Hold the Applause

Not content with merely clapping between movements, the Pacific Symphony patrons have now taken to clapping during movements.

At the Nov. 7 concert, Carl St. Clair and the Pacific Symphony turned out a crackling performance of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 5. Unfortunately, it was twice interrupted with unwelcome applause, once after the close of the second movement and again in the fourth movement, where Tchaikovsky foolishly intruded a brief pause before the final statement. Tchaikovsky should have known better than to tempt our audience with the briefest moment of silence.

Since we can’t do anything about composers who want to pencil in moments of silence, perhaps we can aid the audience. I propose the following eight rules on when to clap and, more pertinently, when not to clap:

1. When in doubt, don’t.

2. If the conductor still has his hands in the air, keep yours in your lap.

3. Count the movements listed in the program, and don’t clap between them.

4. Catch the mood.

5. Wait for the climax.

6. Listen for resolution.

7. Let the sound die before clapping.

8. Ignore your neighbor--he or she probably doesn’t have any better idea of when to clap than you do.

As evidenced by Wednesday’s concert, the Pacific Symphony Orchestra has grown into a first-class orchestra. Let’s become a first-class audience.

ROBERT C. SANGSTER

Newport Beach