One Shot Classical Quiz

Posted by: herm on 23 December 2002

Two not too bright guys

First guy says: "It's funny Tchaikovsky wrote only three symphonies, and called them the Fourth, the Fifth and the Sixth."

Second guy replies: "Well, he also wrote the First Piano Concerto."

First guy: "Yeah, and Rachminov wrote the Second Piano Concerto, and Beethoven the Fifth. But I wonder who wrote the Third and Fourth Piano ctos?"

Posted on: 23 December 2002 by Phil Barry

Um...are these (quasi-)quotes overheard at a concert or a record store?

If so, here's my all-time greatest overheard concert conmversation (shouted from 3rd floor to 4th at Hill Auditorium, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA in May, 1970 or '71, after a performance by Ormandy and the Philadelphians of Mahler's First symphony:

'Baeethoven would have said it in 15 minutes!'

Phil

Posted on: 23 December 2002 by Wolf

Last year I was at the Ojai Music festival with a friend (all 20th C stuff). After the Messian "From the Canyons to the Stars" one little old lady got up with her friend and said "Well that wasn't too bad was it?"

Posted on: 23 December 2002 by Cheese

At the end of the 80's, Harnoncourt did a concert in our town. He conducted some Bach concertos and played (himself) two suites for solo cello. The performance was soporiphic to say the least (especially for me because I had seen Rostropovich playing the solo suites a few months earlier).

Just behind me, between two movements, a distinguished spectator of respectable age said to his wife: "Uh. I'm glad HE travelled the 800 kilometers and not WE."

Cheese