He also codified the etiquette of the modern concert experience, with its worshipful, pseudo-religious character. Opera houses of the nineteenth century were rowdy places; Mahler, who hated all extraneous noise, threw out singers’ fan clubs, cut short applause between numbers, glared icily at talkative concertgoers, and forced latecomers to wait in the lobby.
So Mahler made concert goers uptight and devoted to a pure music experience. I thunk I’m more of a rowdy type, especially during my old drinking days.
