# Encores - Standard Where You Live?



## bharbeke (Mar 4, 2013)

At the Phoenix Symphony, the union rules for the orchestra are such that they get paid a substantial amount more if the concert running time exceeds 2 hours and 30 minutes. Accordingly, encores are extremely rare, even when world class soloists are in town. I have only seen one in the last 10 years myself; the soloist on Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue did an encore of Billy Joel's "Scenes From an Italian Restaurant."

What is it like where you live? Are these same union rules in effect elsewhere in the US? What is it like for our TC friends all over the world?


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

bharbeke said:


> At the Phoenix Symphony, the union rules for the orchestra are such that they get paid a substantial amount more if the concert running time exceeds 2 hours and 30 minutes. Accordingly, encores are extremely rare, even when world class soloists are in town. I have only seen one in the last 10 years myself; the soloist on Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue did an encore of Billy Joel's "Scenes From an Italian Restaurant."
> 
> What is it like where you live? Are these same union rules in effect elsewhere in the US? What is it like for our TC friends all over the world?


I've been going to Phoenix Symphony concerts for 52 years and they have never done encores sadly enough. Only at pops concerts perhaps. BTW, that was an excellent Mahler 1st a couple of weeks ago. Very exciting and frankly much better than the LA Phil with Dudamel when they came to town. I hope Tito can get them reorganized so they can do a Mahler symphony every year; it's been a long, dry spell.


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## BBSVK (10 mo ago)

I am in Slovakia and we have encores, especially when stars are visiting, but I don't think the time exceeds 2h 30 mins.


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## EdwardBast (Nov 25, 2013)

Soloists with the NY Phil, the Boston Symphony, and other places I've worked routinely performed encores. I think the artistic directors just left time for it when they scheduled the works for the concert so that they wouldn't have to pay overtime. If the audience makes enough noise it's hard to stop.


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## Radames (Feb 27, 2013)

About half the time soloists do encores in my experience at concerts ranging from Boston to Albany to Montreal to Ottawa. Mitsuko Uchida didn't encore Beethoven's 5th concerto last week in Boston. We gave her 5 minutes of applause. I remember some pianist playing a Bach encore at some concert. Montreal maybe.


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