Proms 2018

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Good to note you will be listening with an unprejudiced mindset.

Well I certain won't be turning up the volume.

[Barbirollians]

Mendelssohn did that for this precise reason.

Does that explain the linking passage between the first and second movements of the violin concerto ?

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Does that explain the linking passage between the first and second movements of the violin concerto ?

Yes. All the movements are linked.

[MrGongGong]

Good to note you will be listening with an unprejudiced mindset.

[Richard Barrett]

The people in the halls are not some kind of enemy.

Amen.

[cloughie]

I think that anyone who attends a concert along with hundreds of other people and expects total personal immersion and concentration in the performance with no impact from others, is suffering from an acute bout of chronic narcissism. And as for those listening hundreds of miles away on their wireless or television who expect the same, well words fail me .......

Beefy, if it makes you feel good clap at home, as much as you like, when you like!

[jean]

This topic is to be discussed on 'Broadcasting House' on Radio 4 some time between 0900 and 1000 tomorrow - sorry I can't be more precise at this stage.

9.20.

[ahinton]

Mightn't this also raise a question about silences (or near silences) within movements? (a particular piano work by a member here is not the only example thereof that springs to mind)...

[gurnemanz]

I would not wish to be dogmatic about movement applause and attempt to ban it, but it is problematical for me in that it is usually not spontaneously expressed enthusiasm at a marvellous performance but a perfunctory, half-hearted ripple from a minority of audience members, which adds nothing to the overall experience. And if it were to be spontaneously expressed enthusiasm, possibly with whooping, stamping, cheering, whistling etc this would also seem to be inappropriate. Furthermore, if, as the norm, every audience member did actually applaud movements you could easily end up with an accolade of similar dimensions to what usually only comes at the end. This would surely seriously disrupt the continuity of the piece and not be acceptable to most people - which is why it is not the norm.

[Beef Oven!]

Beefy, if it makes you feel good clap at home, as much as you like, when you like!

That supports my second point. Observe the silences between movements in your home, but don't demand people at the concert do the same!s

[Beef Oven!]

I would not wish to be dogmatic about movement applause and attempt to ban it, but it is problematical for me in that it is usually not spontaneously expressed enthusiasm at a marvellous performance but a perfunctory, half-hearted ripple from a minority of audience members, which adds nothing to the overall experience. And if it were to be spontaneously expressed enthusiasm, possibly with whooping, stamping, cheering, whistling etc this would also seem to be inappropriate. Furthermore, if, as the norm, every audience member did actually applaud movements you could easily end up with an accolade of similar dimensions to what usually only comes at the end. This would surely seriously disrupt the continuity of the piece and not be acceptable to most people - which is why it is not the norm.

People should applaud if they like a performance and shouldn't if they don't like a performance.

When I was very young I attended a performance of Parsifal. Even though it was a bit long I quite enjoyed it and wanted to clap often. Nobody else in the hall could've liked a note of it because not only did they not clap between acts/scenes, they did not even clap at the end. I thought it rude, but if they didn't like the performance .........

[LMcD]

I thought Tasmin Little made an excellent job of considering both sides of the argument while making her own position perfectly clear. Paddy O'Connell struck just the right note (sorry about that!) as he usually does.
I still maintain that, if applause between movements becomes the norm, applause between songs and after solo passages will follow as surely as night follows day.

[BBMmk2]

I thought Tasmin Little made an excellent job of considering both sides of the argument while making her own position perfectly clear. Paddy O'Connell struck just the right note (sorry about that!) as he usually does.
I still maintain that, if applause between movements becomes the norm, applause between songs and after solo passages will follow as surely as night follows day.

Yes, I’ve been fearing that too.

[french frank]

A better approach might have been to write an article highlighting the aspects of the Proms which do help to spread the word. Ticket price, informality, availability of tickets, world class performers, an enquiring, diverse and relatively young audience ( certainly in the arena).

In Gongers' phrase:

People use 'traditionalists', pejoratively, for those who prefer no applause, just as if it isn't 'traditional' - even automatic (the very opposite of spontaneous) - to clap the hands when the music finishes. There are apparently people who cannot conceive of NOT doing so.

[Bryn]

Good to hear the specially recorded "Jig" from the 3rd "Partition" at the end of the programme.