When should you applaud at a classical music concert?
It's a question that some people have strong views on. Some believe clapping between movements in a symphony for instance is a no-no — the composer wrote the music as a complete entity after all and even if it comes in several bits with breaks, to applaud in the middle shows disrespect.
However, a small number of people at a recent Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra concert felt so invigorated by the performance of the first movement of Beethoven's Symphony No 8 that they spontaneously started applauding. Although when it became obvious that not many were joining in, they soon stopped probably feeling a little abashed. This has happened at concerts many times.
But what happened on this occasion was unusual. The conductor Giordano Bellincampi turned around, acknowledged the applause and - a spur of the moment thing - decided to offer his opinion on the matter right there and then in the middle of the performance:
“Sorry, I just need to say something, because…. this thing about not applauding movements came much later. Actually in Beethoven’s times they would applaud if they liked it, and the orchestra would have played the same movement one more time. (audience laughter and applause). So please, please don’t ever be afraid of applauding at the wrong moment. The only thing we don’t like is boos.” (audience laughter and applause).
Giordano Bellincampi conducts the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra Photo: Adrian Malloch
