Applause after a first movement

[Gauk]

There was an article in the last issue of BBC Music Magazine about this very subject, pointing out that practice has varied historically; in the 19th century applauding between movements was common, and remarks by some composers show that they evidently appreciated it.

[Alan Howe]

A curmudgeonly moderator's request: please hyperlink all urls. It's very time-consuming to have to make constant modifications to posts.

[jerfilm]

Yes, standing ovations have become everyday.   And folks here in the colonies will give an 8th grade volleyball team a standing ovation.   It is a bit too much.

And my goodness,  we have become a texting society.  No one speaks anymore.  Rstaurants, parks, theaters, concert halls, driving cars - yesterday we lunched at a nice cafe and two young, twentyish girls sat down across from us, and immediately whipped out their phones and started texting (or maybe gaming) and never spoke to each other. 

How sad it is.....

Jerry

[Alan Howe]

Texting is so yesterday. Now it's Twitter or Facebook.

[jerfilm]

Yup, a whole 'nother issue.....

[Alan Howe]

All those whom I text on a regular basis are younger than me - mostly students or ex-students of mine, in fact.

Anyway, back to applause. Let's hear it for the moderator. Or not, as the case may be...

[Ilja]

Needless to say, I agree with all that has been said, and would add my dislike of the "obligatory standing ovation" at the end of a piece. I used to think that this was a purely American phenomenon, but it is creeping into UK concert halls now. You sit through a perfectly competent, but hardly outstanding, performance of some warhorse or other and at the end people jump to their feet cheering. Others reluctantly rise to their feet until most of the audience has to do so, because not to would seem like criticism of what was an OK rendition.

This has been standard practice in Holland and Belgium since my student days (early 1990s), at least, but I get the impression that at least this particular phenomenon is on its retreat. German audiences have always been, and still are, much more discerning (in general, at least). This Christmas in Berlin (Philiharmonie), we witnessed the soloist in a decidedly average performance of Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue being rewarded by an audibly reluctant applause (compared to that for the orchestra and conductor). Shame for her, good for the music.

[Alan Howe]

Shame for her

Why? If she was only average, that's all she deserved. If she'd been good, it would have been a shame that she didn't get a better reception. If she'd been good; but she wasn't...

[TerraEpon]

Needless to say, I agree with all that has been said, and would add my dislike of the "obligatory standing ovation" at the end of a piece. I used to think that this was a purely American phenomenon, but it is creeping into UK concert halls now. You sit through a perfectly competent, but hardly outstanding, performance of some warhorse or other and at the end people jump to their feet cheering. Others reluctantly rise to their feet until most of the audience has to do so, because not to would seem like criticism of what was an OK rendition.

Indeed. When I finished up my college degree a couple years ago I had to go to recitals as part of the requirement. I was almost the only one in the auditorium almost every time who didn't stand up at the end. it's so silly.

[Christopher]

Um, I quite enjoy premature applause if it's seconds before the crash-bang end of a passionate opera (say, Carmen, Onegin, Madame Butterfly, Tosca,...) and it has been such a good performance that the audience is thoroughly revved up. It's almost like a cathartic explosion of tension.  I imagine this might happen a lot in Italy!

Is that heresy?

Oh please don't let me be a curmudgeon, not yet, I'm not even 40!  (just don't get me started on classicfm...!)

[kolaboy]

Texting is so yesterday. Now it's Twitter or Facebook.

I am the last human on Earth that does not own a cell phone.

[Mark Thomas]

Not so, my 88 year old mother keeps you company.

[Alan Howe]

My mother's nearly 86. But her mobile phone's likely to be off. She prefers real ones...

BTW - oh, actually it's the topic! - my mother wouldn't ever applaud after the first movement; but she might whisper rather too loudly half way through what she thought of the performance. And if we are at the opera, she'll definitely tell me what she thinks of the tenor - during the performance. But then she saw Gigli and Tauber, so who am I...?

[semloh]

In recent reviews of major orchestral concerts in the US it is noted that some sections of the audience applauded between movements, and that this (understandably, in my view) evoked large-scale 'shushing' and widespread whispered calls for quiet. The reviewers seemed to think that this reaction was more annoying than the applause - but somebody has to put a stop to it and immediate disapproval is, so the psychologists say, the most effective expression of disapproval.

What annoys me even more than inter-movement applause, however, is that fool who, just as a performance ends, has to shout 'bravo' before anyone else has even drawn breath or raised their hands in anticipation of clapping. Dare I say that the British seem to be especially keen to be first cab off the rank! 

There's a rather strange 'history of applause' and its meta-communicative functions at:
http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/03/a-brief-history-of-applause-the-big-data-of-the-ancient-world/274014/

Applause in unison would certainly be disconcerting to me, but is very common around the world. Does anyone here have experience of it at concerts? Or maybe even the slow hand clap? Scary!

[jerfilm]

Yes, I've been to a concert or two where the applause developed into a unison thing.  Although I think you see more of that at Country Music shows and such.....

J