Fed up with people making noise at classical shows

Yes, before every concert I've been to, the Master of Ceremonies, Program Director or whoever, asks the audience for the obvious: shut off cell phones, take candy out of the wrapper, etc. Apparently not everyone listens.

Brownsfan sees my point perfectly. It's not arrogance, it's common sense. There are actions which are acceptable in some places, not in others.

Chadnliz: American arrogance? Seriously? I'm an arrogant American because I believe the music and the PAYING audience members deserve the respect of silence during a piece of music? When I went to Pantera concerts, I was screaming and moshing with the rest of them. When I hear Barber's Adagio for strings I shut the hell up. I have common sense. I guess that makes me an arrogant American.

Now that I think more about it, it's not ONLY about having common sense. It's about the emotions felt during an event. If one goes to a rock concert, the material itself suggests that one gets out of their seat, screams and shouts, claps hands or dances in the isle. I think the emotions Beethoven was feeling when writing the Moonlight Sonata demanded silence and attention. When listening to that, how do you not sit still?

People go to performances of classical music for a variety of reasons. Many of us are very serious about music and Devilboy's comment regarding the emotional investment is right on target. We are fully absorbed by the music on an emotional and intellectual level. People making unnecessary noise at a concert is pretty much like people making a racket in a library where people are trying to read or study. It just simply distracts and detracts from the experience, and at its extreme, a single offender can ruin the experience for hundreds of people. My wife and I have decided not to attend on nights when one of us had a cold, for fear that we could not properly control our coughing. For the record, my wife does not wear perfume, for those who might have been wondering about that. We are middle age, and have been attending concerts since our youth. My attitude and expectations about appropriate concert etiquette have not fundamentally changed since I was in my twenties. My wife and I are not snobs. We just love the music.

I remember the overwhelming emotions associated with my first concert experiences of The Swan of Tuonela, Janacek's Sinfonietta, and the Rite of Spring. The right of Spring was ruined by a CEO who decided it would be good to stage a bunch of people hooting and hollering with cat calls in an effort to emulate the first performance in Paris. I was not amused or entertained. The experience was ruined, and I can't get that one back.

For other people, attending a symphony concert is just a diversion, perhaps a guy who is trying to find something different to do for an evening with his overly perfumed wife. Its just something to do. That is great, and I certainly welcome those folks. Please, just don't ruin it for others.

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There are two types of distractions, those that can be controlled and those that can't.

....Coughing and sneezing; hard to imagine somebody would do that on purpose. When you have a large group of people it is inevitable that somebody will cough or sneeze. It is just something you have to endure.

....cell phones, talking, etc. are controllable and unforgivable. The lady that sits in front of me at the symphony brings a very bright LED flashlight and reads the program during the performance. It is very annoying.

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The cell phone incident even made CNN:
http://www.cnn.com/2012/01/12/us/new-york-symphony-philharmonic-flap/index.html

Cell phones are getting out of hand. My wife, daughter and I were at an Appleby's a couple of weeks ago and two young ladies (not teens) at the table behind me were carrying on a conversation on a cell phone WITH IT ON SPEAKERPHONE.

It was alluded to above but most classical performance audiences are older and, theoretically, more susceptible to illness. Yes, it's aggravating but, like it or not, this is the demographic that is keeping the orchestras in business.

I have allergies and I find perfume as irritating as cigarette smoke. I may be biased but I think all fragrances should be illegal (like that's ever gonna happen!). I've learned to take an allergy tablet before going to places likely to be full of irritating fragrances.

Also, concert etiquette has to be learned. The best way to do that is to start taking our kids to concerts early and teach them.