# What’s your ideal program length for attending a concert?



## mahlernerd

When you go to a classical concert, what is your ideal length of the program for the concert? Program length means the added up time of all of the pieces in a concert program, and does not include intermission. For me, anything below 70 minutes is not an ideal program length for a concert. From 70-80 minutes is okay with me, depending on the pieces played in the program, but can leave much to be desired. Any length 80-100 minutes is my ideal program length for any concert. It leaves me satisfied because it doesn’t feel like there is a lot to be desired, and it doesn’t feel like I wanted it to be over sooner. From 100-110 minutes is tolerable for me, once again depending on which pieces are played. Anything above 110 minutes for me is too long (opera not included). How about you? What would you want your typical program length to be?

P.S. I find my program lengths by putting together Spotify playlists of the pieces being performed and look at the length of the playlist.


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## Bulldog

Can't say I care about program length, content and quality of performance being my priorities.


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## bharbeke

What I am used to is an hour or less on either side of the intermission due to union rules. I would like it to be something like 80 minutes for each part of the program, kind of like listening to 2 CDs in a row.


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## perempe

BFO's first concert was Beethoven's Symphony No. 6 in F major ('Pastorale”) & Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde. It's an ideal programme for me. The scheduled start was 15:30, it ended 17:53.

Here the evening concerts susally start at 19:30 and will end before 22:00. An intermission is 20 minutes. BFO's evening concerts start at 19:45. Their Haydn-Mozart series is shorter because of the shorter pieces, the last one ended at 21:22 (Haydn's Symphony No. 18, Weber's Concerto for Bassoon in F, Mozart's La finta giardiniera overture, Haydn's Symphony No. 44).


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## Iloveclassicalmusic2020

I think 70-80 minutes is ideal for me


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## TwoFlutesOneTrumpet

About 90 minutes of music I like. I am not a fan of first half with some boring temporary piece followed by a second half containing a symphony I like. Rare were concerts that had all content I like. I remember a couple of concerts that were all symphonies. Brahms 3rd following by Brahms 1st. Or Sibelius 3rd followed by Nielsen 5th.


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## greengagestage

Does your ideal programme length change if it's an online concert? Streaming, filmed or a mix of the two?! Asking for a friend...


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## Rogerx

greengagestage said:


> Does your ideal programme length change if it's an online concert? Streaming, filmed or a mix of the two?! Asking for a friend...


No, it's the program that matter, that is for your friend


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## FrankE

≤Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg


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## saboteur

More than an hour is a crime. Especially in the context of a pandemic that is with us forever.


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