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I hope I don't do that!

I hadn't actually seen one in so long that last year, when a girl of around 14 did a curtsy at a recital I attended, I had to quickly look down at the floor and put my hand over my mouth, because it was such an unexpectedly surreal moment that it totally cracked me up. (By the way, she played very well.)

Oh noes, I havnt tried bowing since my balance started going bye bye.

Actually, I can hardly even lean forward without my head going really woozy, so erm, halp plz!

I saw Gilels bow from the bass side of his piano on a YT video. Go figure.

Glad to see the question. But I'd like to change it just a little bit to: How do we accept applause? It's a question of stagecraft.

I agree with Bruce’s general approach: have a plan, and in general, he offers a good, fairly formal default plan that may suit many, if not most situations. But I disagree strongly with the implicaion that one size fits all.

Good stagecraft takes into consideration the hall, the size of the hall, whether or not it’s a proscenium stage, the nature of the audience--age, disposition, and so on--the lighting, the time of day, the general formality or informaliy of the event, the nature of the piece being played, and finally, your own personaliy.

First, from where do you accept applause? Remember, those moments of receiving applause are the only times the entire audience gets to see you. To make the most of these few moments may require painstaking thought, practice and deliberation.

The first thing is to determine the areas most suitable for accepting applause. If you have a chance to scope things out before hand, you might note, first, where the best light is, secondly, the background, and thirdly, the viewing angle of all parts of the audience, and plan accordingly. If possible, avoid the piano as the backgound during the applause. It’s a confusing and bulky shape, and your shape against it will be confusing to the audience’s eye. If you’re on a proscenium stage, you can often go downstage five or six feet from the treble end, and present a clearer and closer view. If this corresponds with the best light, all the better. Avoid at all costs bowing from the bass end of the keyboard. I’ve seen experienced pianists do this, and I have no idea why. It’s a shy and recessive move to begin with, and completely hides the pianist from that portion of the audience that could see the performance least well.

And then, the bow itself, a very tradition laden and antique gesture. It is a gesture that can convey a variety of messages that ought to be seriously considered by any person of any art that is active on the stage.

To bow, it seems to me, is at root a courtly gesture—a gesture of submission to one’s lord. It probably stems from medieval times. This makes me a little uneasy with a deep and formal bow, as the meaning doesn’t co-ordinate with modern times, particularly with American egalitarian traditions. I believe it is this contradiction that makes a deep, formal bow so awkward and uncomfortable to watch, even in otherwise formal situations, and why we see it so seldomly. The only times it is used comfortably that I can think of is when bowing to royaly, or at the opera and the ballet. But even then it seems a little off to me.

I don’t necessarily find fault with a low bow. I just think that anyone in a profession where they must bow, ought to understand the meaning the bow conveys. Speaking only for myself, if I were a concert pianist, I would be quite uncomfortable showing any sort of undue deference to my betters, but I would be very comfortable showing respect for my audience. It’s a very fine line, and others may differ as to which side of the line they choose.

The eyes are the determining factor in drawing that very fine line. I would opt for a bow which allows you to maintain eye contact with the audience. As a starting point for this type of bow, place one foot slightly in front of the other, and shift body weight to the opposite leg. As you begin to bow, allow the knee of the weight bearing leg to lock, and the other knee to remain free.The bow I’m suggesting is not so much a hinge from the waist, but a gentle curve that starts in the back of the legs and extends gently up through the neck. Don’t allow the neck to bow, as if hinged at the neck, but maintain it as part of he overall curve. Don’t limply dangle the arms, but find something for them to do, perhaps allowing the hands to come together in front of you, or perhaps spreading the arms in a gesture of accepting applause.

A bow of this nature allows open, face to face contact with the audience. Your facial features can reflect the moment. You can smile, you can frown, you can flirt, or do anything you want, as you spontaneously and easily set up the mood of the piece you are about to play, or have just played, while interacting directly with the audience.

This is an approach that suits me and my personality. It may not be for everybody. I offer it only because I think stagecraft is often done very carelessly and without thought by classical musicians. To me, this is a facet of musical performance that needs to be thought about, cogitated over, and practiced and rehearsed over and over, just as carefully as our fingering.

With practice, it will all become instinctive, and seem very natural.

Tomasino

A curtsey for a woman in a dress is perfectly acceptable and not in any fashion is it "old fashioned" or a faux pas. Especially if you have a bit of decollotage with your gown. Just fine.

couple more notes - in a two-piano performance often the "wrong-way" second piano has the lid completely removed, but because of the other piano you should still move towards the audience, especially since it is a duet bow with your partner.

also, if the piece is one of those quiet, contemplative pieces, it may take several seconds before the audience begins applauding, because sometimes they take a collective "sigh" after a particularly beautiful piece. This long pause is something you should listen for and time your standing up and bowing accordingly. They will begin applauding more rapidly after a flashy, bang-crash-boom type of finale, it's almost like they are following the same internal metronome as the performer. A little experience is the best way to judge how slowly or quickly to stand up and take your bow.

Quoting SantaFe_Player
I agree wih SantaFe. The timing of those quiet moments after a piece like Traumerei is critical. Some pianists choose to be very still and milk the silence until someone in the audience takes over and initiates applause, thereby giving some authority to the audience, but at the cost of leaving some in the audience a little uncomfortable and unsure of themselves. Horowitz, in this YouTube clip, retains authority over the silence by cutting the silence short, and actually signaling the audience when the silence is over. He does this by slowly lifting his hands off the keyboard, and then fairly quickly dropping his right arm. I'm not advocating either approach. I'm merely suggesting that pianists ought to be aware that this sort of thing is going on.

Watch: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2kLfkE1hRo

Tomasino

I only accept curtsies from my students if their top is going to show something when they bow.

Thankfully none of my students have acquired their full decolletage yet, so I don't have to worry about it.

Thanks, everyone for all your comments. By the way, I'm playing on a digital piano (Casio Privia PX - 200) connected to amplifiers.

Not sure if I agree with that one. Smile if you feel like smiling. Don't force a smile if you don't.

Daniel

Quoting Ridicolosamente: I disagree. Smile or don't smile strategically. Smile or don't smile in the context of the piece you have just played and the piece you are about to play. Use your reaction to the applause to transition to the next item on the program.

Any artist who has developed good stagecraft skills can smile at his or her own command without any hesitancy or discomfort whatsoever. This skill can be learned. One must go to the mirror and practice, just as a fine pianist practices fingering.

Tomasino

I don't see why curtsies are to be avoided by women. They are the proper way to accept applause in opera and ballet, especially if the woman is wearing a formal gown, as is often the case in piano recitals.

As to bows, whatever, you do, don't take Yevgeny Kissin as your model. There is something unnaturally stiff and formal about his acknowledgements.

I have been to a lot of concerts in my life, and I don't think I have ever, even once, seen an adult woman performer curtsy at one. But I have seen women do what amounts to a deep nod, rather than a from-the-waist bow. Just sayin'...

As far as showing an excess of cleavage...if it's an issue when bowing, the gown or dress was a surely a poor choice to wear in the first place. I would think that any female performer would be aware of this when choosing performance wear.

I haven't seen a curtsy either, though as you say a deep nod can be effective. But I think with some of the gowns women wear at recitals, a curtsy would make sense. It certainly works at the opera, though it may be essential for a singer dressed in an 18th century costume. As far as classical music is concerned, all it takes is for one prominent artist to curtsy in order to start the trend.

HowToBowKissen

Yes, I agree with you Numerian. Kissen’s bow seems marked or punctuated in an ungainly way.

Watch this to see: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgXlgicfgzE

There’s nothing wrong with it, though, in general approach. He bows to different parts of the audience. He doesn’t bow so low that he can’t maintain eye-contact. With that exception, it’s very close to the bow Bruce D spelled out earlier.

My guess is that somebody gave hime a formulaic way to bow early on in his development, and he hasn’t given it much thought since. Over the years the punctuated quality has simply set in for reasons he’s not aware of, and now it seems good to him. It probably even feels “natural.” And who’s to complain about the bow, given that he plays so beautifully? The subject probably never comes up in review or critique.

I think a good coach could smooth it out stylize in about an hour, if he gave himself over to it, by encouraging him to unlock one knee rather than both, and to arch his back rather than bow his back, and find something to do with his arms. It’s interesting--just before he goes down, he stands up very straight, arches has back, and throws back his head. This is a body attitude/style I associate with Russian, pre-revolutionary Czarist/aristocratic culutre, and I think someplace in his mind, that’s what he going for, and it seems to suit him. But then he loses the arch of his back as he goes down, and it falls apart in an awkward stiffness. The whole thing just needs the kinks worked out of it. I can see it turn into quite an elegant bow, which would suit his Russian performance style heritage.

Tomasino

Tomasino, you've mentioned maintaining eye contact while taking a bow; I'm not sure I understand why that should be done. I've never looked at the audience while bowing my head and the thought of doing so seems quite peculiar and awkward.

I think a performer who bows just deeply enough so they look at the floor shows just the right amount of humility. In between these deeper bows I may nod my head while maintaining eye contact... but these are nods, not really bows.

One thing I do: when I'm not in the midst of a bow I try to look at the furthest point in the rear balconies (which acknowledges the people sitting there) and I also establish eye contact with the people sitting closest to me.

I don't feel that maintaining eye contact is necessarily better than not. But I do feel that performers ought to give some thought to the meaning that various gestures convey to an audience, rather than doing them by rote, or taking their cues from other artists without thinking about it.

Eye contact is a case in point. As you say in your post, a bow just deep enough so that the eyes "look at the floor shows just the right amount of humility." That seems fine to me. Humility is a fine human attribute, and I have no problem with it whatsoever. But at some point along a continuum, humility becomes subservience--and would you be comfortable with that? Maintaining eye contact does not risk that confusion, and it seems to me, conveys an attitude of equality. Speaking only for myself, that is an attitude that I would be more comfortable with. The main point of my threads is that artists ought to be aware of these nuanced distinctions of gesture, not that I feel one is preferred over another.

Take a look at the Kissin link in my last post. The bow is admittedly awkward and stiff, but the eye contact he maintains seems quite comfortable.

Tomasino

In martial arts, eye contact while bowing displays a severe lack of trust.

I knew a pianist, many years ago in music school, who always approached the piano, when about to perform, as if it were a guillotine. (She was a very good, scholarship student, who didn't have any reason to act that way!)

I would always think, "For goodness sake, stride out on the platform with confidence!"

I dislike the hybrid "curtsey/bow" some little girls do, where they will hold out their skirt with the right hand while doing a bow, left hand resting on the piano.

I strongly encourage heavy cleavage from female performers. After all, men in the front row are only human. [joking, of course, but I won't mind if anyone listens to me].
On topic: I believe bowing doesn't really matter in a performance. The audience is there to listen to your music, not to see a bow. I think only snobs will complain if you don't bow 'properly', but, I don't know, I guess it is a matter of cultural difference: people in some parts of the world encourage an action, while in some other part they are horrified by it. Example: showing your foot to an arab dude, that is basically one of the most insulting things one can do.
Sorry for the weird, mostly offtopic post..