Phones in concerts

[LMcD]

I take it a 'dumb phone' is a mobile phone that is just a phone.

I've always disliked the telephone (probably from some Freudian cause) so the proliferation of mobiles, let alone smart-phones, is to me the epitome of the world gone mad. And certainly there can surely never have been so many bad photographs taken as now. Long ago when computers started to arrive in my workplace we were warned about 'garbage in, garbage out'. This was in the days when printers used a roll of paper about 40cm wide and they were already concerned about the amount of waste. Someone gave us a stack of the stuff which for some reason wouldn't go back into the printer,and it served for our sons to draw on for years .

My dumbphone allows me to make and receive calls and texts and take photos. That's all I need.

[Roger Webb]

My dumbphone allows me to make and receive calls and texts and take photos. That's all I need.

As the Monty Python crowd might have said, '......I used to dream of having a camera on my phone'

[muzzer]

Well here’s to dumb phones. I was at the Barbican two weeks ago for the brilliant half six fix VW 5th preceded by expert and entertaining exposition from Maestro Pappano. There were three girls behind me who had four goes at recording their TikTok or insta vid saying where they were. The pretended spontaneity by the fourth take was cringeworthy. There is nothing sincere about any of this stuff. Every last aspect of behaviour is rehearsed because every last aspect of behaviour is to be observed and judged. And if that isn’t totalitarian, I don’t know what is.

[kernelbogey]

...And if that isn’t totalitarian, I don’t know what is.

Have you ever been to Russia, Muzzer?

[Ein Heldenleben]

Well here’s to dumb phones. I was at the Barbican two weeks ago for the brilliant half six fix VW 5th preceded by expert and entertaining exposition from Maestro Pappano. There were three girls behind me who had four goes at recording their TikTok or insta vid saying where they were. The pretended spontaneity by the fourth take was cringeworthy. There is nothing sincere about any of this stuff. Every last aspect of behaviour is rehearsed because every last aspect of behaviour is to be observed and judged. And if that isn’t totalitarian, I don’t know what is.

Sounds more like middle class life in Regency England - in some ways the rules of behaviour for youngsters are even more rigid now. To be honest if they want to TikTok BEFORE listening to RVW good luck to them.

[duncan]

Well here’s to dumb phones. I was at the Barbican two weeks ago for the brilliant half six fix VW 5th preceded by expert and entertaining exposition from Maestro Pappano. There were three girls behind me who had four goes at recording their TikTok or insta vid saying where they were. The pretended spontaneity by the fourth take was cringeworthy. There is nothing sincere about any of this stuff. Every last aspect of behaviour is rehearsed because every last aspect of behaviour is to be observed and judged. And if that isn’t totalitarian, I don’t know what is.

It was an extremely enjoyable concert. As you say Pappano's introduction was a model of the kind: humorous and learned, deepening my understanding of this glorious work.

I did not encounter the TikTok girls. It's not my concert behaviour, however, as long as they stopped before kick-off they can record clips and selfies to their heart's content as far as I'm concerned. For many, part of concert-going is about dressing-up, seeing and being seen, as a glance around the crush bar at Covent Garden will confirm. Isn't posting on TikTok a virtual equivalent of this? The twenty-first century version of 'promenading': strolling around Vauxhall Gardens making very sure all can observe you in your finery, whilst Handel played in the background.

I'm not encouraging a return to Georgian behaviour but I've noted before the convention of audiences keeping quiet and paying attention during performances began in mid-19th century Germany and England (and rather later in Italy):

In 1840, Mary Shelley wrote: ‘The theatre of La Scala serves not only as the universal drawing-room for all the society of Milan, but every sort of trading transaction, from horse-dealing to stock-jobbing, is carried on in the pit; so that brief and far between are the snatches of melody that one can hear.’ (Quoted in a longer discussion here).

The change in audience behaviour to concentration and relative quiet arose organically. Lee (above) suggests this was partially due to societal changes, the rowdier segment of the audience decamped to the music halls. His other argument is as music changed to through-composed opera there were fewer opportunities to interrupt. Whatever the reasons it does not seem to have been imposed from above by the 19th century equivalent of Emma Stenning. 21st century concert etiquette will not be changed by Stenning's attempts to do so either.

[french frank]

Have you ever been to Russia, Muzzer?

I suppose if used in a transferred, non political sense: of a society in which a particular kind of behaviour imposes itself on everyone, no matter who objects. No way for the downtrodden to fight it. Also a way of spying on people.

[Ein Heldenleben]

It was an extremely enjoyable concert. As you say Pappano's introduction was a model of the kind: humorous and learned, deepening my understanding of this glorious work.

I did not encounter the TikTok girls. It's not my concert behaviour, however, as long as they stopped before kick-off they can record clips and selfies to their heart's content as far as I'm concerned. For many, part of concert-going is about dressing-up, seeing and being seen, as a glance around the crush bar at Covent Garden will confirm. Isn't posting on TikTok a virtual equivalent of this? The twenty-first century version of 'promenading': strolling around Vauxhall Gardens making very sure all can observe you in your finery, whilst Handel played in the background.

I'm not encouraging a return to Georgian behaviour but I've noted before the convention of audiences keeping quiet and paying attention during performances began in mid-19th century Germany and England (and rather later in Italy):

In 1840, Mary Shelley wrote: ‘The theatre of La Scala serves not only as the universal drawing-room for all the society of Milan, but every sort of trading transaction, from horse-dealing to stock-jobbing, is carried on in the pit; so that brief and far between are the snatches of melody that one can hear.’ (Quoted in a longer discussion here).

The change in audience behaviour to concentration and relative quiet arose organically. Lee (above) suggests this was partially due to societal changes, the rowdier segment of the audience decamped to the music halls. His other argument is as music changed to through-composed opera there were fewer opportunities to interrupt. Whatever the reasons it does not seem to have been imposed from above by the 19th century equivalent of Emma Stenning. 21st century concert etiquette will not be changed by Stenning's attempts to do so either.

If it’s the same Pappano / LSO RVW 5 that’s just been on In Concert it sounded absolutely wonderful .

The Crush Bar at ROH sadly is a pale shadow of its former self . I’m not sure there’s even bar service there any more . The place to pose is the champagne bar area in the Floral Hall and the outside amphitheatre balcony which now has its own dedicated bar. The last rehearsal (NB 11 am start ) had champagne being quaffed in both of these , I could just about a manage a coffee - very cheap if you split a generous cafetière between two,The ground floor cafe area next to the cloakroom has all the feel of a Costa though the food there seems to have (expensively ) improved.

[Keraulophone]

Further to the CBSO's policy of allowing the use of phones for taking photographs and short videos during their performances, there was an announcement before their Debussy, Ravel and Stravinsky concert in Symphony Hall conducted by Jérémie Rhorer asking audience members not to take photographs or make recordings during the concert. Perhaps soprano soloist Elizabeth Llewellyn objected?

Curiouser and curiouser.

[Simon B]

Further to the CBSO's policy of allowing the use of phones for taking photographs and short videos during their performances, there was an announcement before their Debussy, Ravel and Stravinsky concert in Symphony Hall conducted by Jérémie Rhorer asking audience members not to take photographs or make recordings during the concert. Perhaps soprano soloist Elizabeth Llewellyn objected?

Curiouser and curiouser.

There has been backtracking (quiet and otherwise) on a number of the things instituted or reframed by the new CEO since she took over. This includes adjusting nuances in the wording of the photo/film encouragements. As things stand they still only "suggest" that people don't do this during the actual music.

This particular concert featured the Youth Chorus. Given how low the threshold for concerns around safeguarding can now be in other contexts re photography and filming, is it possible this was a factor?

More generally the CBSO already cancelled a plan to add multimedia to several of this year's concerts after the first one went down like an HGV off a cliff. Next season they appear to instead be presenting a clearly denoted sub-series of events built around a more subtle instance of the same concept. That seems much more considered and hence unlikely to provoke widespread further objection.

Ms Stenning's solution to the extra £650kpa or so she needs to raise just to plug the hole left by the council's withdrawal of all support appears to be to dramatically increase the price of some of the more popular seats. Given that compared with e.g. the Halle or RLPO, the CBSO already seems a bit pricey, "Good luck with that" seems about right to me. They are in a difficult place.