Seattle Symphony Orchestra
Geiger breaks a string in the middle of the solo – he reacts masterfully
Violinist Ray Chen with his Stradivarius
© John Mac
Violinist Ray Chen made his big appearance in Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto. But just then a string on his instrument broke. The musician stayed cool – and even made the audience laugh.
It is the dream of many violin players: a violin solo on the big stage. The big nightmare, however, is closely related: If, of all things, a string on the instrument breaks, the spectacular performance is ruined. In theory, this can happen anytime, there is just hardly a worse time than during an important solo. On the other hand, such unexpected situations reveal the class of a musician.
Ray Chen has often proven what a master violinist he is – the 32-year-old is considered one of the best violinists of his time. At the age of eight, he performed at the opening of the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano. But when he performed with the Seattle Sympony Orchestra, he had to show his skills in a special way. In the violin concerto by the Russian composer Pyotr Tchaikovsky, Chen played the solo – and there, of all places, a string from his Stradivarius gave up the ghost.
Orchestra saves the situation with teamwork
A quiet but clearly audible bang can be heard on video recordings of the concert. For a brief moment, Chen looks at the conductor, slightly perplexed, the melody is briefly out of harmony, but the Australian-Taiwanese musician quickly begins to improvise.
The rest is teamwork: During a short break in his solo, he swaps instruments with another member of the orchestra and continues playing as usual the next time he is out there. Meanwhile, in the background, the cracked E-side is replaced in no time at all, Chen gets his repaired violin handed to the front again. This even causes brief applause in the audience during the piece – actually completely frowned upon in classical music.
Ray Chen takes the mishap with humor
But Chen also masters playing with the audience: when he briefly plucks the restored string of his instrument, he first casts an appreciative look at the violin and then at his fellow orchestra members. The audience reacts with laughter.
Even in retrospect, the violinist took the little mishap with humor. “I suggest using ‘break a string’ as a substitute for ‘break a leg’ in the future,” he wrote on Twitter. The E string, which was also Chen’s weak point, is particularly vulnerable because it is the thinnest string and the most tensioned. Therefore, Chen always has a spare string with him.
Sources: Seattle Symphony on Youtube / “Seattle Times” / Ray Chen on Twitter