Klarinet Archive - Posting 000057.txt from 2005/08

From: Adam Michlin <amichlin@-----.com>
Subj: Re: [kl] Robert Schoen
Date: Fri, 05 Aug 2005 15:48:00 -0400

Yes, indeed, not only would people clap but they would insist on repeating
movements of pieces they particularly enjoyed.

I have this recollection of recently reading that Mahler (as conductor)
was largely responsible for starting the idea that one must enforce silence
between movements. Mahler would definitely fit the definition of a
self-appointed stuffy (thought he was a) god. It is a shame, to me, heaven
forbid someone actually *enjoy* a concert and express themselves! Of
course, if audiences were able to insist on repeats in Mahler's symphonies,
they'd be in the concert hall until 4 AM in the morning!

There was a time ( at least in opera, I don't know to what degree this
happened in concert music) when it was also acceptable to throw certain red
vegetables and actively taunt performers who were not meeting the
audience's expectations. This would certainly make for a more amusing
concert experience, a bit like "Survivor" meets "Beethoven 5". Now there's
real audience participation!

Audiences these days seem much more willing to clap endlessly and give
standing ovations to less than spectacular performances. I can't say that I
would enjoy having to sit through that much applause between movements, it
annoys me at times when it is just between pieces.

The NY Phil did Shostakovich 7 recently and, of course, at the quietest
moment in the entire hour plus long piece some bozo's cell phone went off.
Possibly one of the loudest and longest pieces known to man, and Murphy's
law strikes as always. I've even heard apocryphal stories of people who
actually answered their cell phones and had a conversation during performances

Civilization... perhaps.

-Adam

At 03:19 PM 8/5/2005, you wrote:
>On Fri, 5 Aug 2005, Adam Michlin wrote:
>
> > The examples I can remember offhand are:
>
> > Clapping between movements
>
>Which is perfectly ridiculous IMNSHO. If the movement is particularly
>good, what stuffy self-appointed god made this one up?
>
>I don't clap between movements to respect other people's idea of
>etiquette ... but I still think it's ridiculous and sure as hell isn't
>historically accurate if you go back not so many years ...

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