# How Frequent Are \*MAJOR\* Screw-Ups At Institutions Like The Met, The London Philharmonic, Etc. **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 11, 2017, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-frequent-are-major-screw-ups-at-institutions-like-the-met-the-london-philharmonic-etc/804167 "2017-12-11T02:03:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2017, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-frequent-are-major-screw-ups-at-institutions-like-the-met-the-london-philharmonic-etc/804167/41 "2017-12-11T21:11:56Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > I’ve seen the Flying Karamozov Brothers a few times. The do drop things while juggling, but say, “I don’t think anybody noticed.” Usually, that’s a bad thing to do (don’t call attention to mistakes – the audience often doesn’t notice them), but it fit in nicely with their act. I saw then a couple times as well. One of their routines was allegedly improvised, with the Brothers juggling and passing clubs back and forth, saying that they were making up the passes as they went along. There were several drops, but they had enough quips prepared to make it part of the fun. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2017, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-frequent-are-major-screw-ups-at-institutions-like-the-met-the-london-philharmonic-etc/804167/42 "2017-12-11T21:26:05Z")
In the late 80’s I saw the Victoria Symphony Orchestra do Mahler’s 9th. During the conductor’s opening remarks, he went into a four-sneeze fit. What would have been a normal occurrence looked very odd behind the podium, AND THEN he sneezed a couple MORE times at the end of his spiel, this time generating some quiet chuckles. Sidebar - one of the idiots who joined us had half his beard shaved off - we wanted to ditch him. > [@RivkahChaya](#): > > When I saw The Indigo Girls live, they had two extra guitars set up on the stage, I assume in case a string broke. They never touched them, and neither did any of the backup players. I don’t know enough about guitars to tell what kind of quality they were, but they were propped in stands where they could be easily grabbed with only one or two notes missed if a string broke. Usually a very common sight - I can’t think of too many performances where I _didn’t_ see back-up equipment onstage. Saw the largest bank of onstage back-up guitars at a Frank Zappa gig in '84. I’m guessing they were mainly rhythm guitarist Ray White’s, considering Zappa usually doesn’t seem to part with his red Gibson SG all too often. (GAS - gear acquisition syndrome) /derail/ > [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > I always find it amusing when “unforced errors” are quoted in such matches. > > They are a subjective judgement anyway… Subjective or not, it’s a totally cut and dry determination the vast majority of the time. > [@Novelty\_Bobble](#): > > …when faced with either Roger Federer or Rafael Nadal at the other end of the court there is really no such thing. Sheesh - quite the hagiography!😛 /end of derail/ ---
**Author:** ![Haunted\_Pasta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/94ad74/32.png) [@Haunted\_Pasta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Haunted_Pasta)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2017, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-frequent-are-major-screw-ups-at-institutions-like-the-met-the-london-philharmonic-etc/804167/43 "2017-12-11T21:37:15Z")
Now would be an appropriate time to offer [the Tiptree Sneeze](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mj4BFvwwj-o). Of course, ANY time is an appropriate time to offer the Tiptree Sneeze. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2017, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-frequent-are-major-screw-ups-at-institutions-like-the-met-the-london-philharmonic-etc/804167/44 "2017-12-11T22:07:53Z")
Way back when, I saw The Who while Keith Moon was still the drummer. Moon had a coffee can filled with drumsticks next to him, and every time a stick broke (which was several times during the show) he’d simply grab a new stick with one hand while keeping the beat going with the other. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2017, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-frequent-are-major-screw-ups-at-institutions-like-the-met-the-london-philharmonic-etc/804167/45 "2017-12-11T23:25:22Z")
> [@MrAtoz](#): > > Note that this article is from 2013. That machine is the same monstrous thing that Deborah Voigt fell off of in the video that I linked in post #25. > > The Ring is on the Met’s schedule for 2019, with promises that the machine will be “quieter” this time. See this brief article from [OperaWire](http://operawire.com/metropolitan-opera-2018-19-ring-cycle-conductor-confirmed/). Of course, the noise was the least of its malfunctions. :smack: I did look through the thread; sorry I missed it! Yeah, it’s too bad they’re stuck with that thing for a while. I saw the Met Opera of Die Walkure and loved the duet with Kaufman and Voight except for the prodigious string of saliva hanging off his lip. I needed to close my eyes and just enjoy the beauty of the sounds! With the 50th anniversary of the Met location, they’ve been showing clips of the documentary of the opening year and Leontyne Price getting stuck inside the pyramid in Zeffirelli’s Antony and Cleopatra. Speaking of cell phones, I’ve crabbed about it before, but I went to see Sam Rockwell in Fool for Love. One act, quick, intense, did I mention Sam Rockwell America’s greatest living actor? We get there ($140 a ticket and a five-hour drive) and the program has a big insert sticking out the top PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR PHONES. The announcement before the play PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR PHONES. The play goes for a while, intense, crazy. The principals sit down at a table during a rare quieter moment and RING. Now, you see the actors delaying a little, but the old lady whose phone it is doesn’t realize it’s ringing for at least four rings. The ushers are on high alert, scanning. She finally realizes it and supposedly turns it off. But, a couple of minutes later, RING. I blame the person with her too; he was younger and more aware and should have asked her about her phone. ---
**Author:** ![MacSpon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/34f0e0/32.png) [@MacSpon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MacSpon)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2017, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-frequent-are-major-screw-ups-at-institutions-like-the-met-the-london-philharmonic-etc/804167/46 "2017-12-12T00:42:50Z")
A number of years ago, when the Russian State Symphony was visiting New Zealand… At the end of a concert, as they began to play an encore, the harpist came in playing the _wrong piece_. She stopped playing after about a bar, but it had been…really quite a prominent bar. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2017, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-frequent-are-major-screw-ups-at-institutions-like-the-met-the-london-philharmonic-etc/804167/47 "2017-12-12T02:35:50Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > Way back when, I saw The Who while Keith Moon was still the drummer. Moon had a coffee can filled with drumsticks next to him, and every time a stick broke (which was several times during the show) he’d simply grab a new stick with one hand while keeping the beat going with the other. At the risk of sounding like an uppity gainsayer again (really! I’m trying not to!) - any drummer, professional or not, without some kind of stash/bag/thingie as a container for spare sticks, is a woefully unprepared one. Heh, using a coffee can is a new one - usually it’s a three-sectioned bag that’s laced up to the floor tom, to the immediate right of the drummer’s kick leg (unless if you’re some Quasimodo freak like Phil Collins:p and puts his floor tom to the left of him)(among scant other trogs:p) In the 150-odd gigs I drummed in, I can’t remember _not_ breaking at least one stick (a common nuisance), and any drummer, especially if he/she’s in a band that plays with any regularity, basically _has_ to be able to keep the beat, one-handed, while reaching for a spare. ---
**Author:** ![ioioio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ioioio/32/316_2.png) [@ioioio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ioioio)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2017, 8:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-frequent-are-major-screw-ups-at-institutions-like-the-met-the-london-philharmonic-etc/804167/48 "2017-12-12T08:33:59Z")
I sang in several symphony orchestra choruses over the course of 40 years. There were many small flubs that got swallowed up in the overall sound, but few major errors. When they happened, though, they were traumatic. At a performance of _Carol of the Bells_, the sopranos came in a measure early. The conductor had to stop the piece and start over. I had friends in the audience, and when I later mentioned the error, not one of them had been aware of it! I still don’t understand that. We once performed in the convention center (bad bad idea for many reasons). During the concert, there was a car auction (with loud speaker) going on elsewhere in the building. The concert was absolutely ruined. At one point, after a lovely quiet Brahms piece was destroyed, the conductor threw his arms in the air and shouted, “Won’t somebody buy that damned car?” ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2017, 9:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-frequent-are-major-screw-ups-at-institutions-like-the-met-the-london-philharmonic-etc/804167/49 "2017-12-12T09:41:01Z")
I attended an Andres Segovia concert, before which it announced that he would tolerate no disturbances. If anyone came in or left while he was playing, he would get up and leave. During the concert, a train passed about a mile away and its whistle could be heard in the distance. Segovia laid his guitar down on the floor and patiently sat there and waited until the train receded into the inaudible distance, and picked up his guitar and continued. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2017, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-frequent-are-major-screw-ups-at-institutions-like-the-met-the-london-philharmonic-etc/804167/50 "2017-12-12T10:31:29Z")
Regarding the juggling hijack, I juggle (badly) and hang round with a lot of other people who juggle well, including quite a few pros. I travel internationally to attend juggling conventions, where the best in the world teach and perform, often trying out their new shows before they take them on tour. Drops happen all the time. Sometimes the drop is deliberate, very skilled performer friends have confirmed that they sometimes do it to make stuff seem harder, especially on the easier stuff, for drama build up, and if they’re doing the show as a less serious character. But, if you haven’t tried it, as **Rivkahchaya** said, juggling is very hard to judge difficulty for, and a lot of the drops are real, even for the seriously good professionals. If they’re pushing their limits, they’re going to mess up occasionally, regardless of where those limits are, and if they don’t push their limits, they’re not going to be much good as a performer. I would suggest that, as a general rule, if the performer is juggling 5 objects, the drop was probably not deliberate; if they’re juggling 7+, its almost certainly not deliberate. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2017, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-frequent-are-major-screw-ups-at-institutions-like-the-met-the-london-philharmonic-etc/804167/51 "2017-12-12T12:47:47Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > I was at a concert featuring Itzhak Perlman, when a string broke in the middle of his solo. > > And, as everyone who has heard the story knows > > He turned to the first violinist and asked to borrow his violin. A stagehand took Perlman’s backstage and restrung it for the second movement. There was applause after the first movement, since he played so well on a violin he was unfamiliar with. A much more recent example from September this year: the first oboist in the London Symphony Orchestra has reed trouble in the middle of a big solo, reaches over and grabs the second oboist’s instrument (which is configured differently) and keeps playing as if nothing had happened. The second oboist calmly fixes the reed and hands the instrument back at the next available break. [And it’s on video](https://inews.co.uk/essentials/news/video-quick-thinking-oboist-replaces-faulty-instrument-ninja-speed-london-symphony-orchestra-performance/). I once attended a performance of Messiaen’s _Quartet for the End of Time_, a highly virtuosic piece for piano, violin, cello and clarinet. I found out afterward that just before going on the clarinettist had broken a key, and had done the whole performance (which has some fiendish passages) with alternate fingerings. The pros can pull off some astounding feats. > [@jtur88](#): > > I attended an Andres Segovia concert, before which it announced that he would tolerate no disturbances. If anyone came in or left while he was playing, he would get up and leave. During the concert, a train passed about a mile away and its whistle could be heard in the distance. Segovia laid his guitar down on the floor and patiently sat there and waited until the train receded into the inaudible distance, and picked up his guitar and continued. Not a performance but a rehearsal: like **ioioio** I sing in a symphony chorus. Last year we were rehearsing a performance of Berlioz’s massive _Grande Messe des Morts_; as there were three choirs involved we were using a lecture hall at Queen Mary University in the East End. Unfortunately the London Underground passes very close to the hall and every few minutes there would be a distinctly audible low rumble, like a timpani roll, every time a train passed by. Far from being annoyed, maestro François-Xavier Roth thought it very much in character for the piece and kept delightedly exclaiming “It’s very Berlioz!” Another rehearsal: we did a performance of _The Dream of Gerontius_ in the Aya Elena in Istanbul, which was covered but open to the outside, a downside of which was revealed when a pigeon overhead pooped on the leader’s extremely expensive violin during the dress rehearsal. He was not very happy, and less so about the “Guano-eri” jokes afterwards. The chorus, normally an agreeable lot, once refused to go onstage in Rome for a performance until the venue provided the contractually required bottles of water (it was hot and this was very much a “last straw” thing - there were screw-ups and inadequate facilities all along the way). Pallets of water bottles suddenly materialized, and on we went. In fact a lot of shows have vast amounts of problems, mistakes and total disasters in the run-up to the performance - it’s why, when they happen on the night, the performers are usually ready to roll with them. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2017, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-frequent-are-major-screw-ups-at-institutions-like-the-met-the-london-philharmonic-etc/804167/52 "2017-12-12T13:08:13Z")
> [@Robot\_Arm](#): > > I saw then a couple times as well. One of their routines was allegedly improvised, with the Brothers juggling and passing clubs back and forth, saying that they were making up the passes as they went along. There were several drops, but they had enough quips prepared to make it part of the fun. Let me guess: “A sudden gust of gravity.” ---
**Author:** ![Noel\_Prosequi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b19c9b/32.png) [@Noel\_Prosequi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Noel_Prosequi)\ **Post date:** [December 18, 2017, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-frequent-are-major-screw-ups-at-institutions-like-the-met-the-london-philharmonic-etc/804167/53 "2017-12-18T17:58:01Z")
I realise the OP was about orchestral/operatic/chamber music, but the thread seems to have spread its wings… I’ve seen Springsteen maybe 6-8 times, with 2 separate flubs. He and the E streeters are a famously tight, disciplined band. I also realise Bruce takes far more risks than other bands with the audience requests, one-off covers of other people’s songs, and all. And the nature of the productions is such that he doesn’t have the luxury of the old jazz musician’s stand-by of repeating your mistakes so they sound like deliberate exoticisms. In one of the mistakes, the keyboard guy simply Drew a blank on the chords, and rather than cease playing and let the rest of the band continue while he sorted his shit out, he continued to noodle through. Bruce turned to him (not sure if it was Roy Bitten or a secondary keyboard guy). While the band continued the tune “in neutral”, Bruce says very directly “Do you know the chords ?” Keyboard guy sheepishly says no. Bruce says “Watch Nils Lofgren”, who then proceeds to deliberately go through the chord progression on his guitar so keyboardist can watch. Bruce says “Got it?”. Keyboard guy nods. Bruce returns to the song, but at the end says “The band really fucked that one up!” apologetically. Second mistake was when he finished a different concert with Thunder Road, and got the words wrong within the first two lines. He apologises and starts again, joking that maybe the audience will have to help. Bruce is fine thereafter, but his words prompted some arseclown near me to shout all the lyrics to him in the gaps just before each line was to be sung. Bloody literalist idiot. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2017, 2:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-frequent-are-major-screw-ups-at-institutions-like-the-met-the-london-philharmonic-etc/804167/54 "2017-12-20T14:17:07Z")
I was at a performance of the Atlanta Symphony with a guest conductor, one of those guys who performs without a score. The conductor forgot the ending and stopped about four bars short. The orchestra waited until the applause died down and finished without him. ---
**Author:** ![burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/burpo_the_wonder_mutt/32/365_2.png) [@burpo\_the\_wonder\_mutt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/burpo_the_wonder_mutt)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2017, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-frequent-are-major-screw-ups-at-institutions-like-the-met-the-london-philharmonic-etc/804167/55 "2017-12-20T15:06:50Z")
^ Ba-dum BUM? Cool! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 20, 2017, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-frequent-are-major-screw-ups-at-institutions-like-the-met-the-london-philharmonic-etc/804167/56 "2017-12-20T16:37:48Z")
Guest Soloist discovers she prepared the wrong piece of music. [https://www.google.com/amp/www.nydailynews.com/amp/entertainment/music-arts/pianist-horrified-orchestra-plays-wrong-concerto-live-performance-article-1.1500562](https://www.google.com/amp/www.nydailynews.com/amp/entertainment/music-arts/pianist-horrified-orchestra-plays-wrong-concerto-live-performance-article-1.1500562) Quite amazing performance for someone unprepared. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/n89F9YKPNOg/hqdefault.jpg "Maria Joao Pires expecting another Mozart concerto during a lunch-concert in Amsterdam") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n89F9YKPNOg) ---
**Author:** ![HeyHomie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/heyhomie/32/207_2.png) [@HeyHomie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HeyHomie)\ **Post date:** [December 22, 2017, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-frequent-are-major-screw-ups-at-institutions-like-the-met-the-london-philharmonic-etc/804167/57 "2017-12-22T20:22:59Z")
I came back in to post a video! Although this “goof” was deliberate, it’s still hilarious! A Danish choir director gave hot chilis to the kids at a break in the piece (milder ones for the younger boys, stronger ones for the older ones). Watching them try to sing while coughing, sweating, crying, and trying not to puke, may be the funniest thing you’ll see today. And BTW, their parents were all nearby with milk and ice cream to soothe them once the song was over. [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/NP9HAYTK1cU/hqdefault.jpg "Chili Klaus & Boys Choir On Fire 🔥") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NP9HAYTK1cU) ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2017, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-frequent-are-major-screw-ups-at-institutions-like-the-met-the-london-philharmonic-etc/804167/58 "2017-12-24T05:48:32Z")
I saw a play once in which a character was cutting vegetables in the set’s kitchen. The actress cut her hand across the palm and then tried to limit the bleeding with a hand towel, and go on with the play. It was apparent - and very distracting - that that wasn’t enough; it bled through, she got another small towel and it bled through, too. After intermission, she returned with a bandage and gauze over her hand - don’t know if she got stitches. The show must go on! ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [December 25, 2017, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-frequent-are-major-screw-ups-at-institutions-like-the-met-the-london-philharmonic-etc/804167/59 "2017-12-25T02:08:07Z")
I was at an Itzhak Perlman concert, when, in the middle of a piece a young lady in the front row suddenly got up and ran back up the aisle. Perlman stopped and made some funny remark, then continued playing. It turned out that the lady was going to get medical help for her mother, seated next to her. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-frequent-are-major-screw-ups-at-institutions-like-the-met-the-london-philharmonic-etc/804167.md?page=2)