Thursday - January 12, 2012

hey no problem, we’ll just wait

Faux Pas Of The Season!
Ringtone halts NY Philharmonic performance

The final movement of Mahler’s Ninth Symphony is a slow rumination on mortality, with quiet sections played by strings alone.

During the New York Philharmonic’s performance Tuesday night, it was interrupted by an iPhone.

The jarring ringtone—the device’s “Marimba” sound, which simulates the mallet instrument—intruded in the middle of the movement, emanating from the first row at Avery Fisher Hall.

When the phone wasn’t immediately hushed, audience members shook their heads. It continued to chime, and music director Alan Gilbert turned his head sharply to the left, signaling his displeasure.

Minutes passed. Each time the orchestra reached a quiet section, the phone could be heard above the hushed, reverent notes.

Finally, Mr. Gilbert could take no more: He stopped the orchestra.

In an interview with The Wall Street Journal Wednesday, Mr. Gilbert said the ring tone yanked him out of a trance-like state during the symphony’s “most intense, most sublime, most emotional place.”

“It was kind of shocking because you get to a very faraway place emotionally and spiritually,” he said.

And even more surprising, he said, the man who owned the phone, recognized by orchestra members as a regular subscriber, didn’t immediately own up to it—or act to silence the device.

“I had to ask him many times,” Mr. Gilbert said. “It was bizarre. Maybe he was just so mortified that he just shut down and was paralyzed.”

After Mr. Gilbert took matters into his own hands, the man reached into his pocket and silenced the device. Mr. Gilbert asked him: “Is it off? It won’t come on again?”

The man nodded. Satisfied, the conductor addressed the audience. Usually, Mr. Gilbert said, it is best to ignore disruptions, because the reaction itself can be even more disruptive. “This was so egregious that I couldn’t let it go by,” Mr. Gilbert told the audience, apologizing.

The audience applauded vigorously.

“We’ll try again,” he said on a more upbeat note.

Matron:
Everybody you watch

Velma and Matron:
Nobody’s got no class!




I predict this fellow will get far fewer invitations to The Vinyard this year, and may even be ousted from his summer rental in the Hamptons. So. Common. [shudders]




PS - I hate cellphones ringing in just about all public venues. I might have an even stronger hatred for people who wear their phones in their ears all the time, and think that they can talk to you while holding another conversation on the phone. There are times when multi-tasking is just plain rude.

Posted by Drew458     on 01/12/2012 at 04:12 PM   
Filed Under: • CULTURE IN DECLINE • Stoopid-People •  
• Comments (5) • Trackbacks(0)  Permalink •  

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