[CAUT] The politics of clapping (o/t)

[John R. Granholm]

On a related topic, I witnessed a "first" in my tuning career a  
couple weeks ago.

Our local Community Concert Association (Southwest Oregon) brought in  
a brilliant young New York pianist for a solo recital.  Some audience  
members in the first row were dealing with a noisy child after he  
started playing.  First he leaned toward the offenders and glared at  
them.  When that didn't satisfy him, he leaned toward them again, not  
missing a beat of his Debussy, and went "SHHHH!"  And then he did it  
again, quite loudly.

The people took the child to the back of the hall or left, I'm not  
sure which.

I've watched concert artists put up with a lot of audience noise and  
distractions, but I'd never seen one do this from the stage in the  
middle of a performance.

I don't know why people bring tiny children to these concerts, or why  
some of them come to concerts and then carry on conversations or  
wander in and out during the performance.  As has been suggested, I  
suspect they have not been educated, and most people, at least where  
I live, do not have a lot of experience with "serious" concerts and  
customary behavior at them.

John R. Granholm RPT


On Mar 14, 2007, at 3:41 PM, Elwood Doss wrote:

> I teach, adjunctively, a Music Appreciation class or two each semester
> and one of the first things I do is hand out a "concert etiquette"  
> form
> to teach them how to act when they attend the recitals they are  
> required
> to attend.  It seems to work well and they appreciate it since  
> rarely if
> any of them attended a recital or concert.
>
> In rural West Tennessee, the only culture many of these students will
> experience is as a result of this class and I at least want them to  
> know
> when to applaud and when not.  Applauding at the correct time, unless
> providing a quick exit for a teacher, is very important to the  
> audience
> and especially to the performer.
>
> Joy!
> Elwood
>
> Elwood Doss, Jr., M.M.E., RPT
> Piano Technician/Technical Director
> Department of Music
> 145 Fine Arts Building
> The University of Tennessee at Martin
> Martin, TN  38238
> 731/881-1852
> FAX: 731/881-7415
> HOME: 731/587-5700
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of
> Mark Cramer
> Sent: Wednesday, March 14, 2007 5:53 PM
> To: CAUT
> Subject: [CAUT] The politics of clapping (o/t)
>
> Last Sunday, Cheryl and I decided to take in the Winnipeg Symphony
> Orchestra's performance with guest pianist Stewart Goodyear.
>
> The Grieg Concerto is a sentimental favourite, and I just plain enjoy
> listening to the piano from different seats around the auditorium.
> Anyhow,
> the first movement finished up quite nicely, but all the same, it was
> surprising to hear some of the audience burst into applause.  
> "Newbies,"
> or
> just sincere appreciation for Mr. Goodyear's nice work,.. I don't  
> know.
> He
> briefly acknowledged the applause, and off to the second movement.
>
> Later in the week I was at a brown-bag, noon-hour recital in a stately
> Cathedral for a solo piano recital. A faculty member, international
> concert
> pianist and friend sat with me, and his student was in fact the  
> soloist.
>
> Halfway through the recital, and my friend was starting to figet.  
> "Mark"
> he
> said anxiously, "I have to teach a lesson in ten minutes" as he
> scrutinized
> the program looking for a strategic point of exit.
>
> But there was none to be had, as we were in the middle of a setting of
> short
> thematic peices. Finally in desperation, as the hint of a musical  
> pause
> approached, he begged "Mark, I will clap, please support me...!"
>
> And I did.
>
> The young fingers barely took a moment's leave of the keyboard, when
> from
> some twenty rows back, the hands of his teacher cracked the silence...
> and I
> followed suit, along with half the audience.
>
> This brief, unanticipated display of appreciation invited a beaming
> smile
> from the pianist's face, turning to bewilderment, as he caught the
> fleeting
> form of an adult male with winter coat pulled over his head, making a
> mad
> dash for the exit! :>)
>
> What a tricky art this "applause" business can be, knowing when to
> start,
> when to stop, when to stand, when to fling one's personal items  
> upon the
> stage... no thanks, I'll just gladly follow.
>
> Have a great day,
> Mark Cramer,
> Brandon University
>
>
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