Ps and Qs of Classical Concert Etiquette

Imagine that you are the biggest name in violin performance. IN THE WORLD. Imagine that you have a concert scheduled for 7:30 pm, but at curtain time, hordes of people are still just barely arriving. As a courtesy to the venue, you agree to wait. You wait. You wait. Finally, at 7:50 pm, you zip onstage. Your collaborative pianist and his page-turner join you onstage, and after acknowledging the audience's applause, you are ready to begin.
But the audience is not ready! People are still chatting to each other. People are still coming in to the concert hall and stepping awkwardly across strangers to reach their seats. You wait, onstage, quietly. They keep coming in. You sit. You look. You shake your head a little and smile a funny smile. Finally, the hall is quiet and you draw your bow across the strings of your instrument....

Almost 20 years ago, Itzhak Perlman came to Interlochen Arts Camp and performed the Brahms Violin Concerto with the World Youth Symphony Orchestra, of which I was part. I was struck then with worshipful awe by the sweetness of his tone and the power in his playing, as well as his teasing personality.

Since then, the advent of the internet and social media have made it easy to get a Perlman fix whenever I needed it. My go-to piece is the Handel Halvorsen Passacaglia that he has repeatedly performed with Pinkus Zukerman over the years. Here's one I have probably watched 50 times. Here's another one with some pre-concert banter and better sound. (Perlman is the one you see first.)

Last Saturday, my husband and I went to hear him live, my first time again since the Brahms performance. I was soooo excited - can you tell?

Before the concert started, hubby had to check the score of the BYU game one last time. Go Cougars!

We were far from the stage and very high, but our view was clear. I chatted with the ladies in front of us during intermission and they were kind enough to share their opera glasses during the second half of the program.

The performance was masterful: playful Mozart, intense Beethoven, lyrical Saint-Saens. I love watching the seemingly effortless bow arm of Mr. Perlman. Unfortunately, it took me a long time to relax. I was mortified by the audience's lack of concert manners, as if I were somehow responsible. I was distracted by doors opening, people walking and talking, a ringing cell phone, a camera flash, and clapping between movements. Mr. Perlman handled it all like the wonderful man he is, simply waiting for people to be ready and occasionally making jokes from the stage. For example, around 8:15 pm, when people were still arriving, he paused and asked with a smile, "Did they tell you the concert started at 7:30?"

I realize that everyone may not be familiar with concert etiquette, so without further ado, I would like to share some tips for classical concert goers:

• Arrive early enough to the venue to find parking, get to your seats, and still have time to peruse the program. It is best to be in your seats 10-15 minutes in advance of the starting time.
• Please turn off your cell phone, and follow the rules about photography and recordings. These are typically announced prior to the beginning of the concert.
• If you arrive late, it is extremely rude to enter the concert hall during the performance. Wait until you hear applause or the ushers open the doors. Some high end venues will have you wait not just until the end of a piece, but until intermission.
• Clapping is appropriate at the end of an entire piece, but not between movements. If you don't know whether a piece is ending, please consult your program. For example, the program for our concert shows that the first piece has three movements. Another way to know that the piece has ended is to watch the performers. If the violinist throws his bow off the string with a flourish and is preparing to take a bow, clap away. If the performers have just turned a page and are waiting to continue, hold your applause.
• When the program is over, it is polite (and smart) to stay until the applause dies down. Some people left during the applause and missed the encores, which were my favorite part of the evening. I could not believe that people were leaving! Neither could Mr. Perlman, evidently, for he called to them from the stage, "You're going to miss a beautiful piece!"

Mr. Perlman played 5 encores with jokes to preface each one. Despite my stress at the beginning of the concert, it was a great evening!

Do you attend classical concerts? Are any of these tips new to you?