Encore (Zugabe)
An encore after the concert's end.
What it means
An encore (German Zugabe) is a piece that is played in addition, at the audience's request, after the official end of a concert. In English and French it is called encore, meaning “again”.
The name refers to the origin of the custom: originally the audience demanded that a particularly successful piece, or a part of it, be repeated. From this repetition developed today's practice of playing an additional piece not announced in the programme.
Encores are mostly short and effective — a virtuosic piece, a calm, reflective one, or a well-known one that pleases the audience. Often they stand in relation to the preceding programme, for instance through the composer or the character. They are not a part of the work but part of the performance situation.
Musical use
The custom of the encore has long been widespread. In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the audience could, through sustained applause, force the repetition of individual movements or arias, which occasionally led to interruptions of the performance. Later the encore shifted to the end of the concert. Today it is almost taken for granted in solo and orchestral concerts, but unusual in some contexts, for instance with sacred works.
It is often announced by the artist themselves and counts as a gesture of thanks to the audience as well as an opportunity to set a personal note.
Performance practice
Prepare encores just as carefully as the programme — they are the last impression the audience takes away. Choose a piece that fits the programme and takes up, or deliberately rounds off, the mood of the evening. Keep it short. And decide by the occasion whether an encore is appropriate.