# Worst recital of all time?



## Gouldanian (Nov 19, 2015)

And by this I don't mean the subjectively worst interpretation based on your personal preference for a certain piece or your disagreement with the soloist, but rather the objectively worst recital you've attended, listened to, or heard about, based on missed notes, and link to if available.

We're used to soloist coming out, performing their art for which we admire and are in awe of them, and for being in absolute control despite the fact that they are often frightened on the inside. However, we're less familiar with those rare occasions on which they blow their performances. I personally can't say that I've seen this happen, my record being three missed notes by the pianist, which, though surprised me, didn't render it a "bad" recital. But this question has often come back to intrigue me, and so I ask if you have anything to share on the matter. Kindly do if you feel inspired.


----------



## hpowders (Dec 23, 2013)

Artur Rubinstein performing the Beethoven Emperor Piano Concerto very late in his career with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, a benefit concert for the orchestra's pension fund. 

Full of wrong notes and memory slips. A truly sloppy performance.

Sadly, like Arnold Palmer, Rubinstein just didn't know when to quit.


----------



## Animal the Drummer (Nov 14, 2015)

Same concerto, different generation of soloist - Freddy Kempf, who began by hitting a single, exposed wrong note at the high point of the piano's opening flourish and didn't improve much from there with a showy, slapdash, superficial performance after which, for the only time in my concertgoing life, I sat on my hands and didn't join in the audience applause.


----------



## Gordontrek (Jun 22, 2012)

My university's music department recently acquired a harpsichord. For its premiere performance, they had a friend of the donor play a Bach prelude on it. This guy is a wonderful person, everybody likes him, but when it comes to music he is only a hobbyist. He played the prelude very slow, and was constantly pausing to catch his place in the sheet music. Plenty of missed notes as well. The piece apparently has a repeat at the end, and a big section of music is repeated. When he got to the end the first time, it was a typical final-sounding cadence, and people _immediately_ started to clap.
Then he repeated, and did the whole long section over again. Never saw so many people squirming in their seats. The whole performance was probably 10-12 grueling minutes.


----------



## Kjetil Heggelund (Jan 4, 2016)

It was horrible, maybe like being held hostage. We all had high expectations for the Japanese guitarplayer, I don't remember his name.


----------



## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

Sitting through the whole Turangalila Symphony in front of the Ondes Martenot.


----------



## Guest (Oct 4, 2017)

Pugg said:


> Sitting through the whole Turangalila Symphony in front of the Ondes Martenot.


O dear...........:lol:


----------



## PlaySalieri (Jun 3, 2012)

I attended a Pollini recital 2 years back at the RFH in London. In his 70s he's obviously not the pianist he was - still - to hit so many wrong keys - he shouldn't really be on the stage. the standing ovation he got for that was embarrassing.

But then again - I would have paid a lot of money to hear Callas's last few dreadful recitals.


----------



## jlspinks (Jun 20, 2017)

I searched YouTube for a performance of Ravel's Le Tombeau de Couperin (piano) coming up with a recital by Angela Hewitt. I really like her fluid playing in Bach, but this Ravel piece was a disaster for her. I was shocked she could play so poorly. Perhaps, just an off night.


----------



## larold (Jul 20, 2017)

I once saw/heard a soloist forget about 4 bars of the St. Saens Violin Concerto No. 3 near the end of the finale.

I suppose this is why Sviatoslav Richter chose to play with lighted scores at the end. He has a famous recording of the Hammerlavier sonata where he forgets a bunch of it.


----------



## Pesaro (Oct 4, 2017)

About 20 years ago, I heard the Colorado Quartet miss notes, play out of tune and display little intensity. I thought it was terrible. Lo and behold, Amazon put their edition of the complete Beethoven string quartets on sale for 99 cents, as a download. I have yet to buy it but the samples sound pretty good. They must have had a really bad day 20 years ago.


----------



## David OByrne (Dec 1, 2016)

Pugg said:


> Sitting through the whole Turangalila Symphony in front of the Ondes Martenot.


That's not funny, Messiaen is really cool


----------



## PlaySalieri (Jun 3, 2012)

do amateur recitals count?

I have seen some real howlers including a young man wipe the sweat from his brow while thrashing his way through the pathetique sonata.


----------



## Pugg (Aug 8, 2014)

David OByrne said:


> That's not funny, Messiaen is really cool


I never indicated is was funny, worst night of my life.


----------



## Dumbo (Sep 3, 2017)




----------

