How do you like to make your stage entrance ?

[m19834]

I was thinking about it today, and I decided that how a person decides to enter the stage says perhaps a thousand words about who they are -- I think that's interesting !  I would like to know how you like to walk out on stage and your reasoning behind it.  Thanks !

[go12_3]

I would wear the most dazzling long gown, probably a royal blue,  flowing yet simple in style, and enter with confidence, chin up......with my long blonde hair hanging down my back, as the music runs through my mind as my heart beats with anticipation as I bow to acknowledge the audience; then sit gracefully upon the piano bench to make sure it is just right.......I would focus upon the keyboard and take a steady breath, before I begin;  it will take a couple of minutes to get my mind ready to perform because  I want to be successful with every note I play and with such emotion and musical input that would take the audience breath away.  I would enjoy and savor the moment as the music flows all around as I play Chopin's Fantasie Impromptu.....ah, while my fingers fly through the piece, yes, this is the moment , the moment that I would cherish for the rest of my life.....after my recital, I get up take a bow to thank the audience, in hopes that they enjoyed the pieces I shared with them.

best wishes,

go12_3

[omar_roy]

It is true that an entrance does say a lot of things about your character.  As far as my performances go, I take the quality of my performance very seriously, but my entrance is generally characterized by a relaxed/yet professional attitude (as far as I've been told).

A typical entrance for me:
Door Opens
Walk out and acknowledge applause with a smile and nod as I walk towards the Piano
As I arrive at the piano, I turn to face the audience, smile, and I thank the audience for their presence with a curt and respectful bow.

If there is no program, I will announce my name the piece and sometimes I will give a brief abstract of the piece. 

My posture is refined but not pretentious and my strides are always long, confident, and brisk as I walk to the piano.  I'm a long-strider by nature.

My appearance is ritualized before a performance.  Everyone has their pre-performance ritual.  Mine is making sure that everything about the way I look is perfect.  Clean shaven, hair properly styled.  My suits are all tailored perfectly to be slim and comfortable, and very modern.  My shoes are shined/cleaned before a performance.  The trouser has minimal break, the jacket contours the lines of my torso.  The arm holes are high and the sleeves are lean.  I'm a fashion-nut and I did a short bout with modeling, so I'm very comfortable in a fashion-forward fitting suit. 

I like to ease the formality of my performances with my outfit.  Instead of wearing concert black I might wear a charcoal or medium/light grey suit with a lavender shirt and deep purple tie.  Or a shirt that's barely pink with a pink tie.  Sometimes I'll lose the tie altogether and unbutton the collar button of my shirt.  Sometimes I'll go all black, with a black suit, shirt, tie, and shoes.  Or maybe I'll add a shot of shine with a silver/white tie or pocket-square.

My reasoning behind all of this is to put the audience at ease.  Yes, they are attending a classical performance, but that doesn't mean they need to be stuffy.  If they are relaxed and at-ease, they are more likely to enjoy the performance.  I want the audience to be comfortable with me and everything about my entrance, my appearance, and my stage-presence (as I have been told) is tailored to do so.  But at the same time, all of this fits with my personality.  The personality you see on stage is the personality that you see when you have a normal conversation with me. 

[thalbergmad]

I would wear the most dazzling long gown, probably a royal blue,  flowing yet simple in style, and enter with confidence, chin up......with my long blonde hair hanging down my back, as the music runs through my mind as my heart beats with anticipation as I bow to acknowledge the audience; then sit gracefully upon the piano bench to make sure it is just right.

Did you read this in a Jackie Collins novel?

Thal

[go12_3]

Did you read this in a Jackie Collins novel?

Thal

Nope, I have an imagination, Thal!         Have a nice day!   

[m]

A typical entrance for me:
Door Opens
Walk out and acknowledge applause with a smile...

Why is the smile? Do you find the audience funny?

Best, M

[omar_roy]

It really depends.  Sometimes I just don't smile, sometimes I do.  Depends on my mood.  Being a relatively nervous performer, smiling helps me relieve some tension, and it tends to put the audience at ease.  I've found that when I don't smile, I feel like I'm separating myself from them, when really I am the same as one of them, I just happen to be on stage.  I personally feel like it bridges the gap between the performer and the audience.  On the other hand, I also find performing enjoyable, and sometimes I can't help but smile as I walk out on stage.

And yes, sometimes I do find the audience funny.  I used to be so nervous that I'd think of them all in their underwear to help ease my nerves.

[neardn]

run out and hit the first note before sitting down


or the richter entrance

enter and sit down, count to 30 and then start playing
makes the liszt sonata very dramatic ;)

and any other piece for that matter
it would be fun to scare the audience with the first two measures of op. 111

[ahinton]

I don't make stage entrances. I get others to do that for me.

Best,

Alistair

[thalbergmad]

I take it Rab C Nesbitt is kept busy then.

Thal

[ahinton]

I take it Rab C Nesbitt is kept busy then.

You may take what you wish and he may well be, but neither has anything to do with the topic...

Best,

Alistair

[musicismylifeee26]

I always do sort of a half smile... I think it shows a little confidence.

[lostinidlewonder]

The light dim down, telling the audience that something is about to happen. I walk onto stage, they start clapping. One must always smile, you should be happy to perform for people and your smile should represent that above everything else. I bow and then take the microphone and start talking to the audience. I find if I don't welcome the audience and give them an idea of what they are going to hear or how I will set out the concert something is not complete.

Some people don't like to talk just write everything into a program and that's it, I find for modern concerts these days, people want to hear you talk, they want to know about you, no longer do audiences like the old fashioned walk on stage, bow play, bow then exit. Yet I have had people ( a microscopic minority) come up to me after concerts and say, You don't have to talk, the music speaks for itself. But then I get a majority of non-classically minded people say to me, Wow I didn't know I liked classical music!

Your stage should always have something to distract the eye. People don't want to stare at the pianist playing 100% of the time. I always have nice flower arrangements on stage.

[popdog]

I always do sort of a half smile... I think it shows a little confidence.

Sounds like a nervous smile to me...

[invictious]

I prefer to do forward rolls until I am next to the piano bench. Sometimes I do a somersault and land sitting on the piano bench. I occasionally do ballerina spins towards my piano too, especially on stages with extremely hard floors.

Sometimes I do in a Russian manner. I stomp my way towards the piano bench and I begin smashing the opening keys to the Pathetique (the verb 'smashing' should only be taken figuratively) before I even sit. An angry expression is kept.

If I start playing, and I find that the piano is out of tune, I yell 'This is MADNESS' and throw myself off the stage.

[keyofc]

The old adage "You can't judge a book by its cover" comes to mind.
I think the music speaks a lot louder than the way you enter the stage.
What about Susan Boyle?  Who liked her entrance until they heard her music?

I walk up (a litlte nervous) not about my music - but just by being up in front of people.
But when I get into my music - I really forget about the rest of the people.
I know they are there - but they are not my focus.

[keyofc]

Invictious,
LOl!
Please keep us posted when you have a concert, workshop, or anything similar.
And I would hope you arrive at an untuned piano with a tuning fork in your hand.
I'd pay to watch your entrance!
Let me know so I can plan accordingly!

[ahinton]

I prefer to do forward rolls until I am next to the piano bench. Sometimes I do a somersault and land sitting on the piano bench. I occasionally do ballerina spins towards my piano too, especially on stages with extremely hard floors.

Sometimes I do in a Russian manner. I stomp my way towards the piano bench and I begin smashing the opening keys to the Pathetique (the verb 'smashing' should only be taken figuratively) before I even sit. An angry expression is kept.

If I start playing, and I find that the piano is out of tune, I yell 'This is MADNESS' and throw myself off the stage.

Do you get paid large fees for all of this? And have you adequate medical insurance?

(!!!)

I can beat that for sheer exhibitionist bravado. I go into my studio. I walk up to the composition desk and sit down at it. I remain there writing for a certain period of time. I then stop to make some coffee. I then consume the coffee and resume work. Some time later I end the session. The excitement is utterly electrifying - or at least it would be if I did all this before an audience...

Best,

Alistair

[gep]

I go into my studio. I walk up to the composition desk and sit down at it. I remain there writing for a certain period of time. I then stop to make some coffee. I then consume the coffee and resume work. Some time later I end the session. The excitement is utterly electrifying - or at least it would be if I did all this before an audience...

Best,

Alistair

I wouldn't mind if the result of all that hard wok would be before an audience! To be able to hear such result either as part of such an audience or have it on a silver disc for my own personal enjoyment, now that would I find electrifying!
Could do with a cup of coffee too, all this hot and humid weather doesn't make one zippity....

All best writing,

Gep

[invictious]

Invictious,
LOl!
Please keep us posted when you have a concert, workshop, or anything similar.
And I would hope you arrive at an untuned piano with a tuning fork in your hand.
I'd pay to watch your entrance!
Let me know so I can plan accordingly!

Ironically to your name, I find that it is usually that C which is half a semitone flat..especially that C6. Maybe that's my when I have workshops/recitals, there aren't that many pieces in key of C

[keyofc]

It's that darn key of c...
You know you might draw huge crowds in this economy with an unusual stage entrance. 

[zheer]

  Two shot gunz in the air followed by "ladyz and gentlmen can I have your attention please".
Works like a treat always.

[odd_wanderer]

You throw two shotguns into the air? Into the crowd? Just kidding.

Just try not to reveal nervousness. Its quite contagious to the audience. The audience is only as at ease and open as you are.

Things go downhill if one vomits over the front of the stage.

[general disarray]

I was thinking about it today, and I decided that how a person decides to enter the stage says perhaps a thousand words about who they are -- I think that's interesting !  I would like to know how you like to walk out on stage and your reasoning behind it.  Thanks !

This is typically the kind of absurdist detail you obsess over.  The first damned note you PLAY is the focal point of your entrance.  That's your so-called "thousand words" about who you are.   The blind pianist who shared this most recent Cliburn Gold Medal had to be SHOWN his way onto stage.  Once there, and seated at the instrument, he revealed who he was as a musician.

[lostinidlewonder]

I think stage enterance definatly defines part of someones character. I have seen snobby, arrogant stage enterances, walking on with a smirk and nose held high, and wow wee what a suprise when you meet them in person that air of arrogance is still around them!

[ahinton]

This is typically the kind of absurdist detail you obsess over.  The first damned note you PLAY is the focal point of your entrance.  That's your so-called "thousand words" about who you are.   The blind pianist who shared this most recent Cliburn Gold Medal had to be SHOWN his way onto stage.  Once there, and seated at the instrument, he revealed who he was as a musician.

I take your point, but there's no need to be so rude about it. I remember once attending a lunchtime recital by the partially sighted British pianist Ronald Smith who walked on unaided but then strode stright into the piano; he had then to repair this accident and compose himself immediately in order to acknowledge the audience and begin his programme with the Bach/Busoni Chaconne. I doubt very much that he'd been giving a moment's thought to the nature of his stage entrace until that accident occurred, at which point he obviously had to overcome it immediately and proceed with what he was about to do. most disconcerting for the audience and even more so for the pianist, of course...

Best,

Alistair

[weissenberg2]

I would not talk about the pieces since I have a very weird voice (I can not pronounce R or L sounds in the middle of ends of words, speech impediment?) but since I am a good writer when I try I would just keep it into the program notes  I would try to stand up straight and look confident, I would not exactly smile either since I have a weird smile so I would try and give a warm look.

[general disarray]

I take your point, but there's no need to be so rude about it.
Best,

Alistair

Thank you for pointing out my failure.  Interestingly enough, you have overlooked the sins of others in the past -- such as "soliloquy" and his ilk to use the most abusive language (and I mean abusive as in foul, four-lettered words of our native tongue) on others, including me, without uttering a word, beyond such demurrals as "I myself wouldn't express it this way."  Now, you challenge me on this infraction?  Thank you for using me as an example of your high-mindedness.  I'm sure we're all in your debt.   

[pies]

There are some modern works where composers indicate how the stage entrance/exit should be made.  I think such stage directions are beyond stupid.

[ahinton]

Thank you for pointing out my failure.

I didn't "point out" a "failure"; I merely made a reasonable obeservation, while at the same time accepting your point.

Interestingly enough, you have overlooked the sins of others in the past -- such as "soliloquy" and his ilk to use the most abusive language (and I mean abusive as in foul, four-lettered words of our native tongue) on others, including me, without uttering a word, beyond such demurrals as "I myself wouldn't express it this way."

That is far from true; in fact, I have made a number of ripostes to a couple of people here (you either know who they are or can easily discover it if you can be bothered to look) which make it abundantly clear that I have less than no time for that kind of behaviour, either here or anywhere else. My remark about your response here is extremely mild by comparison.

Now, you challenge me on this infraction?

I am "challenging" you on nothing; as I stated, I merely made a reasonable comment which was not even the principal thrust of what I was writing.

Thank you for using me as an example of your high-mindedness.

I apprecaite your gratitude in principle, but since I have used you as an "example" of nothing and am not high-minded, I regret that it appears to be misplaced on this occasion.

I'm sure we're all in your debt.   

The only people that are in my debt (as far as I am aware) are a couple of people who have yet to pay for some scores that I sent them at their request and I do not anticipate that this debt is likely to extend much beyond the beginning of next week.

Best,

Alistair

[general disarray]

That is far from true; in fact, I have made a number of ripostes to a couple of people here (you either know who they are or can easily discover it if you can be bothered to look) which make it abundantly clear that I have less than no time for that kind of behaviour, either here or anywhere else. My remark about your response here is extremely mild by comparison.

No, my statement is NOT "far from true."  Most particularly, that disgusting poster once known as "soliloquy" and latterly known by other names of a pornographic nature here and on YouTube, has attacked even YOU with such vitriol that I, for one, have been appalled, but you, for another, have chased after him on this site in an astounding display of seeking to understand his psychopathology without the slightest effort to censure his outrageous behavior even towards you, let alone ohers.  I won't waste my time dredging up this cyber-documentation to prove this claim, but it exists on this site.  Search under "soliloquy."

No, don't tell me and others you have defended posters here against the most vicious of attacks.  Your courage seems only to be summoned when I offend -- in your opinion -- a poster who is quick to diminish others, including me, whenever she is in the mood.  Her sharp tongue is in evidence everywhere here.  When have you chastised her for "rudeness?"  Never in my memory.

Perhaps it would be best if you would just ignore my posts in the future.  I'll be more than happy to return that favor.

[gep]

without the slightest effort to censure his outrageous behavior

I do very much doubt Alistair has the possibillity of censoring anything on this Forum, so your accusation is rather silly.

Your courage seems only to be summoned when I offend -- in your opinion -- a poster who is quick to diminish others, including me, whenever she is in the mood.  Her sharp tongue is in evidence everywhere here.  When have you chastised her for "rudeness?"  Never in my memory.

Apparently you see yourself as being rather important, "worthy" of such singular treatment? But isn't it a bit strange to accuse anyone of a "sharp tongue" when you yourself seem quite capable and willing to use a barbed one? Your, rather hysterically toned, message(s) seem(s) rather like a pot calling a kettle black. What you don't wish be done to thee, do not unto others simmilarly. Not what you don't wish be done to thee, do unto others before they'll see.

[thalbergmad]

There are some modern works where composers indicate how the stage entrance/exit should be made.  I think such stage directions are beyond stupid.

This is because some modern works are beyond stupid.

Thal

[pianisten1989]

Liberace-style! Probably in an old, fancy car. I would war silvery clothes with loads of glittery stuff and a cape
I'll do my entrance to some lame music like, Ballade pour adelin, but for electirc guitar Toto-style. beside me there will be a line with random ballet dancers, who will run around in circles doing piruettes.
Then, when the theme are played an octave higher I'd play accompaniment like the last chopin etude.
As a final, I will to a modulation from Cmajor to C#. As a result of my enormous charm, girls in the front row will faint, and follow me home.

[rc]

Slowly walk up.  Not saying much, turn to the audience and stare 'em down for a while.  Let 'em know there's a reason I'm up on stage and they're beneath me.  In my head I'm making fun of their faces and angry at the stupid things they're wearing and all the dumb things they probably do...  Then let out a sigh and get down to business.

Actually I like Lostinidlewonder's mindset.  Most people aren't familiar with classical music so I want to do what I can to help them get into it.

[pies]

This is because some modern works are beyond stupid.

Thal

I agree.  One example that's so protentious it makes me cringe is Barrett's Tract.  Barrett has stupid stage directions at the beginning/end and there are Beckett quotes scattered throughout the score.

I think I'm slowly moving away from my fascination with modern music 

[thalbergmad]

I think I'm slowly moving away from my fascination with modern music 

Never thought you would ever say that.

Shocked & stunned.

[ahbach]

Well when I enter the stage to sing I get up, stand up and I walk confidently up on the stage and put my shoulders back and give a small smile and then I begin and I look over the audiance and hope that they can feel what the song means to me!