How to Clap Without Fear

In Mozart’s Vienna the hall sounded like a sports bar: cheers, shouts, even requests for encores mid‑movement. The modern “sit‑silent‑until‑the‑end” rule settled in during the mid‑19th‑century German scene and spread westward.  Today, silence between movements survives mostly as habit. If a finale sweeps you off your feet, go ahead and clap. Musicians view spontaneous applause as a compliment, not a crime—just avoid drowning out a soft ending that’s still fading.