Comments on: Coughing in concerts

By: Rob4

Rob4 — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 12:54:01 +0000

Watching Steven Isserlis at the Festival Hall last week, there was an outbreak of coughing as soon as each movement finished. Very considerate I thought, although it sounded horrible, but certainly far more preferable to doing it over the music. If a pianissimo can carry across an entire concert hall, some old git hacking his lungs out in the back row will too!

By: Richard

Richard — Fri, 24 Dec 2010 08:02:11 +0000

I was going to ask whether coughing and ruining concerts is getting worse. The Royal Albert Hall is really bad. This week’s carol concert was so bad that I nearly walked out as the coughing completley ruined every piece of music – a wasted £126?

By: Helen Lewis

Helen Lewis — Sat, 12 Dec 2009 22:01:25 +0000

Actually I think coughers (and there aren’t usually many-but those that there are rarely seem to make much effort to stifle their coughs), have no idea how their coughs carry round the concert hall or theatre. I long for a conductor to say something to an audience along the lines of:” Ladies and gentlemen, Wagner wrote the prelude to Rheingold for an orchestra, not the cough, so please get the latter over with before we start”. Yes there are occasions when individuals genuinely have dreadful difficulty, but too many coughs are of the clearing throat variety; they doubtless make the cougher more comfortable, but at a cost to the performance.

By: Susan Tomes

Susan Tomes — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 18:18:47 +0000

Thank you, David, for an interesting historical perspective. Of course everyone is sympathetic to a person who really has to cough. I agree that trying to hold in a cough is torture! But the problem with coughing in concerts comes, I think, when it’s obvious that there is no attempt to stifle or quieten the cough. That seems inconsiderate to me.

By: David Gwilliam

David Gwilliam — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 16:51:03 +0000

Hello Susan
The coughing in 1927 may have involved a relatively few people coughing a lot. Many of the men in the audience would have been in the trenches and some at least breathed in gas. Coughing was a backdrop to the period between the wars in pubs, clubs and no doubt concerts too.
I think the period from 1960 to 1990 was unusually cough free and this gives a wrong impression. Cases of asthma etc are increased markedly since 1990.
What I don’t think musicians realise is that people do not go to concerts wanting to cough. To cough is embarrassing but sometimes trying not to only makes it worse. I hope nobody would suggest that people already restrcted by bronchial problems should avoid concerts as well.
Why other people coughing should bring on ones own cough is something I have never understood. However, I can assure you that it is not a deliberate reply.
The irritation of the musician is perhaps less than the embarrassment of the cougher.

Regards

David