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Is the way we behave in classical music concerts changing? Since I was first initiated into the mysteries of the concert hall some 40 years ago, I have always sat on my hands during the gaps between movements. Appreciative applause should be reserved for the end of the piece ONLY! I knew the rules.

But last night at the ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Proms at the Royal Albert Hall I witnessed something unexpected. People clapped between movements and there was no superior "shushing" from the cognoscenti.

Perhaps we are witnessing a gradual return to the musical etiquette of the 19th century when audiences would routinely applaud before, during and after a performance as the mood took them.

I found a blog from 2004 in which a classical music lover bemoaned what was happening at the Proms. "During Dvorak 8 at the Proms on Friday I think there was applause between each movement, and then again last night there was applause after at least one movement of Tchaikovsky 6. This makes me cringe - it destroys mood - but it is happening much more often than it used to, I'm sure. Is it ignorance, or just a new trend?"

Four years on and it appears the trend is firmly established. What strikes me as new is the acceptance of it by the rest of the house.

The phenomenon now goes like this:
1) The movement ends. There is traditional silence with the odd cough for five seconds. Long enough to show that this is an audience which understands the finer points of classical music etiquette.

2) On an invisible cue, a sizeable minority breaks into applause, joined by the majority within moments. The clapping is clearly rebellious - they know exactly what they are doing. It is all a "bit naughty".

3) The performers smile and nod in appreciation. Gone is the superior stare at the "philistines" from a grizzled conductor. They, too, are sharing in this mischievousness.

4) The applause dies within a few more moments as everyone settles for the next movement. All is well. Insurrection over.

I scanned the Royal Albert Hall last night for the outraged classical music aficionados tutting and shaking their heads but could see none.

We are still a long way from the unrestrained enthusiasm that Mozart would have expected from his audiences.

After the 1778 premiere of his Paris Symphony, Wolfgang wrote: "Just in the middle of the first Allegro there was a Passage I was sure would please. All the listeners went into raptures over it - applauded heartily. But, as when I wrote it, I was quite aware of its Effect, I introduced it once more towards the end - and it was applauded all over again."

Thanks to , music critic of the New Yorker for that example. A few years ago, he caused a stir in the United States by suggesting that Mozart would have been disturbed by the "passive, frigid demeanour" of 21st century audiences.

The shift from raucous, pop-concert style audience participation to the almost sacred ritual of the contemporary classical concert seems to coincide with the popular cults around Beethoven and Wagner. The dynamic range of their works can demand total silence from the listeners.

Gustav Mahler used to scowl at audiences if they made too much noise during his performances.

Concert-goers were changed from active participants to passive listeners. The whole experience took on a formality that bordered on the religious.

There is a justification for this decorum. Musicians and fellow listeners may prefer not to hear applause between movements so they can concentrate on the progress from one movement to the next. Symphonies and concertos, it is argued, have a momentum that builds from the beginning to the end, through all their movements, and applause can "break the mood," especially when a movement ends quietly.

But the new "rules" also gave classical music an exclusivity. Newcomers who ventured into the orchestral hall without proper initiation would be made to look foolish and unsophisticated. It was an intimidating environment reserved for an elite.

So, is this changing? The Proms, of course, have always been about bringing great music to the masses. On the Last Night, Promenaders take pride in pricking the pomposity of occasion with hooters and cat-calls, a carnival atmosphere echoing the traditions of 200 years earlier.

However, I wonder whether a little of that audience participation is creeping in to the "serious" performances during the rest of the festival. And if it is, should we applaud?

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