OT: What ever happened to flashy encores?

[Toblacher]

I've been concert going for almost 50 years and until about 20 years or so ago encores by soloists at orchestra concerts were very rarely given.  Now it is almost the norm.  Curious thing is, all the encores after concertos are now soft or adagio pieces.   Back in the day of Horowitz, Rubinstein, Heifitz etc.  their encores were big flashy pieces.  (Think Horowitz and his Stars & Stripes Forever).  Thoughts?

[barryguerrero]

Yeah, put it in their contract and withhold pay until the flashy encore gets played.   

[Prospero]

Perhaps a flashy encore ruins the big piece before by emphasizing loud fluff after a significant piece. Pretending the noisy fluff was the point of the concert.

What are you going to play that's better than the Beethoven 4th piano concerto or the Berg violin concerto?

Encores are good for performer's reputation. But maybe a meditative piece is better than a shallow loud piece.

I heard a superb performance of the Beethoven 4th pc with Murray Perahia, Haitink, and the Boston SO a couple of years ago. Sublime. No encore needed or wanted.

[Roland Flessner]

I agree with Prospero that for a soloist, a low-key encore makes sense. A slightly different question is, What happened to orchestral encores at the end of the concert? Henry Fogel has lamented their absence, noting that in the past, it was a chance to play a bonbon, which we might consider analogous to a frothy dessert. Perhaps not the best idea after M6, or any other Mahler symphony.

End-of-concert orchestral encores are largely extinct at subscription concerts, though sometimes visiting orchestras will play them.

[waderice]

I agree with Prospero that for a soloist, a low-key encore makes sense. A slightly different question is, What happened to orchestral encores at the end of the concert? Henry Fogel has lamented their absence, noting that in the past, it was a chance to play a bonbon, which we might consider analogous to a frothy dessert. Perhaps not the best idea after M6, or any other Mahler symphony.

End-of-concert orchestral encores are largely extinct at subscription concerts, though sometimes visiting orchestras will play them.

Maybe dangerously close to the "n-th" hour for having to pay the orchestra overtime?

Wade