Maestro Musings
Flashback: orchestra rehearsal one week before our spring concert
Maestro, in a jovial mood, starts a mock rant about what he'll do if the audience claps between movements of the Karelia Suite. He contemplates a caveat in the program, but is immediately warned by Ms. B that this would be rude. He then threatens that he'll throw his baton out into the audience. He pretends to toss it … wildly whips the stick around in a zig-zagging motion and continues with the rant until Ms. B has had enough and interrupts with "OK, Zorro." Maestro playfully corrects her by saying "That's Obi-one Kenobi." Some people chuckle. She stares inquisitively, then spurts out, "WHAT?" Maestro replies, "Star Wars." Ms. B stares, still dumbfounded, then quickly quips "I-don't-know-what-that-is." ... total silence for a second ... then a roar of laughter.
Well, maybe you had to be there, but it was really funny at the time, and it's one of those moments I wanted to document so I can savor it from time to time. During that next week my husband (trombone player) and I frequently joked about it and playfully assigned different Star Wars characters to some of the orchestra members.
Fast forward: just after the horrendous dress rehearsal the night before the concert
I returned to the almost empty orchestra room to get my coat, after having packed up my cello out in the hallway, and overheard the end of a conversation my husband was having with the Maestro. Perhaps in an attempt to lighten the mood, my husband was saying, "so if H is Yoda, and T is Hans Solo, then who is Darth Vador … ?
Last week Maestro’s global email was signed "May the Force be With You."
Labels: orchestra rehearsal
posted by cellodonna @ 8:11 AM
7 comments
7 Comments:
Your maestro sounds like a jolly sort with lots of energy! Also an enthusiastic "Star Wars" fan.
Our maestro is a "Star Trek" fan. However, when we were going to play some Star Trek themes, he mentioned "...those sword things that light up". We had to inform him that he was referring to lightsabers and that they were from Star Wars, not Star Trek!
There are enough ignorant rubes in audiences around here that there's usually a half-hearted applause after a movement. Then at the end, I swear the more knowledgeable folks clap extra louder, as though to tell them "see, *now* it's time to clap, you rubes."
At first I thought your Maestro was just being snobbish, but I suppose from a conductor/musician's point of view it must be jarring to have that interruption when you still have more performance to do.
Speaking of rubes, did I just write "extra louder"? I did.
Unless they are told otherwise, a lot of the audience will continue to applaud between movements.. This often results in an awkward moment - a flash of irritation, or a snarky smile between performers. I recently watched one soloist angrily begin the next movement while the applause was still enthusiastically continuing for a stirring first movement.
I think this, more than the interruption, undercuts the mood or atmosphere of the whole performance.
I don't understand why this dichotomy exists. On the one hand, we bemoan the dearth of classical music lovers and the sparse attendance at concerts, and then on the other hand we complain about the fact that those who do attend dare to breach this etiquette.
I think conductors ought to change their tune ;-) and go ahead and plan for a brief round of applause between movements; schedule a slightly longer pause, acknowledge the applause with a slight nod or bow and then move on. Why the continued conflict here? Orchestras are constantly worrying about how to "reach" new audiences, why not reach out to the audiences they already have?
Personally, I've decided to join the majority, and I now clap, briefly, between movements.
What a great story! I smiled as I read through...the ending was perfect.
I really enjoy how often you reference the Karelia Suite.
XO,
Jill
I agree with Guanaco on the applauding between movements. Actually it doesn't happen too much here, and when it does people are apt to smile nicely. But it does seem to discourage audience members from expressing their approval.
My pet peeve is people applauding wildly after jazz solos, obliterating the next player's solo. And, in coffee houses or restaurants, people talking right through the performances, when they are performances, not just background music. It's always something.
Yowser! I was really surprised to see that so many of you made comments here. Actually, I didn't even realize there were more comments until I clicked on the "comments feed" on Guanaco's site. Thanks to everyone for offering more food for thought on this topic of audience clapping. Guanaco's observation was really an eye-opener and something to keep in mind.
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