We are Classical

When friends who aren’t regular goers to classical music performances accompany me to concerts, they sometimes ask if there are certain regulations they have to follow. Since I am not the one making up the rules, I usually just tell them to enjoy. Yet apparently, there ARE existing unspoken rules. For example, as my colleague Rachel Deloughry pointed out in her article 'Classical concert etiquette: Applause!': in classical music, not only is it frowned upon to clap between movements of a concerto or symphony, but it is also necessary to leave an appropriate amount of silence after the last note, to savour that final cadence, before finally showing your appreciation.

“I guess the fear for me is that there’ll be some great composers who I will never have found!” Hailed as a “leading force for the music of our time”, for her work as a conductor, communicator, recording artist, audience builder, champion of American composers and distinguished musical citizen, JoAnn Falletta serves as Music Director of the Buffalo Philharmonic and the Virginia Symphony and Principal Guest Conductor of the Brevard Music Center.