# How do you respond?



## maestro267 (Jul 25, 2009)

I've just finished listening to Shostakovich's 7th Symphony, and it contains one of the most overwhelming conclusions in all of music. After you have experienced something like that, how are you supposed to respond once it's all over and the last chord fades out? This has happened several times with me, after some of the truly powerful symphonic conclusions, like Mahler 2, or Bruckner 5. You're left with an almost empty feeling, knowing that there is no way you could possibly follow up something so epic without it being inferior to the majesty of what you've just had pass through your ears.

These guys who have given us such wonderful moments are utter geniuses.


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## Vesteralen (Jul 14, 2011)

I can remember when I was first getting into classical music (in my 20s), I would pace back and forth in my room listening to a record. When I finished a particularly moving one, I'd let it turn off and keep pacing back and forth reliving the most exciting moment(s). Only when the feeling started to subside would I go on to something else.

Makes me kind of nostalgic, you know....


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## brotagonist (Jul 11, 2013)

My first reaction would be to play it again, or at least the movement that had left me so breathless, with the volume turned up as loud as I dare for the time of day.


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## techniquest (Aug 3, 2012)

I kind of feel exhausted and elated at the same time, but only when it's done properly. Some of these big, powerful endings can be really difficult to pull off properly; it's not just about playing as loud as you can - it's also about all the feeling and nuances that go with it. Performances and recordings that fail in their big conclusions completely spoil the experience for me.


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## Guest (Aug 27, 2013)

maestro267 said:


> I've just finished listening to Shostakovich's 7th Symphony, and it contains one of the most overwhelming conclusions in all of music. After you have experienced something like that, how are you supposed to respond once it's all over and the last chord fades out? .


I can't predict when this is going to happen, especially with pieces that I'm only just getting to know, and that means I have to 'respond' as circumstances dictate: keep driving if it's in the car! If at home, I might go and find my wife and tell her how much I enjoyed it, or go and do something unstressful like washing up.


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## Cheyenne (Aug 6, 2012)

I once sat on the couch for what must have been nearly an hour after listening to Mahler's ninth symphony for the first time, unable to get up. What does one say on such an occasion?


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## HaydnBearstheClock (Jul 6, 2013)

I usually feel satisfied when I listen to the end of something I really like hearing - I know I can hear the piece again and that I'll still like it just as much .


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## Wicked_one (Aug 18, 2010)

I had a similar experience in the concert hall. The 1st movement of Tchaikovsky's Manfred Symphony just ended and knowing the story behind it, man, that left me in complete awe. The sheer power of that ending left me with a "ok, let's take a break now" kind of look on my face. I'm not that emotional in real life, but that moment just took me away.

Same with Mahler's 2nd and 3rd as well. Took me by the neck and it released me when it ended. It's kinda weird to barely breathe through a symphony. May be the Mahler effect , that one, yes!


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## Weston (Jul 11, 2008)

I am reminded of a discussion I had with a pop music fan friend of mine many years ago. He complained about my music because he didn't feel like listening to anything else afterward -- like that was a bad thing. At the time my music was mostly progressive rock, but it's the same principle.


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## DeepR (Apr 13, 2012)

concert hall: clap 
at home: sit in silence


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## mstar (Aug 14, 2013)

Hopefully, I could trust the composer to follow up with another excellent work.... I often, as a result of this, find myself listening to a composer's works almost in order, several times actually in order....


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## ComposerOfAvantGarde (Dec 2, 2011)

I once listened to nothing but a piece of music I thought was absolutely awesome for 2 and a half months straight.......whenever I hear something that is just sublime to my ears I listen to it again and again and again and then download the score and study it in detail so I can understand exactly how it works.


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## Cosmos (Jun 28, 2013)

*Memories of Mahler's 8th come flooding in*

But yeah great music just takes my breath away. Sometimes I just listen to it again and again just to relive the awesome


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## Tristan (Jan 5, 2013)

I completely understand what you're talking about, especially in regard to Shostakovich's 7th. (Mahler's 2nd and 8th are of course others that come to mind for me, same with Pines of Rome). I usually don't do much other than sit in silence; I certainly don't try to match it with anything after listening to something like that. Of course, I do love the opportunity to clap afterwards at live performances.


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## Radames (Feb 27, 2013)

Has anyone seen someone throw their underwear at the stage at a classical concert?


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## KenOC (Mar 7, 2011)

Radames said:


> Has anyone seen someone throw their underwear at the stage at a classical concert?


Hi Radames. Haven't seen the underwear thing, but I was at a Mozart concert last month where the conductor bit off the head of a bat. Kind of a "crossover" concert I guess.


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