Zimerman walks off because "..You Tube is destroying Music"

[Nick Armstrong]

As many others have said and I'm sure more will say - serves you right for going to Upton Park! Were you hammered?

Hammered? I was blowing bubbles, mate.

[doversoul1]

It was definitely a bad manner but not exactly unheard of or a major disruption. I am rather surprised that Zimmerman actually noticed it and was bothered enough to lose concentration. I thought professional performers are disciplined to continue the performance whatever happens in and around the venue, almost.

As for youtube, as far as I am concerned, my appreciation for and knowledge of music have been expanded beyond my wildest dream thanks to all those videos and audio posting. It is also an invaluable reference for purchasing CDs and DVDs.

[BBMmk2]

Krystian Zimermann has been known to do these kind of things beforer. usually artists do carry on regardless, buit KZ does seem to be a different kettle of fish!

[amateur51]

It was definitely a bad manner but not exactly unheard of or a major disruption. I am rather surprised that Zimmerman actually noticed it and was bothered enough to lose concentration. I thought professional performers are disciplined to continue the performance whatever happens in and around the venue, almost.

I was once at the Queen Elizabeth Hall at a Sunday afternoon recital of Chopin Préludes given by Shura Cherkassky. A member of the audience in front of me suddenly started up and began dancing around apparently but it became clear to me that the poor bloke was having a fit of some sort. The ushers & concert-goers nearby tried to help & I think St John's Ambulance got involved (they don't like to miss a stramash like that) and the poor man was gradually assisted to leave the hall.

Shura meanwhile kept playing, glancing across occasionally to check how things were going. He was given a huge round of applause for coping so well which meant of course that we probably got at least six encores, those being Shura's favourite pieces

What a star he was and how I miss him

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4YiLdOWYE8 Shura Cherkassky plays Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition ... in the open air ... in the rain

[Richard Tarleton]

My first experience of this sort of thing was at a Pears-Bream recital in the QEH in the late 60s. There was a howl of feedback as they were about to start a song, and Pears remarked that someone in the audience must be trying to record it. But that was as far as it went.

The recording equipment was bigger then

[Flosshilde]

Anybody remember the film Diva? French, & I can't remember the director or date (& I'm not bothered enough to Google it ).

[Sydney Grew]

I think all glory should go to composers. Executants are by definition mere servants of the composer, but often they like to puff themselves up in a kind of reflected glory. Vanity is human nature I suppose.

[Nick Armstrong]

Anybody remember the film Diva? French, & I can't remember the director or date (& I'm not bothered enough to Google it ).

Yes - watched maybe 10 times over the years since Jean-Jacques Beineix made it in 1981: the music-mad postman records a performance by Wilhelmina Wiggins-Fernandez (esp the big aria from 'La Wally') and his top quality tape then gets mixed up in criminal goings-on. V stylish (and the 'argot' in the film takes me right back to that time, which was the first year I lived in Paris)

See recording equipment being deployed at 1' 00 or so here: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xa5...s#.UbEPw-BpbKc

[ahinton]

I was once at the Queen Elizabeth Hall at a Sunday afternoon recital of Chopin Préludes given by Shura Cherkassky. A member of the audience in front of me suddenly started up and began dancing around apparently but it became clear to me that the poor bloke was having a fit of some sort. The ushers & concert-goers nearby tried to help & I think St John's Ambulance got involved (they don't like to miss a stramash like that) and the poor man was gradually assisted to leave the hall.

Shura meanwhile kept playing, glancing across occasionally to check how things were going. He was given a huge round of applause for coping so well which meant of course that we probably got at least six encores, those being Shura's favourite pieces

What a star he was and how I miss him

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4YiLdOWYE8 Shura Cherkassky plays Mussorgsky Pictures at an Exhibition ... in the open air ... in the rain

What a star he was indeed and how I miss him too! All of us do who were luck enough to have heard him, I'm sure. I think I already posted the Cherkassky Schumann mobile phone story but, if not, please let me know and I will gladly do it!...

[ahinton]

I think all glory should go to composers. Executants are by definition mere servants of the composer, but often they like to puff themselves up in a kind of reflected glory. Vanity is human nature I suppose.

No SG - that's simply not fair; how might you suppose that your observation here would have gone down with Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Schumann, Liszt, Alkan, Rakhmaninov, Skryabin, Medtner, Busoni, Bartók, Godowsky, Stevenson, Bacewicz et al &c. and more? - composers who frequently performed their own work and, in many cases, also others' work?

[Flosshilde]

[COLOR="#0000FF"]Yes - watched maybe 10 times over the years since Jean-Jacques Beineix made it in 1981: the music-mad postman records a performance by Wilhelmina Wiggins-Fernandez

Doesn't he manage to steal her dress, too?

[Nick Armstrong]

Doesn't he manage to steal her dress, too?

[Flosshilde]

Not from her back, though

[MrGongGong]

No one as yet has commented on the fact that Zimerman (and other performers) is implicitly happy to be party to inflated London concert ticket prices all of which proceeds go to line the pockets of artists and administrators. Like most public performers, they are happy to be the beneficiaries of technology but unwilling to accept anything not on their terms. Sorry; no sympathy for the petulant artist from this (former) fan.

"Inflated London concert ticket prices" ???
It costs less to go to the ROH than to go and see Scunthorpe United

Are you seriously suggesting that musicians should NOT get paid ?
Technology is wonderful BUT stealing someones work is unethical
the vast majority of musicians are far from rich or even "well off"
many of us DO post things on the internet BUT it's totally out of order
for someone to think that because they have bought a ticket they have
the right to film a performance.

Many people do seem to assume that they have the right to film
everything, everywhere ....... it's a little ironic that when one is swooped on
by security for trying to record the ambience in Trafalgar Square (it's private land )
that folk seem to think it's ok to rudely film a concert.

The Grateful Dead were very keen on bootleggers and set up special areas for them at their gigs.
BUT that was THEIR choice not that of the audience.

[french frank]

I think all glory should go to composers. Executants are by definition mere servants of the composer, but often they like to puff themselves up in a kind of reflected glory. Vanity is human nature I suppose.

All? The music would be missing a dimension if not performed. However, there is a difference between classical music and pop music here, where classical composers are normally acknowledged with any performance - and people tend to have favourites among the composers, with performers, live or recorded, as 'competitors' (against each other). Before the rise of the 'composer-performers' of the pop world, the performer was all and the composer songwriter unmentioned unless s/he was someone hugely well-known.