Paramount Theatre
Don't Talk During Performances
RECEIVED Mon., March 21, 2005
Dear Editor,
For the first time in perhaps three years, I went to an Austin Symphony Orchestra concert last Saturday, attracted by the presence of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony on the program. Since the last time I heard the orchestra, I have traveled to Houston a half dozen times to hear two HGO productions, a symphony concert, and some chamber music recitals. Why? Because Houstonites know how to behave at concerts.
This weekend, I sat in front of four gray-haired folks who somehow got the impression that I spent $25 to listen to them whisper for two hours, rather than a live performance of one of the greatest symphonies ever written. People here just don't get it: When the music starts, you shut up, period. You don't whisper about how much you like it or how much you don't like it or talk about anything else. If you're having a heart attack, it's OK to pass a note to your cardiologist if he's in the same row. And the coughing! Do people think it's OK to cough at a classical music concert? I'd rather have a lung collapse. Some idiot destroyed the beautiful conclusion of the third movement with a cough that could not have been more harmful if it had been planned. Bring some cough drops and unwrap them before the music starts (so we don't get to listen to your rustling wrappers).
In contrast, I still remember hearing Laura Claycomb singing "Caro Nome" during the HGO production of Rigoletto several years ago. What was almost as remarkable as hearing her was the total silence during the pauses – no cell phones, no whispers, no coughing, no eyebrows fluttering. You could have heard a pin drop, except whoever dropped it would have been garroted during the next applause.
Austinites, if you want to talk during a performance of classical music, buy a CD and play it in your car. If you want to go to a concert, find your seat, sit down, and when the baton goes down, STFU.
For the first time in perhaps three years, I went to an Austin Symphony Orchestra concert last Saturday, attracted by the presence of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony on the program. Since the last time I heard the orchestra, I have traveled to Houston a half dozen times to hear two HGO productions, a symphony concert, and some chamber music recitals. Why? Because Houstonites know how to behave at concerts.
This weekend, I sat in front of four gray-haired folks who somehow got the impression that I spent $25 to listen to them whisper for two hours, rather than a live performance of one of the greatest symphonies ever written. People here just don't get it: When the music starts, you shut up, period. You don't whisper about how much you like it or how much you don't like it or talk about anything else. If you're having a heart attack, it's OK to pass a note to your cardiologist if he's in the same row. And the coughing! Do people think it's OK to cough at a classical music concert? I'd rather have a lung collapse. Some idiot destroyed the beautiful conclusion of the third movement with a cough that could not have been more harmful if it had been planned. Bring some cough drops and unwrap them before the music starts (so we don't get to listen to your rustling wrappers).
In contrast, I still remember hearing Laura Claycomb singing "Caro Nome" during the HGO production of Rigoletto several years ago. What was almost as remarkable as hearing her was the total silence during the pauses – no cell phones, no whispers, no coughing, no eyebrows fluttering. You could have heard a pin drop, except whoever dropped it would have been garroted during the next applause.
Austinites, if you want to talk during a performance of classical music, buy a CD and play it in your car. If you want to go to a concert, find your seat, sit down, and when the baton goes down, STFU.
Sincerely,
Michael M. Simpson
Michael M. Simpson
P.S. p.s. To the two elementary-school-age boys in front of me that evening – thanks for being very quiet!
