Jane Erb wrote:

>I don't really know the answer -- perhaps the show of appreciation helps
>the soloist understand that the audience is with him/her.  However, is
>generally seems to me that the scowls I see, not just from soloists but
>from orchestra members when a work is interrupted by applause, indicate
>that they mind the interruption.

I wonder if the issue is whether the people are applauding because they
don't know any better, or if it's because they DO know better.  By "DO",
I mean, they like the performance so much they felt that it would be
better to applaud than to follow the "standard of decorum"

-Mike Leghorn, Evanston, IL.