When to applaud at a great music concert?  Alex Ross says to do so when you feel moved:

"The classical concert of the 18th century was radically different from the rather staid and timid affair of today. Famous evidence comes from a letter that Mozart wrote to his father after the premiere of his 'Paris" Symphony: 'Right in the middle of the First Allegro came a Passage that I knew would please, and the entire audience was sent into raptures . . . and as I knew, when I wrote the passage, what good effect it would make, I brought it once more at the end of the movement — and sure enough there they were: the shouts of 'da capo'.' This kind of behaviour seems in line with what you find in jazz clubs, where people applaud after each solo, as well as at the end of each number."

I must admit that I am puzzled by talk of demystifying great music.  It is music.  You will like it or not.  No mystery.  Start with some Bach, Beethoven or Mozart - any piece.  If that doesn't work, sample some Handel, Copeland, Gershwin, Debussy or Stravinsky.  Still nothing?  Try Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Vivaldi, Corelli, Clementi or Glass.  Something will start the process.  Mystery solved.  Soon you'll be padding through the house whistling your favorite pieces.

Read Ross's essay here.

I've referenced the source before, but if you want to dig into some of the stories behind great music and fuel your love for the music, I can think of no better source than The Teaching Company's course How To Listen To and Understand Great Music.  The professor for the 48 lectures is Robert Greenberg.  I can almost guarantee that you will love the series.  It is bundled with Greenberg's course on the Symphony here. 

Thanks, Arts & Letters Daily.