The Philharmonic played Friday night to an empty hall
mainOur chers amis at resmusica.com report that the Philharmonic Orchestra of Radio France played in an empty Paris Philharmonie on Friday night as a result of the various strikes called at the crisis-ridden broadcaster.
Radio France had cancelled the concert, but the musicians – and their conductor Myung Whun Chung – insisted on going ahead with the programme they had prepared.
Why the hall had to be empty is an unfathomable mystery of French industrial relations.
UPDATE: Entering musical folklore as ‘Le Concert Interdit’ (the forbidden concert), the programme will be replayed tonight at the Musikverein in Vienna and on Tuesday in Cologne.
It’s the opposite of John Cage’s 4’33”.
Poor Myung Whun Chung is facing a lot of dysfunction at his orchestras these days!