That question regarding why orchestra performances are subdue affairs came up recently when I attended a Lord of the rings concert in NYC. It wasn’t particularly rowdy, but people were certainly enjoying themselves. When I had posted about this on Reddit, there was a lot of attitudes about how it’s a uniquely American thing and at the European concerts people didn’t clap or laugh or audibly enjoy themselves as much as the NYC concert goers did. I’ll have to bookmark that link for later.
Unrelated to the article, but related to the topic, the compliment that gives me the most dopamine is when somebody I respect and is above my level of knowledge tells me “that’s a great question”. It just makes me realize that I’m closer to their level if I’m asking questions that stumped them or that they are already thinking of but surprised I asked.
I agree completely.
When I was a kid, I would ask my parents questions all the time, and usually they knew the answer to my questions, but occasionally they would say something like "that's a really good question", which usually meant "I don't know but I should probably find out". It made me feel like a grown-up.
Slightly OT, but Leonard Bernstein alludes to this in his book The Joy of Music.
There's a chapter about how America was long looking for something musical to differentiate itself from the classical European orchestral concerts, and they went through a number of different formats (think Vaudeville, Variety Shows, etc), before they at last culminated in what we consider the modern American Musical.
(This has evolved again since the late 1900s with much of the genre being integrated into animation - primarily Disney - and live shows needing to evolve in new ways to keep live shows fresh and interesting).
All of which is to say that I quite like the idea that music in the European tradition is nonetheless experienced and enjoyed differently in non-European countries. The musical tradition might be the same, but the culture around it is different.
I also wasn't sure what they meant by a "rowdy orchestral crowd".
I don't see a problem with audibly expressing one's appreciation for the composer, conductor and performers during intermissions or at the close of a piece, but IMHO it would be downright disrespectful to carry on during the performance itself.
Quoth Franz Liszt to Nicholas I, emperor of Russia, who apparently had the temerity to talk during a performance, "Music herself should be silent when Nicholas speaks".
> Unrelated to the article, but related to the topic, the compliment that gives me the most dopamine is when somebody I respect and is above my level of knowledge tells me “that’s a great question”. It just makes me realize that I’m closer to their level if I’m asking questions that stumped them or that they are already thinking of but surprised I asked.
I don't know this for a fact, but, I'm thinking there must be a lot of books on public speaking that tout this "trick".
Once, I noticed that an exec started constantly prefixing her every answer with "Yeah that's a great question" and I said to myself, huh she must have just finished some leadership book!
Of course, it quickly becomes pretentious, if used on every mundane question.