Phones at concerts? People are not living in the moment
NewsSoprano Claire Rutter has given the Sunday Telegraph full details of the telephone pest who dogged her performance of Verdi’s Requiem in Liverpool Cathedral.
She said: ‘People are not living in the moment and enjoying the experience of the music. This should not be happening in a professional setting – a theatre, opera house or cathedral, where a serious performance is going on. That’s when it’s just distracting. It’s also quite rude and disrespectful to the people around you because sometimes people are holding their cameras up and blocking the view for people behind them.’
The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra defended its phones-on policy, saying ‘Audience numbers have increased by 8 per cent since last season.’
Read on here.
‘Audience numbers have increased by 8 per cent since last season.’
“X occurs after Y” does not entail “X occurs because of Y.”
Maybe there are more cell phone afficionados than classical music lovers.
MAYBE? Been out the door recently?
Correlation is not causation. Exactly.
This is a bit outdated as far as the CBSO is concerned. The new CEO has, at last, backed down on her idiotic attitude to phones. There is now an announcement before each concert that phones should only be used during applause! The first two times this was announced though, was while the orchestra were tuning up. This meant that it was hardly audible and would have been missed by those coming into the hall at the last minute. I sent a short email to the CEO, saying what a good idea the announcement was, but that it would be better to do the announcement after the orchestra had tuned up and immediately before the conductor came on the stage. I have not had the courtesy of a reply – more bad manners!!
Just as well it’s not America then or they’d be applauding every five minutes!!!
And as for the CBSO management’s defence about digital programme notes, well, programme notes are for reading before or after the performance, not during it. As for libretti, well, these must be provided on paper or not at all. The glare (which is a problem for fellow audience members as well as performers) and distraction of most digital devices is, quite simply, an unacceptable risk to the integrity of the performance. If concert promoters are genuinely concerned about the environment (as opposed to citing that as an excuse for not providing libretti on paper), they could consider turning down the lighting during the performance (in so many concerts, the lighting in the audience areas is needlessly high) and making greater efforts to facilitate car-sharing (e.g.: through having or endorsing an official car-sharing website/portal).
Well this is correct. Those with phones in the air at this type of event are seeking ( in general) a status stroke rather than a genuine memory. The “look at me” nonsense has created it’s own idiocy and that label is aptly put and well-deserved.
well put. and, while stroking their status, these idiots are missing the magic of what they supposedly came to witness.
Maybe they are *incapable* of appreciating the magic?
This was a very interesting and thought-provoking item to read. It has taken me the majority of my life to realize that great moments of beauty, poise, sadness, nuance and stillness can only be felt in music if we allow ourselves to be part of it in “real time”. A great musician once told me that silence is stronger than sound – a statement that has taken on great meaning to me. Time and silence in music must be cherished, felt, and respected above all else. By staring at our phones in a concert, we are throwing up walls that create a tragic disconnect from the human experience. A real pity…
I go to concerts to hear music performed in a live setting. I’m there to listen. I sit quietly and focus my ears and eyes on the stage.
When I pay well over a hundred dollars for a good seat, I’d like to think that others near me want the same experience.
Disturbances in a concert are like someone in an art museum texting or checking emails while standing inches from the Monet or DaVinci that you want to see and experience.
Any arts organization that allows and even encourages this through their policies will lose my business.
Oh boy, yes, let’s force certain behaviors on audience members by prohibiting cell phones while we virtue signal by saying we want to not restrict audiences from applauding in between movements. Which is it? The problem, which all of these artists and arts organizations are ignoring, is that classical music is avoiding actually adapting their audience experience to be optimal. Why? Because they just like it the way it has always been and if you don’t like that, it is your problem.
“Program Notes must be provided on paper or not at all!!!” Really??? so you like the sound of rustling paper distracting the concert experience more than the silence of reviewing them on the phone. Gotcha.
How about avoiding program notes of any kind? Maybe the concert experience should including immersing the audience in the music, ensuring that everyone “knows enough” to enjoy it walking in, avoiding the stress of having to “cram” before the first note….
Phones vs. applause between movements is apples vs. widgets.
Applause between movements is largely a situational thing – after a loud and fast movement? Sure. After the third movement of Beethoven’s 9th or Shostakovich 5th? No. The best advice there is: If in doubt, just don’t be the first.
Cell phones aren’t limited to a brief bit of applause; you hold them up and they cause a visual blight. The light from the screen is distracting in a dark theatre.
Agree with the last paragraph.
This is the same ‘bums on seats at any cost’ philosophy that the BBC have adopted in their programme content and at the Proms. Do Liverpool Cathedral’s management team allow or encourage the use of mobile phones during religious services? Why stop at allowing mobile phones? Why not have a disco during the interval? Why don’t they allow Deliveroo in to deliver sustenance to the audience or congregation? ‘Give us this day our daily kebab and chips’.
Allowing phone calls during concerts might attract some people but will drive away others. I would never pay for a seat at any concert if there is a risk that anyone sitting near me would be chattering on a phone or taking photographs.
This is not a case of someone in the audience complaining – it’s a soloist! I believe the conductor would have been justified in stopping the performance until the offender had been ejected from the cathedral.
This is not a case of someone in the audience complaining – it’s a soloist! I believe the conductor would have been justified in stopping the performance until the offender had been ejected from the cathedral.
Yes, exactly, and in Britain too, but then Liverpool probably full of tourists during the day. Don’t understand what went on during the concert itself. The conductor should have stopped the performance with such a distraction, or at least sorted something out during the rehearsal so that staff on duty would have been more astute. Must say the staff at the BBC Proms and Opera North don’t put up with such level of nonsense and disrespect to that extent. But then there is a big announcement made before the concert or opera starts, and then after the interval. Can only speak as I find in those situations. Must say ashamed of Birmingham.