10 musical losers of 2014
main10 Turnaround Kaiser is terminated in D.C.
9 Worst-ever Culture sec gets fired
8 She verbally cuffed a coughing child
7 He had a mother and child removed
6 He called a lockout and was himself locked out
5 More bits fell off his business
4 This maestro was jailed for sex offences
3 He was reduced to writing novels
2 He talked tough, but folded at the table
1 She gave a cheque to a man she’d never met
Better luck next year!
Click here for musical winners of 2014.
Have you never heard of irony?
Did you forget the people of Perth (Australia) who missed out on their umpteenth Carmen because of their overly politically correct General Manager?
If verbally “cuffing” a child in the audience for coughing (reports vary considerably about what actually was said and the tone in which it was said) makes it into a Top Ten list of Musical Losers, there can’t be much wrong in the classical music scene this year! The good thing to emerge from this incident is it has reopened the “coughing debate” and how intrusive a simple act, sometimes but far from always involuntary, can be. It is time for coughers to realise this. Nothing can prevent some coughs. But those who regularly cough or expect they may cough should have handkerchiefs/tissues/cough drops (unwrapped prior to the concert) at the ready to muffle the distraction they’d otherwise cause to other members of the audience as well as the performers.
No. 11: CD sales
Quite right Nick about the different reports and the positions of they adopt. Some are far from critical of Ms. Chung and rather applaud her as I do for taking a stand on the issue. This silly placement of her in a Top Ten Losers List is purile and presumably to gratify the whims of whoever compiled the list in the first place.
However there is a slightly bigger question that should be asked regarding this list and that is why three people who have committed no criminal offence have been rated as worse than someone jailed for sex offences which is most certainly a criminal offence the world over. Somehow, I don’t think the question or issue of luck really enters into it.