Jeff Wright <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>>I guarantee this, If any member of the audience coughed, or spoke
>>out louder than was normal, Sir Thomas Beecham would either stop the
>>performance, and wait for silence to resume, or he would chastise them or
>>he would just stop and leave the podium.  I just loved him.  So You know
>>the English audiences in that time were well behaved and very attentive.

Larry Sherwood responded:

>When I heard Ormandy's Philadelphia Orchestra in the 1960's, I am almost
>certain audiences did not fidget to the extent they do in Washington DC
>today and applause between movements was not nearly so common as today.

I hope some conductors in the list will comment on this: Whenever the
programs in our local orchestra has popular works such as Beethoven
Symphony No. 5, or say Music from the Movies, I do notice that there
are more first time goers than usual, well...  judging from the frequent
applause between movements, I can tell!  I do see the faces from the
regular concertgoers frowning, and not so pleased.  But the conductor do
not seem to mind, or behave like Sir Beecham or Kurt Mazur (someone said in
another post he walked out).  I would think that the conductors should be
pleased that there are more "ignorant" young people in the audience, and
take it that there may be potential converts from tonite's performances.
Do you share the same noble thought?

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