That is the question.  You are at a concert.  It certainly seems like the piece is over, and it was amazing, so you enthusiastically applaud . . . alone.  Since recent posts have explored where to find concerts and performances which your family might enjoy, here are some tips on how to figure out when to applaud.

Without question, the printed program is your best resource for clues.  Before the lights dim, be sure to look over the program and familiarize yourself with which the pieces to be played, some of what may have several parts.  Then you can count the pauses and be confident about when it’s time to applaud.

For example, I recently attended a concert where the following appeared in the program.

“Autumn” from The Four Seasons Antonio Vivaldi

Allegro
Adagio molto
Allegro

At the performance in question, at the very first pause in the piece, there was a significant smattering of applause, but nobody on stage acknowledged the applause completely — because the piece wasn’t over.

“Autumn” is the title of the whole piece to be played, but “allegro,” “adagio molto,” and (again) “allegro” are the names given to three subsections of the piece.  The performers paused after playing “allegro,” leading some in the audience to applaud prematurely; there were still two sections to go.

As another example, the listing for Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony might look like this.

Symphony No. 5, Ludwig von Beethoven

Allegro con brio
Andante con molto
Scherzo – allegro
Allegro

The whole piece to be played is the symphony, but it will be in four parts.  Because Beethoven (and so many other composers) conceived the piece as a whole, with relationships between its parts, the accepted practice is to hear the piece in its entirety – to receive it as a whole – before responding to it, much the way a good listener in conversation waits for the speaker to finish before offering a response.  (The expectations are different for a jazz concert.  It is quite customary, polite and expected to applaud a soloist right in the middle of a jazz number.)

There are a couple of other clues as to whether or not the piece is really over, but while we’re here, what do all those words mean?  What is allegro?  Or andante con molto?  They are Italian words that indicate the tempo or speed of the piece.  And why Italian?  Because for hundreds of years Italy was the center of musical education and proliferation.  Therefore most pieces written during the Common Practice Era – and even many since then – use these designations to describe each part, or movement, of a given piece.  (See Discovering Music, Unit 3 for more on terminology of the Common Practice Era and its conventions.)

The conductor may offer clues as well.  Many times between movements, he may keep one arm raised while turning a page in the score.  If the piece is not finished, he will definitely not turn around and face the audience – unless the spontaneous smattering of applause is sufficiently insistent!

In short, remember to check for the number of movements in each piece and keep an eye on the conductor.  Then you’ll be sure not to play a solo at the symphony!