Also, because the strings play more continuously than the other parts, their page turns can fall in inconvenient places where there should be no break in the music.
This provides the conductor a little breather — a chance to collect his or her thoughts before starting the next piece.
If the applause is very enthusiastic, the conductor will come onstage again, bow, and perhaps recognize some musicians who played important solos in the piece. But in general, they are concentrating deeply, just like outfielders waiting for the fly ball or pitchers winding up to a curveball.
There are several ways to learn more about the music you hear at the Austin Symphony. Program notes are provided online for each concert at least one month prior to the concert. These same program notes are provided in the concert program at the concert that evening. These can be entertaining and enlightening, offering information about the composers and works for the evening. He will often have guest soloists, conductors or composers of a featured work for that concert.
Check out our website for future concerts that are specifically designed to help you hear the many layers in the music. Here are some links to websites where you can look up composers and their works, buy recordings, and learn more about classical music:.
The presentation is leisurely and eclectic, and features rare film footage, lost television kinescopes, as well as contemporary performances, with no commercials.
It is designed to bring the classical experience to the largest audience possible. Check their website for broadcast times. Naxos Records — The Learning Zone of the Nexus Records website has an introduction to classical music, biographies of composers, a glossary of musical terms, and an excellent guide to live-concert listening. You can also stream loads of classical pieces, making this a great place to visit if you want to listen to a work a couple of times before you hear it in concert.
At the beginning of the concert, the concertmaster will come onstage. The audience claps as a welcome, and as a sign of appreciation to all the musicians. After the orchestra tunes, Maestro Bay or on occasion, a guest conductor and possibly a soloist will come onstage. Everyone claps to welcome them, too. This is also a good moment to make sure your program is open, so you can see the names of the pieces that will be played and their order.
When everything settles down, the music begins. Just listen and enjoy! In most classical concerts, unlike jazz or pop, the audience never applauds during the music.
They wait until the end of each piece. But this can be a little tricky, because many pieces seem to end several times — in other words, they have several parts, or movements.
These are listed in your program. In general, musicians and your fellow listeners prefer not to hear applause during the pauses between these movements, so they can concentrate on the progress from one movement to the next. Not sure when the piece is over? Watch the conductor, who will lower the baton at the conclusion of a work.
Turn it off! The same goes for pagers and alarm watches. Better still, leave them at home if you can. Skip to primary navigation Skip to main content Tips for Beginners. What should I expect? Do I need to study beforehand? Will I recognize any of the music? What is the difference between your Masterworks Series and your Pops Series? What should I wear? Should I arrive early? How long is the concert?
Many composers strongly objected to them. Mahler even specified in the score of his Kindertotenlieder that its movements should not be interrupted by applause. Schumann did the same for his piano and cello concertos, as well as his Symphony No. By the time recording equipment came around in the 20th century, applauding in between movements came to be heavily frowned upon.
People started to think that clapping between the movements of a symphony distracted from the unity of the piece, punctuating works with unnecessary noise on live CD recordings. People first wanted to leave the clapping until the end of the work so that audience members could listen to the music totally undisturbed, without the distraction of applause in between movements.
Interesting to see an activity which was originally at the sole discretion of the audience now, at this point in history, being defined and regulated by the performers. How the dynamic has changed! Standing is a show of appreciation, as one can only clap so loud. I like a genuinely sincere standing ovation if it is well deserved. No mention of the audience that jumps to its feet at the end of a performance like it was out of the world when in reality it is just another good but not special performance.
But the they would stand and applaud a dog act not considering what the dogs were doing on stage. But why do we greet the beautiful sounds that come from the stage with the clattering, jarring, staccato noise of hands being slapped together … not to mention the accompanying whistling, hooting and hollering? Once that disappears, the excitement of the art starts to fade.
Very interesting. I liked your tone. We let loose, so to speak. The tension of her singing had been almost too much to bear.
Memory plays tricks. It is frustrating; but the newcomer, the ones you want to keep coming, do not know this usually. So there is an excuse. This was a neighborhood outreach concert at a church. He informed the audience that they were not to clap until after he brought his arms down at the end and turned around to face them — that was how they would know the piece was over.
Well, we got to the end of the piece and of course being a genius or something by that time he had forgotten all about his admonishment. There was dead silence for a few seconds until he remembered what to do and turned around.
Hard to say if it was more mortifying or hilarious. The next year, amazingly, they invited us back with a new assistant conductor — ahem and the executive director asked the same question. Again, most of the audience raised their hands. It was like the previous audience was a bunch of weeds and the guy had sprayed them with Weed-B-Gone.
It seemed like hours and was magical. This has happened several times in my journey as an audience member. Again, it was magical and even a bit profound. Very interesting article. I would be interested in your thoughts on holding the silence at the end of certain works e. Sometimes a maestro can successfully hold the moment and the audience stays in the moment. Rock concerts are generally amplified to a point where it is nearly impossible to disturb those around you, but classical music contains very soft passages which would be completely obliterated by applause.
I usually ask what the individual would think if they attended a play and the audience applauded periodically and cheered when actors delivered lines they liked, and the usual response is that plays are different in that audience noise would cover up the lines of the play. Some say only applaud she the conductor turns and faces you. Just try to learn appropriate Symphony behavior.
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