Concerts and concert protocols

[darcydodo]

Despite my lack of sleep and my not feeling well, I decided to go to the concert at Zellerbach that I had tickets for. It was a German youth orchestra playing Strauss, Shostakovich, Mendelssohn, and Sibelius, and in the end I was glad I went. For a start, they were really very good. Secondly, the virtuoso violinist who played for the Sibelius was amazing. He's 16 years old.... and attends Crossroads, which, when I saw this fact, surprised me not a whit. Kristin, who was sitting next to me, muttered that he must go through a bow every night, which I didn't disagree with, seeing as how he broke about five hairs on his bow during the one piece. There was much confusion at the end of the Shostakovich; the program said there were five movements, they clearly had only gone through three (Kristin and I were both convinced of this independently), and then they finished. So I couldn't clap for the soloists as I had wanted, because I was trying to be good and not clap between movements. Which is a piece of etiquette, I might add, that the majority of the audience seemed not to have been schooled in, which made it doubly confusing that they seemed to be finishing after three movements.

Speaking of which, what's the protocol for the following? The conductor announces that, as a sign of the friendship between our countries, they're going to play both our national anthems. Given that America is full of patriotic fools, a large part of the audience stands up during the American anthem, which is played first. Now, two things must be decided. 1) Does one clap at the end of each anthem, or after both are finished, treating them each as a movement of a larger piece? 2) Does one remain standing during the German anthem, as well? I would say that one wouldn't clap between the two anthems and that one would remain standing for the German anthem, but apparently much of the audience didn't agree with me. Although, to be fair, this is the same audience that was clapping between definite movements. *sigh*

Now I'm going to go to sleep and hope that I'll sleep for a sensible length of time tonight. Grr.

Comments

[sampiano.livejournal.com]

No the piece wasn't cheating. The concept of linking movements had been around since Beethoven/Mendelssohn (don't remember which of them was the first) at least 150 years before Shostakovich 9. It was remiss of the programme notes not to mention it though.

Speaking of such things, I had an amusing time at one point recently editing a recording of a set of etudes by some modern dude, don't remember who now. I didn't have a copy of the music, which made it very difficult to decide where to put the track breaks in the CD. I got it right; but I'm sure it was partly luck.

Anyway.

I'll get a piano in my house as soon as I've bought/rented one. Hopefully within a month or so otherwise I'm going to be very figity (is that how you spell it?). You comin' to visit babe?

Ahaha - almost 6.00pm here. Which means it's time for me to go and sing lalala

[darcydodo]

It was remiss of the programme notes not to mention it though.

Huh. I'll say.

figity (is that how you spell it?)

It's got a 'd' actually, and an 'e'. Fidgety. :)

Having fun singing! I'm just counting the days until they get you to play the piano instead. ;)