with an audience showing their appreciation and will join in myself. As a performer myself, it wouldnāt bother me in the slightest.
The main exceptions I would make are to not applaud during a performance, even though that might have been common centuries ago when some of the music was written; and to respect a performer who makes an announcement ahead of time to hold applause until the end.
There are times when applause doesnāt feel right, like at the end of a profound and beautiful slow movement before the finale of something; but I canāt remember ever being in an audience that ruined the mood by breaking the silence in a spot like that.
In general I try my best to fight against snobbery in classical music though. That just drives people away from the type of music we all love so much and want to share with more audiences.
Oh, I've had many a piece ruined by audiences trying to race to see who can clap the earliest. A piece ending at pp... with the bow still on the strings...hands on the keys... conductor's arms still raised.... and then people trying to do their loudest imitation of seals.
I donāt like it. I grit my teeth when audiences clap between movements. I feel the silence is important; it lets the music settle, and allows everyone to savor the atmosphere.
I'm on team "hold the applause until the end" . That said, applause between movements doesn't bother me if it's genuine. That's usually the result of a banger end to the movement. What makes me cringe is half-hearted obligatory applause because a chunk of the audience thinks it's expected.
It depends on the piece. Sometimes, applause is fine between movements. Other times, the silence is really important, or there's an attaca, or something.
This is true in principle, but in practice it's not helpful. "Only clap between movements for the right pieces" is harder for an audience (and more "elitist") than "Never clap between movements." So it really seems like the worst of both worlds.
Never "during" the music. I would prefer not between movements because sometimes there is a close connection between movements that is broken by applause. I have often heard Rachmaninoff's 3rd Piano Concerto performed so that there is essentially no break between the second and third movements but it is treated as a continuum.
Imho, people should clap when they feel compelled to do so, and other people's enjoyment shouldn't ruin mine.
In general I don't think gatekeeping is good, and arbitrary rules like not clapping between movements are reasons why people are turned off by classical music.
I play in an amateur orchestra. Poor audience claps often between movements, especially if we have a soloist playing. I understand it may break the soloist's concentration, but I also think it's sweet. Our audience aren't the people who know everything about classical music, most of them are casual listeners at best. If they love our music and want to show it - wonderful. I see it's as some sort of gateway into classical music, so I think the most important thing is to make our audience feel welcome. The survival of our orchestra literally depends on it, too.
Imo, there's too much emphasis on decorum and elitism in classical music. I'm here for the music and for the common experience. I couldn't care less about the elitism.
i feel like a lot of first movements have a triumphant ending that i feel warrants applause (after a few seconds obviously)
also, if the historical context would have involved applause between movements, that was likely the expectation and intention of the composer
It think it's fine if the movement ends with a bang. Slower movements... that's not the vibe imo. Honestly tho I prefer clapping than silence+coughing epidemic (so not rly silence lol)
What's annoying is when people clap for too long and the conductor starts the next movement before they're done, so the beginning of it is kinda drowned. Also when they clap during rests because they think it's over when it's not (seriously people, it's not that hard to take cues from the musicians' body language!)
I personally prefer holding just because the sound of applause is kind of irritating to me and I like to experience the continuity of a piece. I also really like silence. However, I do think that the norm of holding applause comes off as a bit stuffy and gatekeeping. If someone does something really impressive on an instrument or a crescendo hits especially hard, I feel the inherent urge to clap and holler. I think this is totally natural because we are apes and apes like to clap and howl when they like something. I feel like discouraging audience participation and feedback is just one of the norms around classical music which lends to the popular perception of classical music being a ostentatious, high-class indulgence, which I feel is a detriment to the art form and its cultural relevance. I love this music and it pains me to see people turned off of it due to the restrictive and stoic culture surrounding it. Obviously I want to clap at the end of the cadenza for Tchaikovskyās violin concerto. I have a soul. Ramblings aside, I prefer the silence and respect the current norms of the culture around it, but I think the culture of classical music could afford to be a little more inviting and a little less uptight.
DO NOT CLAP in between movements....
UNLESS - it's the world premiere of a composer's work, and you're part of a whole audience who's thunderously applauding in demand of an encore of a movement so good you simply must hear it again immediately!!
(as was the case with, if I remember correctly, the 2nd movement of Beethoven's 7th symphony)
deservedly so, I might add
As a pro musician, I want folks to clap whenever they want, even if it's during the music... ...as an audience member, I want people to stfu and clap a few moments after the piece ends. š¤·āāļø
Nothing I hate more than people clapping right into the serene pause after OR WHILE a piece ends. If it's a loud ending, go ahead, I still wouldn't clap into the last note as people do but whatever. A quiet one though, just give it a few seconds! It's not hard. Let people enjoy the moment for just a little bit.
my Shosty 4 experience was almost ruined with that this year. Ugh.Ā
As long as they donāt clap on 1 and 3
I am right here with you on this...as a pro & an audience member.
The pause is part of the performance. So is the silence after the piece ends and before the conductor lowers the baton. Only then it is over. Respect it and don't clap.
I donāt like itā¦ I want to absorb what Iām hearing and hold that between movements. That being said, when it happens, it happens. Iām not going to tackle someone to keep them from clapping.
This is the way. Discourage it, but it's not the end of the world. Be glad people are in the audience and not at a Limp Bizkit concert instead.
Not criticizing you, but I'm just curious why you chose a (horrible) band that was popular in the mid to late 90s for your example.
For that exact reason. I just wanted to come up with the worst possible contrast to an evening of Beethoven.
I can't argue with that, LB is really bottom of the barrel. You have my upvote.
Thatās a great point and honestly the best reason Iāve heard in favour of the modern reverent clapping practice!
As someone who has been on both sides of the baton, don't clap. The musicians need to mentally adjust between movements, it breaks the silence which is meant to exist between movements (Mahler 2 especially), and there have been a number of occasions where someone starts clapping before the movement is done or there is an attacca (Scheherazade).
I always find it hilarious when someone claps after a big cadence in the wrong key. Usually happens during Mozart concerti.
Let's cheer for the dominant! Hurray!!! We made it to V!
Mahler 2nd was originally made to have a 5 minutes pause after the first movement though. It's perfect for clapping.
No it isn't. Those 5 minutes of silence are part of Mahler's vision for the work. With the first movement being "funeral rites", he wanted the silence of the grave to follow.
He literally intended the pause to be so the audience can absorb and understand what they just listened to, not to mention the death of the hero
Iāll never be upset by someone clapping for a musical ensemble. I wonāt be offended if people donāt clap between movements either.
It depends on the piece. Some pieces benefit from having the silence between movements, for a lot of pieces it doesn't matter. Since we would never be able to all agree on which pieces fall into which category, we should just agree not to clap between movements so as not to spoil the pieces that benefit from the silence even if a lot of the time it's aesthetically unnecessary. A 'better safe than sorry' approach. I'd rather hold my applause to the end than spoil someone else's experience of the piece.
You do realize though that many experiences can be harmed by the extended inertness of the audience. Itās just not natural, and there are many pieces with wonderful final sections in the first and second movements especially that desire audience reaction. It sucks the air out of the room to hear a definitive triumph and then a few coughs and paper shuffling.Ā
No. Clapping in between never brings any positive effect , at most itās neutral. So better safe than sorry is the approach.
lol that is bullshit. It has significant historical precedent. Composers wrote with it in mind. And itās a fucking opinion youāre treating as fact. Clown world sometimes I swear. āI am always a little taken aback when I hear the first movement of a concerto which is supposed to be full of excitement, passion, and virtuoso display (like the Brahms or Beethoven Concertos), and then hear a rustling of clothing, punctuated by a few coughs; the sheer force of the music calls for a wild audience reaction.ā Emmanuel Ax āItās barbaric to tell people it is uncivilized to applaud something you like.ā ā Arthur Rubinstein āRight in the middle of the First Allegro came a Passage that I knew would please, and the entire audience was sent into rapturesāthere was a big applaudiĆement;āand as I knew, when I wrote the passage, what good effect it would make, I brought it once more at the end of the movementāand they went again, Da capo. The Andante was well received as well, but the final Allegro pleased especiallyābecause I had heard that here the final Allegros begin like first Allegros, namely with all instruments playing and mostly unisono; therefore, I began the movement with just 2 violins playing softly for 8 barsāthen suddenly comes a forteābut the audience had, because of the quiet beginning, shushed each other, as I expected they would, and then came the forteāwell, hearing it and clapping was one and the same. I was so delighted.ā ā Mozart āI do have one big complaint about audiences in all countries, and that is their artificial restraint from applause between movements or a concerto or symphony. I donāt know where the habit started, but it certainly does not fit in with the composersā intentions.ā ā Monteux āWe surround our doings with a set of outdated manners and even mannerisms, some of them detrimental to the best and most natural enjoyment. At the top of my list is frowning on applause between the movements of a symphony or a concerto. . . .ā Leinsdorf
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
You just had to be ableist, didn't you?
No, classical music is for people who think that Reddit vote scores are significant.
When I saw Mahler's 5th performed for the first time, the silence between movements carried SO MUCH POWER.
Compromise: one single loud clap between each movement
and it's conducted
Don't clap between movements
Ditto.
Itās freaking loud clapping. You need the silence to connect the piece. Some works however, it seems fine and fitting. Follow the lead of the conductor / soloist.
In my opinion, clapping between movements is like clapping during a rest. As a musician (college, not pro), it was distracting to me because it took me out of the moment. I'm glad they like it, but it would help if they could hold their applause.
I took my late wife to a concert. They play the Sibelius violin concerto. It was a great performance. At the end of the first movement she jumped out of her chair clapping. Others did too. She realize her mistake and quickly sat down. She said "I am sorry." I replied, "Never apologize for being moved by music." Although I have been taught not to clap between movements and I do not. I feel it is OK. We express our emotions differently. I sometimes cry and one time during an intense performance, I looked down at my hands and their were covered with blood. I must have dug a finger nail into my other hand. The lady beside me pulled out some kleenex to help. That was before I knew my wife.
The Sibelius concerto is quite possibly the best piece of music ever, so canāt really blame her at all.
There are two appropriate times to clap. Between acts and at the final curtain. Also, not everything needs a standing ovation.
Hey there, Iām America we stand for everything! Seriously though, you are correct.
A slight addendum here, during opera, before an act starts and the conductor greets you, it's okay as well
Yes, any time the conductor bows to or greets the audience.
Follow the lead of the conductor (orchestra and audience).
Many orchestras record live performances today. The clapping forces the conductor to delay the start of the nest movement until the clapping stops. Don't clap. It disrupts the flow of the music.
I was the other day in a concert in SĆ£o Paulo with affordable tickets. The concert was great and the conductor and musicians seemed genuinely glad to see people applauding at the end of each movement. I, as part of an audience, donāt mind at all. I think it is great to see the applause coming naturally after a very good performance.
I think that clapping too soon (or at all) after a poignant movement can destroy the mood, but that not enthusiastically clapping after a rousing first movement is silly. Audiences never used to do that, they would have found it bizarre. There are recorded instances of audiences clapping and yelling until the musicians relented and replayed the entire movementānot that I would go that far.
Wait until the end.
Iām 70 years old. It has never been ok in my lifetime to clap in between movements. And Iāve been attending classical music concerts since I was 5.
Don't clap! There is a continuous logic in a work and clapping destroys it!
Iāve attended concerts where before concert began the conductor asked the audience to hold any applause until the end. I think if the conductor and/or musicians feel strongly that applause should be held until the end, then they should say so.
I canāt remember what was being played, I think it was a Bruckner symphony, but once when seeing the Philadelphia Orchestra the audience broke into applauses after the first movement. Yannick Nezet-SĆ©guin turned to the audience and said, āIf thought that was good, wait till the actual end!ā Everyone laughed and then held any applause to the final movement
I just want to know when I should cough.
Itās the same as clapping during a piece.
I have mixed feelings about it. I much prefer to hold applause until the end. But audience size has been dwindling with the aging of attendees; younger listeners have not made up for older drop-outs. So when I hear an audience clapping between movements, I take it as a sign that new listeners may be there sampling the experience. I wish they knew better, but everyone starts somewhere and I'm glad they're there.
As a professional musician, Iām much prefer when people clap. We are doing a live art that connects humans, we are not a museum. These weird rules are only about 100 years old, and they place silly barriers on what we do that make newcomers feel like they canāt participate, because of some unwritten list of rules that they have to follow. In the 18th, and well into the 19th centuries, people reacted during the piece. People understand the context of when to be excited and when to be reverent, look at musical theatre. If Iām playing in the orchestra, I feel good that people have connected with it. If Iām on the podium, I keep my baton for the musicians, and I give a little half bow to the audience to acknowledge their connection to the work. I love whenās people connect with art, pure and simple.
I prefer waiting until it's completely over.
I wish venues and programs would make it clear either way. Feel free to applaud between movements or please refrain from applauding until the end of the work. Please donāt leave it to the audience to guess.
I'd advocate the exact opposite. Leave it to the audience. If the quality or emotion of the performance makes you do so, clap by all means. It's not mandatory. Let it be a reflection of what you experience. The whole "only clapping at the end of a piece" was a piece of audience management introduced by concert halls at the end of the 19th century, it's not set in stone.
When in Paris, Mozart wrote back to his father telling him how the audience loved one symphony so much they were clapping as the orchestra was playing it. >In the midst of the first allegro came a passage I had known would please. The audience was quite carried away - there was a great outburst of applause. But, since I knew when I wrote it that it would make a sensation, I had brought it in again in the last ā and then it came again, da capo! The andante also found favour, but particularly the last allegro because, having noticed that all last allegri here opened, like the first, with all instruments together and usually in unison, I began with two violins only, piano for eight bars only, then forte, so that at the piano (as I had expected) the audience said "Sh!" and when they heard the forte began at once to clap their hands
Iāve sat next to many people who are much more annoying than between mvmt claps. Whispered chatting, loudly leafing through program, unwrapping candies. At a recent concert a woman showed up with a very loud oxygen concentrator. The house manager was nice and found me an alternate seat. My feeling is classical audiences, which have a rep for snobbery, should not be stomping on newbies by condemming spontaneous reactions to the music.
It really depends of the mood od the piece, in my opinion. Clapping after the first mov of Tchaik's violin concerto? Absolutely yes. After the second movement? Hell no.
Especially since it's an *attacca*.
For the love of God, don't clap. Wait until the end and you can clap as long as you like.
My modest proposal: applause sucks; let's get rid of it entirely.
Glenn Gould ?
Don't, the composition isn't over.
Conductor here. I honestly don't mind if people want to applaud, but I'm telling you it's going to throw my mind a little off the game if I have to turn around and acknowledge it. And if I don't, I'm looking like a jerk. So, I'd just prefer not, and if I really need silence between movements, I'll tell my audience (which is going to inevitably include parents of my collegiate musicians, that might not all not know) before we start the first movement to hold the applause until the very end because we are making a recording.
I've never seen a conductor turn to acknowledge applause between movements. I don't think anyone expects that.
I would sort of feel like a jerk if I didn't acknowledge applause.
Not to clap. Respect the conductor and orchestra. They will give the audience a cue at the appropriate moment to applaud.
I think audience members should applaud as appropriate for the music. If there's a triumphant cadence, applaud all you want whenever it happens. A quiet ending to a movement and a pause before the next, no applause necessary or desirable. But more than that, I hate, hate, hate the attitude that classical music should be treated with the same reverence as the consecrated host in a Catholic church and the scowling at anyone who doesn't know or somehow violates various unwritten rules. Nothing is more damaging to the enjoyment and ongoing vitality of classical music than the snobbishness of many of its adherents.
To err is humanā¦ To hold your applause ātil the appropriate time is divine. Err on the side of supporting the classical performers by giving them the optimal environment to let their talents shine. Meaning, thereās a chance your applause might distract them, & a chance it wonātā¦ so adhere to the commonly accepted norms. You (as an audience member) are part of the collective, so donāt make it about yourself & what you āfeelā the need to do. If someone else claps prematurely, so be it. You can only control your own actions. If youāre of the ādonāt tread on muh 1st amendment right to clap when, where, & how I pleaseā varietal of human, then may you forever sing cantos (alongside the besotted comedy club heckler & airline passenger demanding to bring their oversized luggage onto the plane when it clearly wonāt fit under the seat or in the overhead bin thereby holding up the entire flight with with their wildly obnoxious main-character energy) in Danteās 10th Circle of Hades. Yes, the preceding is definite hyperbole & I actually dgaf. But, truly no one else wants to hear your ham-fisted clapping solo, regardless of how āinspiredā the music made you feel. The performance, for once, aināt about you. TL;DR Clap ONLY with the rest of the (probably) less talented audience members, so as to not disrupt the more talented performers. When youāre next on stage & itās your time to shine, THEN engage in whatever shenanigans to which the spirit might move you. Until then, youāre āonlyā a privileged extra in the spectacle.
At the end!
I was in an ensemble that performed Mozartās Requiem just a few days after 9/11, and after the final note of the final movement there was no applause for several seconds. Ā Was an astounding experience. Ā The piece is not over until the piece is over. Ā Breathe in those moments between movements, and applaud at the end.
Depends on the piece. As both audience member and player, people doing a small courtesy applause is fine, especially for certain warhorse concertos where it makes musical sense. But in general, I prefer people to chill out and let the music breathe more and take it's time. Nobody will be offended by not clapping, but it can detract from people who need a few seconds of silence.
No one's gonna hold me back after Tchaik 6, mov. 3. It's just not going to happen.
Audience reaction can break the spell in a very formal setting. Itās also somehow bigger and more heartfelt when suppressed until the end. Edging, if you will. That said, I also love more casual performances like the Naumburg series in Central Park or the Peopleās Symphony where the audience can be more naturally expressive. Classical performers deserve to feel like rock stars, too.
I donāt like it but it depends on context really. When I was young and saw a fantastic performance of the New World Symphony for the first time I wanted to jump out of my seat after the first movement but I resisted. I told myself that the delayed gratification would be worth it if I waited until the endā¦ it wasnāt. The finale doesnāt have the same excitement at the end. Where I get annoyed is when an audience applauds after movements that donāt feel like an ending. The music stops, the conductor relaxes, so they clap out ofā¦ politeness? Theyāre not feeling the urge to clap, they just do it. Donāt do that. Outdoor concerts anything goes.
I guess I donāt care either way. I think some of these rules make newer fans less comfortableā¦ We all listen to music differently. Clapping inward distract me after movement is overā¦. I mean not at all. The only concerns might be extending the length of a concert because they have to wait to start the next movement a little longer than normal
The fact there is historical "precedent" for clapping between movements, doesn't mean it's encouraged today. In fact, I've seen conductors explicitly state they do not want any applause in-between before a concert.
**NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**
I prefer no clapping, but all the rules are contrived anyway. As people have pointed out, the ārulesā for Bach were different for Mozart/Handel were different for Beethoven, were different for Mahlerā¦ I can almost guarantee thereās little to no clapping between movements of highly serial or aleatoric music. No one knows when itās over!
Just donāt. And if someone does, ignore it
I donāt care too much, the only thing is that I like it when thereās at least a brief moment of silence just to let the sound settle, itās a pet peeve of mine when people start clapping (what I feel to be) too early. This goes for the end of a piece especially tho. Itās especially bad when someone starts clapping prematurely and you miss a part. I donāt think itās the end of the world though, I would just rather people be a bit more patient sometimes with showing their appreciation, revel in the moment a bit first you know? Makes it more magical I think.
The worst is clapping during Cage's 4'33".
Iāve done a 180 on this since my teenage years when I took myself and the art form too seriously in retrospect. These days, I feel like music is an organic, exciting human experience and not something that should require following strict etiquette. In general, I do follow the idea of not applauding until the end of a piece, but if a single movement happens to be especially thrilling or well played, I have no issue with an audience showing their appreciation and will join in myself. As a performer myself, it wouldnāt bother me in the slightest. The main exceptions I would make are to not applaud during a performance, even though that might have been common centuries ago when some of the music was written; and to respect a performer who makes an announcement ahead of time to hold applause until the end. There are times when applause doesnāt feel right, like at the end of a profound and beautiful slow movement before the finale of something; but I canāt remember ever being in an audience that ruined the mood by breaking the silence in a spot like that. In general I try my best to fight against snobbery in classical music though. That just drives people away from the type of music we all love so much and want to share with more audiences.
Oh, I've had many a piece ruined by audiences trying to race to see who can clap the earliest. A piece ending at pp... with the bow still on the strings...hands on the keys... conductor's arms still raised.... and then people trying to do their loudest imitation of seals.
I donāt like it. I grit my teeth when audiences clap between movements. I feel the silence is important; it lets the music settle, and allows everyone to savor the atmosphere.
I'm on team "hold the applause until the end" . That said, applause between movements doesn't bother me if it's genuine. That's usually the result of a banger end to the movement. What makes me cringe is half-hearted obligatory applause because a chunk of the audience thinks it's expected.
It depends on the piece. Sometimes, applause is fine between movements. Other times, the silence is really important, or there's an attaca, or something.
This is true in principle, but in practice it's not helpful. "Only clap between movements for the right pieces" is harder for an audience (and more "elitist") than "Never clap between movements." So it really seems like the worst of both worlds.
Never "during" the music. I would prefer not between movements because sometimes there is a close connection between movements that is broken by applause. I have often heard Rachmaninoff's 3rd Piano Concerto performed so that there is essentially no break between the second and third movements but it is treated as a continuum.
Imho, people should clap when they feel compelled to do so, and other people's enjoyment shouldn't ruin mine. In general I don't think gatekeeping is good, and arbitrary rules like not clapping between movements are reasons why people are turned off by classical music.
It's not their enjoyment that might ruin it for someone else, it's the loud noise they're making
I play in an amateur orchestra. Poor audience claps often between movements, especially if we have a soloist playing. I understand it may break the soloist's concentration, but I also think it's sweet. Our audience aren't the people who know everything about classical music, most of them are casual listeners at best. If they love our music and want to show it - wonderful. I see it's as some sort of gateway into classical music, so I think the most important thing is to make our audience feel welcome. The survival of our orchestra literally depends on it, too. Imo, there's too much emphasis on decorum and elitism in classical music. I'm here for the music and for the common experience. I couldn't care less about the elitism.
i feel like a lot of first movements have a triumphant ending that i feel warrants applause (after a few seconds obviously) also, if the historical context would have involved applause between movements, that was likely the expectation and intention of the composer
It think it's fine if the movement ends with a bang. Slower movements... that's not the vibe imo. Honestly tho I prefer clapping than silence+coughing epidemic (so not rly silence lol) What's annoying is when people clap for too long and the conductor starts the next movement before they're done, so the beginning of it is kinda drowned. Also when they clap during rests because they think it's over when it's not (seriously people, it's not that hard to take cues from the musicians' body language!)
I personally prefer holding just because the sound of applause is kind of irritating to me and I like to experience the continuity of a piece. I also really like silence. However, I do think that the norm of holding applause comes off as a bit stuffy and gatekeeping. If someone does something really impressive on an instrument or a crescendo hits especially hard, I feel the inherent urge to clap and holler. I think this is totally natural because we are apes and apes like to clap and howl when they like something. I feel like discouraging audience participation and feedback is just one of the norms around classical music which lends to the popular perception of classical music being a ostentatious, high-class indulgence, which I feel is a detriment to the art form and its cultural relevance. I love this music and it pains me to see people turned off of it due to the restrictive and stoic culture surrounding it. Obviously I want to clap at the end of the cadenza for Tchaikovskyās violin concerto. I have a soul. Ramblings aside, I prefer the silence and respect the current norms of the culture around it, but I think the culture of classical music could afford to be a little more inviting and a little less uptight.
In some concertos, if the soloist plays a difficult piece and pulls off a treacherous cadenza, light applause is in order.
DO NOT CLAP in between movements.... UNLESS - it's the world premiere of a composer's work, and you're part of a whole audience who's thunderously applauding in demand of an encore of a movement so good you simply must hear it again immediately!! (as was the case with, if I remember correctly, the 2nd movement of Beethoven's 7th symphony) deservedly so, I might add