The Rest of the Story
This past concert was as interesting off stage as it was on. There are times, when a concert is fraught with gremlins and no amount of planning can forestall difficulties. By now you've probably heard that we had to briefly suspend Saturday night's concert due to a broken piano key. This is HIGHLY unusual--broken strings, yes, but an actual black key broken during performance is virtually unheard of (for the record, it was a Bb). This really was a fluke and no one is to blame here. Luckily we had another piano nearby, and were able to swap it out and resume the concert. Ksenia, our soloist, was a real pro--grace under pressure to say the very least. You see, this was but one of a series of challenges we had to over come to present this concert. The first challenge, due to scheduling conflicts, was that we didn't get a chance to rehearse any of the music in the halls we were performing. Not the end of the world but certainly a disadvantage for a soloist coming into a new situation. As the rehearsal for her piece was off-site, the piano we had shipped in was not the same as the one she would be performing on. NOT TO WORRY, she would get a chance to practice in the hall by herself to get acquainted with Sinclair. Still, not rehearsing in the performance space with the orchestra is disorienting. Secondly, the stage set up was unconventional. As the thrust of the stage cannot support the weight of a piano, the instrument had to be imbedded upstage in the orchestra. As a result I had to be on the audience side of the piano so all of the orchestra could see me. We had designed a "three- quarter" length stick for the lid, so enough sound could leave the instrument but would leave the lid just low enough as not to obstruct the view between orchestra and conductor. In short, I was on the wrong side of the piano. Just when we think we have everything figured out, the key breaks and we have solve that problem on the fly. For a performer to be "in the zone" who then must pause indefinitely mid performance, only to resume on an unfamiliar instrument is asking a great deal. Not only did Ksenia take it all in stride, she played beautifully as though nothing had happened. It was a great lesson in professionalism and artistry, and one that I will never forget. Thank you Ksenia for being so fantastic.