OMG: Conductor absails into audience

OMG: Conductor absails into audience

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norman lebrecht

January 07, 2015

They have a series of New Year concerts throughout January at the South Denmark Philharmonic.

In order to rouse the bucolic audience from festive stupor, the enterprising conductor David Riddell decided to absail down from the roof – a matter of 15 metres – while the orch struck up the Radetzky March.

The effect was so exhilarating, a spokesperson said, that the orch is thinking of making it a requirement for all other conductors.
absail conductor

photo (c) SDP/Slipped Disc

Might work well in Vienna.

Comments

  • Brian Hughes says:

    He stole that move from Mike Leckrone, the septuagenarian leader of the Varsity Band at UW-Madison, who has been doing it for years. He still does, and sells out four concerts every spring at the university’s Kohl Center (basketball and hockey venue).

  • Shalom Rackovsky says:

    I was personally present at Carnegie Hall on New Years Eve 1967, when Prof. Peter Schickele entered by swinging down to the stage from the first tier of boxes. All the greatest musicians do this all the time.

  • Eli Bensky says:

    Yes, and maybe next time they will have a herd of elephants lumber across the stage. Fine for New Year’s concerts

  • Will Moseng says:

    A pity Zubin Mehta didn’t try this in Wien. It might have livened up the mess he made with the same piece. Sleepy performance.

  • Tommy says:

    Are we talking about South Jutland Symphony Orchestra?

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