On Monday night I attended a performance of John Cage's famous 4'33".
My previous encounters have generally been the solo piano version but here
it was presented in an arrangement for soprano, piano, violin and cello.

Unfortunately the first movement was spoilt when about 40 seconds into the
performance some oaf started clapping, stopped and then sheepishly said
"sorry".  This tended to upset the audience's concentration on the first
movement.  Prior to commencing the second movement the violinist inserted
the mute onto his violin.  This certainly brought about a considerably more
restrained performance of this movement than one normally encounters.  The
mute was removed for the last movement.  Haydn is often cited because of
the brilliance and effectiveness of his final movements.  Well surely John
Cage deserves an accolade or two for this work where the final movement
seems on a par with the earlier movements and he does it with such
effortless ease.

I do have a question about the audience when this work is performed.  I was
almost in a state of giggles during the performance.  Most of the audience
sat in reverential silence.  It is something of a challenge to know what is
the correct concert etiquette to adopt during performances of this piece.
Any help?

Gordon Henshaw