Cellist pulls out of world premiere at the BBC Proms
mainNatalie Clein has withdrawn from the world premiere of Brian Elias’s concerto at the Proms on August 9.
No reason given.
The BBC have been incredibly lucky to find Leonard Elschenbroich free and willing to jump in.
He has less than a week to master a new concerto.
Toi, bloody, toi!
UPDATE: Natalie Clein is undergoing surgery tomorrow.
It says on the Proms’ own website “Please note that Natalie Clein is unwell and has had to withdraw from this Prom.” Do you bother to read anything?
In theory, it would be possible that she got unwel on seeing the score.
In reality, however, Natalie actually commissioned the new concerto, so ‘fear upon sight of score’ is quite incorrect. I too have heard that she is unwell, and wish her a swift recovery.
Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to speak and to remove all doubt.
Touche!
It seems odd that an understudy was not engaged from the outset. It’s one thing having a cellist pull out at short notice from performing the Dvořák or the Elgar, in which case any number of other cellists are perfectly capable of stepping in at a moment’s notice, but it seems nothing short of reckless to schedule the world premiere of a new work which only one person in the world is able to play. Less than a week does not seem long enough to learn a new work. And what would have happened if the soloist had had to cancel at even shorter notice, perhaps on the day? Not even the finest of musicians could do justice to a new work with just a few hours to learn it.
Natalie Clein
15 hrs ·
Dear Friends
Some of you have been worried so I wanted to write here to explain why I have had to pull out of my Proms concert next week. I found out this year that a back ache I have suffered from intermittently was in fact a kidney problem (so no fault at all of cello which some doctors tried to tell me!). I have had a difficult 6 months of sickness and illness and , after trying to put it off , was forced to have to have surgery this Friday . I’m sure I’ll be quickly well and back to playing again after that! I am devastated to have to withdraw from a concert that has been in my mind, heart and fingers for almost two years and I will be very much with all the performers and my dear Brian Elias in spirit.It’s a fabulous new concerto as many of you will hear. A piece has to – and does- live on beyond its dedicatee and its premiere but I have to say this is a very sad moment for me!