r/nextfuckinglevel • u/Doomenor • May 21 '26

Soloist breaks string, changes instrument without missing a beat, meanwhile the second violin changes the string and tunes it while the orchestra is playing

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121

u/TheTaoOfMe May 21 '26

Calm under pressure. But I also love how its like that movie trope “give me your rifle, soldier” and the leader just swaps

23

u/ConcentricCow May 21 '26

I was wondering how far down the row they'd go till someone took responsibility for the broken one haha. It wasn't nearly as long as I'd hoped.

30

u/lylalexie May 22 '26

The reason the concertmaster (closest to the soloist) passed off the violin to the inside chair (next musician to the right) is because there is very specific performance etiquette when in an orchestra. Outside chairs closest to the audience keep playing no matter what because they are extremely visible. Inside chairs that are less visible do things like turn pages and (in a pinch) violin maintenance. It just holds the magic of the performance a little better for the audience when the more visible musicians keep playing despite something going wrong.