# Missing concerts due to illness



## Radames

How many concerts have you missed because you were ill? It hasn't been many for me so far. One day I drove 200 miles after minor sugary to see Madame Butterfly. I missed Albert Herring after foot surgery once - it was on the bottom of my foot. Surgery there really hurts and the opera was only two days later. 

But now it looks like I could miss an entire summer of concerts - Tanglewood, Saratoga, Lanaudiere, Bard - all down the tubes. I am having to skip Turandot in Montreal this week. It's all because of excruciating shoulder arthritis pain. I need a fairy simple procedure to take part of my collarbone off to stop it from rubbing against the other bones. The shoulder has been separated for 20 years and the collarbone has been rubbing against the AC joint, giving me AC arthritis. It got much worse very suddenly a month ago and nothing helps. Regular painkillers do nothing. I went to a local concert over the weekend and could hardly enjoy it because I was in so much pain. Opiates all summer? I will be falling asleep. 

And the kicker is that I have been calling surgeons but no one can do it until August or September. That means my entire summer is kaput. All I do now is struggle through my day at work then go home collapse and watch TV all night. I LIVE for concerts. Live music is what keeps me going. I go to 150 concerts a year. Now I'm going to have to quit cold turkey pretty much. 

How many concerts have you missed due to illness?


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## Radames

Just missed opening weekend at Tanglewood. Definitely would have hit the Brahms 2nd concerto and Meistersinger excepts. At least I didn't buy tickets ahead of time. I missed a NAC concert in Ottawa that I paid $45 for. No way I could drive out to Ottawa all messed up like this-- missed Mahler's 5th. No one else has ever had this happen - too messed up to go to a concert they wanted to attend?


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## Mahlerian

Radames said:


> Just missed opening weekend at Tanglewood. Definitely would have hit the Brahms 2nd concerto and Meistersinger excepts. At least I didn't buy tickets ahead of time. I missed a NAC concert in Ottawa that I paid $45 for. No way I could drive out to Ottawa all messed up like this-- missed Mahler's 5th. No one else has ever had this happen - too messed up to go to a concert they wanted to attend?


I heard the broadcast on the radio. The Brahms Concerto was great, but I found the Meistersinger excerpts disappointingly bland.


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## Radames

Mahlerian said:


> I heard the broadcast on the radio. The Brahms Concerto was great, but I found the Meistersinger excerpts disappointingly bland.


Well, that's some consolation anyway. Not as much as having a tornado destroy the shed and kill everyone. lol. Morbid humor - sorry. But that's the way I feel - miserable. I think they broadcast Tanglewood on the radio here. But listening on the radio is only 1% as good as being there. Tanglewood is so awesome.


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## Radames

I may try Tanglewood tomorrow. I've missed so many good concerts this summer. I missed Portland Symphony with Pascal Roge playing the Saint Saens 5th concerto in June. I mised a double concert on July 12 with BUTI doing Beethoven 7th and then BSO doing Rachmaninoff Symphonic Dances. Beethoven 5th on July 20th. Another double concert on July 26 with BUTI doing Rimsky, Strauss and Sibelius in the afternoon then Mahler's 2nd in the shed by BSO in the evening. Then last Friday was Schumann's 4th. Missed it. Missed the ballet at SPAC too.


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## Radames

Missing a rare opera concert performance tonight in Boston. Die Tode Stadt in Jordan Hall. Crap! Not well enough to drive down there with my bad arm. And the woman who said she was going and would drive me last week changed her mind. Good thing I didn't buy a ticket ahead of time.


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## trazom

I realize this is about us missing concerts, but in my case the performer, Ms. Argerich, canceled at the last second because her doctor advised her to perform less, so I'm guessing she just didn't feel like going. This was back in 2006, but I've heard she's been doing this for the past 30 years at least, maybe even longer. Ingrid Fliter performed instead.


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## KenOC

trazom said:


> I realize this is about us missing concerts, but in my case the performer, Ms. Argerich, canceled at the last second because her doctor advised her to perform less, so I'm guessing she just didn't feel like going. This was back in 2006, but I've heard she's been doing this for the past 30 years at least, maybe even longer. Ingrid Fliter performed instead.


M. Argerich is a malignant melanoma survivor, complete with relapse. She's quite lucky to be alive at all. I can guarantee she's not feeling tippety-top-top all the time.


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## trazom

KenOC said:


> M. Argerich is a malignant melanoma survivor, complete with relapse. She's quite lucky to be alive at all. I can guarantee she's not feeling tippety-top-top all the time.


Maybe, but she's had a reputation for not showing up even before she was diagnosed with cancer. If she's not well, then she shouldn't schedule so many concerts anyways--or wait until the last minute to cancel.


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## KenOC

She was first diagnosed in 1990, treated, and relapsed in 1995. I can say, from my own family experience, that this is a very rough road with a lot of (as the doctors say) sequellae.
Perhaps she should not schedule concerts if her health is uncertain. All such concerts, of course, have to be scheduled well in advance. I'd be curious to know what others have to say about that.


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