# When the page turning fails in performance



## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Anyone any more?


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## norman bates (Aug 18, 2010)

That was quite fun! I don't get why they don't use tablets or something like that in 2019...


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## mikeh375 (Sep 7, 2017)

It made me cringe and sympathetic at the same time, whilst giggling of course.
No page turning tales, but I was reminded of Rachmaninov and Kreisler playing the Kreutzer sonata at Carnegie Hall. Kreisler got lost, sidled over to Rachmaninov whilst busking and asked where they where, to which Rachmaninov replied, " Carnegie Hall".

On a personal note, years back I played keyboards for Ken Dodd at a few gigs. He would come into the green room, show us the music which as I recall, consisted of sparse musical indications after a written out punchline and some full arrangements. All would have been fine if he'd have stuck to the running order. He never did and chaos always ensued, but what glorious, tattifilarious chaos. One didn't mind being on stage for an extra hour or so with him and tears often had to be quickly wiped away as he counted us into a number, even if sometimes we weren't sure which number!


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

mikeh375 said:


> It made me cringe and sympathetic at the same time, whilst giggling of course.
> No page turning tales, but I was reminded of Rachmaninov and Kreisler playing the Kreutzer sonata at Carnegie Hall. Kreisler got lost, sidled over to Rachmaninov whilst busking and asked where they where, to which Rachmaninov replied, " Carnegie Hall".
> 
> On a personal note, years back I played keyboards for *Ken Dodd* at a few gigs. He would come into the green room, show us the music which as I recall, consisted of sparse musical indications after a written out punchline and some full arrangements. All would have been fine if he'd have stuck to the running order. He never did and chaos always ensued, but what glorious, tattifilarious chaos. One didn't mind being on stage for an extra hour or so with him and tears often had to be quickly wiped away as he counted us into a number, even if sometimes we weren't sure which number!


I believe Mr Dodd hold the world record for jokes - 1500 in one performance! I know theatre managers were known to give him the keys and tell him to lock up after him as they couldn't get him off the stage!


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## mikeh375 (Sep 7, 2017)

DavidA said:


> I believe Mr Dodd hold the world record for jokes - 1500 in one performance! I know theatre managers were known to give him the keys and tell him to lock up after him as they couldn't get him off the stage!


That's amazing, 1500 jokes but I'm not really surprised. It all went pear shaped for me and the band immediately after his first joke one night....
"What a lovely day for stuffing sausages down the mother-in-laws tights and saying, how's that for varicose veins".


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## Larkenfield (Jun 5, 2017)

Yuja Wang and her iPad in concert:


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## Larkenfield (Jun 5, 2017)

..................


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## jegreenwood (Dec 25, 2015)

About a decade ago I attended a recital by Richard Goode. It was a snowy night, and my guess is the regular page-turner could not make it to the concert hall.

I've forgotten the modern piece that he was playing, but it appeared that the substitute page-turner knew it no better than I. Throughout the performance it was clear that he had no idea when to turn the page. On several occasions he would turn it, and Goode would turn it right back.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

Larkenfield said:


> Yuja Wang and her iPad in concert:


Ravel's Left Hand concerto is one piece where you don't need to employ a page turner.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

Not exactly classical, but poor David Sanborn, at .56, as he starts to play with one of the greatest jazz legends, his sheet music falls to the floor. Thank goodness for a good memory.


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## DavidA (Dec 14, 2012)

Larkenfield said:


> Yuja Wang and her iPad in concert:


Yuja wants us to listen completely undistracted! :lol:


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## mbhaub (Dec 2, 2016)

norman bates said:


> That was quite fun! I don't get why they don't use tablets or something like that in 2019...


I was beginning to think this. Every year more and more people are using the iPad Pro for this. I play in so many different groups as well as do some conducting that I thought it would be great. No need for stand lights. No worry about wind.

But then I've witnessed four catastrophes in recent months that knocked me back to sense and at least for me, good old paper and pencil are fine.

In the first instance, the clarinet player was using a foot pad to manage page turns, and he had to be on the ball. A solo passage coming up but the page turn failed - seems the Blue Tooth connection got lost. He panicked, reached out for the iPad to do it manually and managed to spin the whole stand around - the solo was missing, the conductor furious.

The next was a bassoonist who hit something wrong and his part moved to the end of the document. It took some time for him to find the right place and left me on 2nd bassoon sounding awfully alone.

Third up a conductor who decided to use the tablet rather than lug around large and heavy scores. I understand completely. Personally, I want to be able to scan a page ahead and the tablet doesn't allow that unless you link another one. Didn't matter. Near the beginning of the 4rd movement, the iPad froze up and wouldn't respond to anything. Deer in the headlights doesn't begin to describe his look, knowing the meter is constantly changing - Concierto de Aranjuez. The orchestra saved his butt.

Fourth - the iPad was stolen - and all the violinists parts for several gigs.

Someday there will be funny Youtube videos of tablet fails.


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## Vasks (Dec 9, 2013)

Yes, paper is fine. The odds are better for the old-fashion way so that with proper binding and proper page turns provided by the composer/publisher most accidents can be avoided. Tech offers the chance for more & bigger catastrophes.


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## Granate (Jun 25, 2016)

From 5:33 something slipped. :lol: I found this gem some days ago from SD, but the performance is also fire...


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## Heck148 (Oct 27, 2016)

Page turning, music foul-ups abound with outdoor concerts!! the wind is forever flipping pages, tearing music off the stand, etc...it's all part of the game...musicians use clothespins, clips, clamps of all sorts, but sometimes this inhibits the timely page turns necessary to continue playing uninterrupted.
Once, I was playing an indoor concert, early summer, very hot, humid day...the auditorium temperature was really pretty insufferable...a well-meaning stage-hand/custodian decided to provide some relief, so he opened up the big freight/loading doors backstage leading directly outside....the welcome, cool blast of strong breeze not only provided some environmental refreshment, but it also swept 90% of the music off of everyone's stand!! :lol::lol: It was a real circus, musicians chasing frantically all over the stage, attempting to recapture the fugitive musical selections!! Needless to say, once order was re-established, we re-started the piece, and managed to complete the concert, hot and sweaty, but music intact on our stands...


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## Orfeo (Nov 14, 2013)

Got to use spiral binders.


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