Thread: Live recordings and applause

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Post by emaidel April 3, 2012 (11 of 26)
I guess I'll be the lone dissenter, but I hate applause on any recording. I like to listen to my music at a fairly loud, or "realistic" level, and when raucous applause follows, I find myself either immediately stopping the disc, or turning down the volume.

I also don't like all the audience noises that often accompany "live" recordings. Listening to James Levine's splendid rendition of "Ein Deutsches Requiem" amidst a sea of coughs and other noises is just plain irritating, as it would have been if I were at the live performance.

That's just me though, and anyone has every right to feel otherwise.

Post by AmonRa April 3, 2012 (12 of 26)
I do not want applause on recording either, and prefer "liveless" to live.

Post by chenzl April 3, 2012 (13 of 26)
emaidel said:

......I guess I'll be the lone dissenter, but I hate applause on any recording...

Me too. Applause should be a one-off affair in a live concert, it is silly to hear it over and over again in a recoding.

I don't mind a live recording as long as the applause is edited away.

Post by TerraEpon April 3, 2012 (14 of 26)
I'll put it this way.

It's not an SACD, but the eight minute (!) applause track on the Brian Gothic Symphony release from last year made me not buy it.

Post by chenzl April 4, 2012 (15 of 26)
TerraEpon said:

I'll put it this way.

It's not an SACD, but the eight minute (!) applause track on the Brian Gothic Symphony release from last year made me not buy it.

Eight minutes applause? That's crazy. The time could have easily accommodates a fill-up overture piece!

Post by Fitzcaraldo215 April 4, 2012 (16 of 26)
It seems that we have a split opinion here. Personally, if it is a live recording, then I want the applause, obviously kept in balance for its duration and how often it occurs. This is most especially true of opera, which loses a great deal IMHO without live audience reaction. Studio recordings of same generally seem somewhat lifeless and lacking in passion, as do many live concert performances. For those who disagree on listening to recordings, God gave us remote controls for a reason.

Post by Claude April 4, 2012 (17 of 26)
chenzl said:

Eight minutes applause? That's crazy. The time could have easily accommodates a fill-up overture piece!

The label should pay the ticket buyers performer's royalties ;-)

Post by TxMark1962 April 4, 2012 (18 of 26)
Fun responses!!! I will still wish for applause at the END of a recording in moderate amounts..it will never bother me...what I WOULD potentially dislike is minor clapping between movements. There is a You Tube video of the Pittsburgh SO doing Mahler's 5th in the Philharmonie in Berlin. As stunning as it seems, the audience has a desire for clapping after each movement...one would think that a city with a world class orchestra would be a little more, ummmmm, sophisticated than that...or, maybe they were just thoroughly enjoying the concert???

So, in this instance and despite the between movement clapping I enjoyed that You Tube video performance tremendously.....and I would still have bought that performance if it had been on SACD....inner movement clapping and thunderous ovation at the end and all!!!

Cheers,

Post by tream April 4, 2012 (19 of 26)
I also vote against applause (strong opposition to it) unless the recording is meant to be a documentary of an actual full concert or event. Otherwise I find it ruinous of the mood created by the music.

Post by Russell April 4, 2012 (20 of 26)
Count me as one who loves applause in live recordings. As a veteran collector of 'pirate' opera and symphonic recordings (all live, of course) where applause is left in, I'm very much used to it and I feel it's a natural part of the 'live' experience. It adds immensely to my enjoyment of the performance. I'm always a bit leery of so-called 'live' recordings where the applause and other audience noises have been edited out and/or where re-takes have been done (sans audience) so that no 'disrupting' applause can be heard. This type of recording (and there are many of these) to me is an artificial representation of a live performance. (I'm certainly not saying that I don't enjoy recordings of live concerts where there's no audience noise to be heard, but I do feel better when it's there.)

Russell

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