September 16, 2025
Athens, GR 14 C
Expand search form
Blog

The nightmare moment of a mighty pianist

Summer’s a time for wearing silly hats

The Portuguese pianist Maria Joao Pires, 80 today, became a global legend when, at a lunchtime concert in Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw in 1998, she heard the orchestra start up a different Mozart concerto from the one she was expecting to play.

Her face is a picture of panic and depression.

The conductor, Riccardo Chailly, tells her she can make the switch from memory. He said: ‘You’re going to do well.’

She replied: ‘I am going to try.’

Amazingly, she did.

The video went viral on Youtube in 2013.

Happy birthday, Maria.

The post The nightmare moment of a mighty pianist appeared first on Slippedisc.

Previous Article

Who’s conducting the Olympics?

Next Article

Half a quartet gets wed

You might be interested in …

NCEM Young Composers Award

NCEM Young Composers Award

NCEM Young Composers Award winners Ryan Collins and Charlotte Robertson with Ex Corde Last week (16 May 2024), the winners of the 17th National Centre for Early Music Young Composers Award were announced. Presented in […]

Aix adds extra boss

Aix adds extra boss

The high-flying Festival at Aix-en-Provence has appointed Olivier Leymarie as Deputy General Director, understudy to Pierre Audi. Leymarie, who starts in January, is presently MD of the Ensemble intercontemporain in Paris. The post Aix adds […]