Read on a review:

…even the orchestra applauded before the soloist returned for a brief and flashy encore …

So tell me, when do orchestras not applaud a soloist? It’s what we do. It’s polite. It’s correct. And if we didn’t we’d look pretty darn bad, don’t you think?

Not to say most soloists shouldn’t get our applause. (Shoot, I’d applaud just for their guts to get up there and do what they do! I love the safety of being surrounded by my colleagues.) But there have been times (in the distant past so don’t go a-guessing) where I wasn’t exactly enthralled by a soloist. I still applauded.

So was I wrong to do so? Is it like lying? Or is it common courtesy to applaud no matter what?

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