Bad air day: Lufthansa dumps harp

Bad air day: Lufthansa dumps harp

Orchestras

norman lebrecht

April 01, 2024

Airlines are now acting even worse than they were before Covid. We will shortly publish a list of the chief offenders.

Here, meanwhile, is the latest outrage – it’s from Andrew Lawrence-King of Opera Omnia:

Emergency! Lufthansa refused to accept my instrument, even though it has flown this route on this aircraft type many times before.
8 Baroque Harps needed NOW in USA for Jordi Savall tour. 1 day hire in each city, A415.
In order of preference: Italian triple, Italian double, Spanish double, Single Action, Harpsichord, Organ, modern lever harp.
I already have a renaissance single-strung harp with me. A415 essential. PM me if you can help. Thank you!
Tuesday 2nd April Washington DC
Library of Congress
Wednesday 3rd New York City
Carnegie Hall
Friday 5th Boston
Jordan Hall
Sunday 7th Ridgewood NJ
Tuesday 9th Athens GA
Friday 12th Berkeley CA
And 13th: 2 day hire
Sunday 14th Pasadena CA
Tuesday 16th Santa Fe

Comments

  • ENRIQUE SANCHEZ says:

    What is WRONG with these airlines? 🙁

  • zandonai says:

    All airlines are bad, so stop harping on Lufthansa.

  • GuestX says:

    I don’t get it. He has one harp with him. Was that the one Lufthansa refused to accept? Or was it the other seven?

  • Allma Own says:

    He’s not even a real harpist. He’s an organist who decided to teach himself how to “play” the harp. Any harp he finds, as if there are “baroque” harps in every city, are bound to sound better than his, which barks like a dog.

  • Dardanus says:

    I am very sorry, I manage a professional orchestra and we have never had an airline refuse an instrument. Basically because a professional management carries out the tedious task of giving the measurements, mass etc. of every single instrument that is transported and registered. Everything is perfectly clear. I have seen musicians lately complaining that an airline would not accept an instrument, but what they don’t say is that they disregarded the airline’s rules and showed up without giving notice or without wanting to pay the extra cost. I’m not saying that the rules are fair, nor do I know what happened in the case of Mr Laurence-King, but arriving at an airport expecting to be able to ignore the rules and with the excuse that in the past there had been no problem, seems to me, to say the least, unprofessional.

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