The unclaimed encore

Original non-fiction-style practice text.

The pianist left after the final scheduled piece. We applauded until our hands ached, hoping she would return. When the stage lights brightened, a man behind me called her ungrateful. I had wanted another piece too, but his verdict made our applause sound less like thanks than an invoice.

She had already played a demanding programme beautifully. We did not know whether she was tired, catching a train or simply content to let the last piece remain last. An encore can be a delightful gift. The delight becomes smaller when an audience treats it as a debt which the performer has neglected to repay.

I shall keep clapping enthusiastically at concerts. I shall also try to remember what I am applauding: a performance received, not a purchase of whatever happens next. That evening's ending was not the one I hoped for. It remained an ending she was entitled to choose.

Assess the writer’s attitude towards the pianist’s decision not to play an encore. Use three details from the text to support your answer.