Unprecedented in my multi-decade experience of Handel Messiah concerts, the Dallas Bach Society audience last month started applauding after every aria and chorus. Two weeks later, there was applause ...

If you’ve ever attended a classical concert, you’ve probably experienced that awkward, hesitant half-clapping that sometimes occurs at the end of a symphonic movement: The music stops, the hall falls ...

A column on applause etiquette at classical music concerts — “Audiences, please hold your applause” (Jan. 14 Arts & Life section) — drew a fair bit of reader response. All agreed with the column’s ...

One of the pleasures of attending the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra's Happy Hour concert a few weeks back was hearing spontaneous applause whenever a soloist played a particularly engaging piece.

A great classic opera, a cast of strong and impassioned singers and players, beautifully designed sets. It would be hard to find a more compelling trifecta of talent than Seattle Opera displays in the ...

In the March 9 Tempo, critic John von Rhein devotes the fourth paragraph of his review of pianist Stewart Goodyear’s March 7 concert to criticizing the audience for applauding “between almost every ...

I saw the following scenario happen way too many times at the Kennedy Center when I lived in Washington, D.C. Somebody dared to clap between movements of a symphony or a concerto. Instant result: ...

Until recently, the question of when to applaud at classical concerts never needed to be asked. Everyone knew the answer was never, except at the end of the piece. But suddenly it’s generating a lot ...

Orchestras have been warned that they need to loosen up if they are to attract much-needed new audiences. Universal Music CEO, Max Hole, called on conductors and musicians to talk to audiences and ...