Applause in live recordings

[12tone.]

I'm asking this because I was saddened to find out that the Buchbinder's live Beethoven PS cycle has had the applause taken out!  Now I'm not going to buy it 

[North Star]

I'm asking this because I was saddened to find out that the Buchbinder's live Beethoven PS cycle has had the applause taken out!  Now I'm not going to buy it 

You can always clap your own hands after listening

[TheGSMoeller]

I prefer applause over coughs and cellphones. 

[Gurn Blanston]

Since I rip all my CD's to FLAC anyway, the first thing I do before I even tag them is to clip out the applause in a sound editor. I don't worry about a few seconds on fade out, but I have some disks that have a minute or more. Don't like that. 

[Karl Henning]

Since I rip all my CD's to FLAC anyway, the first thing I do before I even tag them is to clip out the applause in a sound editor.

Excellent.

[PaulR]

Makes no difference to me.  The important part to me is the music, and not the reaction of the audience.

[Parsifal]

Since I rip all my CD's to FLAC anyway, the first thing I do before I even tag them is to clip out the applause in a sound editor. I don't worry about a few seconds on fade out, but I have some disks that have a minute or more. Don't like that. 

I'd do that if I had a sound editor. 

I fail to see how applause would be anything other than a distraction.  The one live recording I recall that has applause is the Davies Haydn set, and I find it a nuisance that I have to lunge for the remote to hit stop as soon as the piece ends.

[Gurn Blanston]

I'd do that if I had a sound editor. 

I fail to see how applause would be anything other than a distraction.  The one live recording I recall that has applause is the Davies Haydn set, and I find it a nuisance that I have to lunge for the remote to hit stop as soon as the piece ends.

Download Audacity. It is a wonderful piece of open-source software that lets you open a digital file, do what you want, then export the result to a new file. Since you can 'see' the applause on the waveform, all you have to do is to put the cursor at the beginning of it, select to the end, then hit 'delete'!  Now, that was easy!   

[JDWalley]

I detest applause on live recordings -- I may have invited an orchestra into my living room, but I sure didn't invite a thousand or two spectators telling me what I should think of the performance. When possible, I also edit out the applause via computer, but there are the all-too-often cases where people start clapping -- or, worse, someone bellows "BRAVO!!!!!" -- even as the last note is fading away. In those cases, I find I generally don't listen to the performance more than once.

[12tone.]

Mostly no one here enjoys applause...

I enjoy applause.  I like the sort-of-complete Abbado / Mahler cycle on DG (the new cycle) which has applause...so I find that the applause at the end actually adds to the music by taking off the weight of the music.  By having it at the end it just seems to make you feel like your there at somewhere OTHER than a studio.

[TheGSMoeller]

I find an audience's reaction (applause, "Bravo", etc...) as part of the live performance experience. I welcome it in my live recordings.

[Parsifal]

I find an audience's reaction (applause, "Bravo", etc...) as part of the live performance experience. I welcome it in my live recordings.

Live performances and recordings have their relative advantages.  A recording can't do justice to the sound of a real orchestra in a good hall, but a hazard of the concert hall is distractions that do not allow to concentrate on the music.  When audience noise is included in a recording you have the worst of both experiences combined. 

[Sammy]

I'm asking this because I was saddened to find out that the Buchbinder's live Beethoven PS cycle has had the applause taken out!  Now I'm not going to buy it 

I prefer not to have the applause taken out, but I wouldn't consider making any purchasing decisions based on this factor.

[Mountain Goat]

Many years ago I would have said no, but these days I definitely prefer having the applause - it brings home the fact this is a "real" performance rather than one cobbled together from hundreds of separate takes. And if I was at the concert in question, the applause helps to transport me back there.

The ideal solution (record companies take note) is to have the applause on a separate track so all you whingers can programme it out  - that way everyone's happy!