Saturday night the view from the palatial St. Louis Public Radio broadcast booth was obscure. With the stage lighting set low for Hubbard Street Dance Chicago, our monitors--which are functional at best--were displaying layers of darkness. Is the orchestra out there? Is David Robertson out there? Are the dancers dancing?
Publicist Erika Ebsworth-Goold was positioned backstage, but her reports via smartphone were not comforting--she could hardly see anything either. As always, the cracker jack announcing team of Robert Petersen and Adam Crane soldiered on.
It was time for the Brandenburg Concerto No. 3, which we figured to be an easier work to preview. Didn't need to try and describe dance because the Brandenburg was all orchestra. David Robertson takes the stage, gives the downbeat--Bach they go.
Except the downbeat wasn't coming. Robert had already given the audience the cue, "And now, the St. Louis Symphony performs...," which usually is followed by brief silence, then music.
Only the music wasn't coming, and through the murky darkness of the monitor, David wasn't giving the downbeat. Adam quietly, yet urgently, said "Go." They didn't.That "Go" may have gone on the air. If you heard it, now you know.
Robert picked up that there was some sort of technical malfunction, and was wise enough not to try to be specific--that is until Erika sent up the message: "Weijing's bow broke."
A screw had come undone at the frog (or heal) end of Weijing Wang's bow and rendered it unplayable. Fellow violist Morris Jacob was backstage and lent his bow. Problem solved. Music begun.
And it all got reported accurately through the age-old practice of the blind leading the blind.
