Imagine being called at 9p and being asked to sub in for another performer for an afternoon concert the next afternoon in front of 2000 people.
It sounds daunting, but imagine that you had played the piece in concert just a few weeks before. Less daunting.
Now imagine you get on stage, and the orchestra begins playing a completely different piece, one that you hadn’t played in 10 months.
This is exactly what happened to pianist Maria João Pires in 1999 in Amsterdam. The look on her face as the first few bars are played is abject horror. What ensued was a conversation with the conductor, Riccardo Chailly, as he conducted and as the orchestra played, encouraging her to play the piece.
“I’m sure you can do it,” he said. “You know it so well.”
The tension was palpable.
And here is Maria João Pires talking about that day, 25 years later.
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