Standing Ovations - What's Your Take?

I saw the Eastman School of Music Wind Ensemble (EWE) at Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor last night.  EWE is considered by many to be the premier wind ensemble, collegiate or professional, in America.  They have been led by such musical legends as Fredeick Fennell, A. Clyde Roller, and Donald Hunsberger.  They are now led by Mark Scatterday, an impressive musician in his own right.

Anyway, the purpose of this Note is not to talk about EWE, but to talk about standing ovations.  The concert last night received a rousing ovation and audience members literally leapt to their feet the instant the last note of the last piece died away.  Well, everyone except me.

It reminded me of the days when I had season tickets to the Detroit Symphony Orchestra.  If the orchestra played a familiar piece, they always received a standing ovation, regardless of how well they played it.  If the piece was not familiar, people didn't stand up until they were ready to leave.

So why do people give standing ovations?

One obvious answer is familiarity.  If the audience hears something they know and like, they will stand for it.  This is doubly true with lay audiences because there are not as many pieces of classical music that they would recognize as an audience of, say, classical musicians.

A second possibility, and the one I tend to believe is most often the case, is comparative.  An audience of relatively seasoned concert-goers (which is probably what we had last night) develops an expectation of quality based upon what they're used to hearing.  If the performance exceeds that quality, they are more likely to give a standing ovation.

The final possibility, as I see it, is based upon expectations.  This is the standard that I generally employ.  Concert-goers sometimes enter a concert hall with an expectation of what they're going to hear.  Someone's expectation for the local junior high school's orchestra is different from their expectation when the Berlin Philharmonic comes into town, as well it should be.

And let's be honest.  If the Berlin Philharmonic played at the same quality as the junior high school orchestra, either Berlin has earned a cold crowd that remains in its seats, or the junior high school deserves a standing ovation that spans hours.

EWE gave a fantastic concert last night.  There were a few points where they lost cohesiveness and were not playing together, specifically the last two entrances of the brass in the Gabrielli and a few spots in the piano sections of the Maslanka.  There were also a few rare intonation issues.  Slight, to be sure, but still present.

If Ann Arbor Pioneer gave that performance, I would probably have been out of my seat.  This was the Eastman Wind Ensemble, though.  They are an amazing ensemble and you should expect excellence.  You can rest assured that they expect excellence of themselves.  That's why they attend Eastman.

If excellence is the standard, do they deserve a standing ovation for being excellent?  Or do they just deserve a rousing ovation for a job well done?  I'm of the belief that they do not deserve a standing ovation for simply doing what I expect of them.  I walked into Hill Auditorium expecting an excellent concert.  I got an excellent concert.  I expressed my appreciation through a healthy dose of applause, then I stood up in order to leave.

Does that make me too critical?  Are my standards too high?  Were the audience's standards too low?  Does it really matter?

Maybe, like most things in this world, there are many ways to look at the issue and none of them are wrong.  That's why I wonder what standard others have for giving a standing ovation.  Do you subscribe to one of my theories, or do you have your own?