It’s the page turner’s fault

Several years ago, Mr. Kalichstein hired a young music student who kept reaching across the score to turn pages from the bottom right corner, in the process obscuring several measures of the concerto. “Take it from the top!” the frustrated Mr. Kalichstein finally hissed; reflexively, the page turner flipped the score back to the beginning. “Since then I’ve been very careful how I phrase things,” said Mr. Kalichstein ruefully.

Meanwhile, pianist Marc Neikrug tells of a recital in Germany with violinist Pinchas Zukerman — and with a page turner whose attention to her personal hygiene was less than obsessive. “Even before we started playing, Pinchas took his music stand and moved 10 feet away,” said Mr. Neikrug. “I, of course, couldn’t do that. I started to take very deep breaths as it got closer to the end of the page so I would have plenty of oxygen when she lifted her arm and moved it in front of me.”

Joanne Kauf, “Some Page Turning Tales”, The Wall Street Journal, 7 April 2009

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