Classical music has long been associated with heightened emotions, violent premieres, and composers escaping from disappointed audiences through windows and the like. But I thought those days were over, at least for classical music, until this headline caught my eye: Malmö performance of Mahler’s Fifth ends in brawl.
I leave you with the tension of the introductory paragraphs:
The conflict began shortly after the renowned Latvian conductor Andris Nelsons brought the bombastic introduction to the fourth movement to a shuddering halt, leading his Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra deftly into the movement’s slow, atmospheric adagietto, wrote the Sydsvenskan newspaper.At this point that the rustling on the second balcony became apparent, ruining the effect of the gently soaring strings and softly plucked harp for all sitting nearby.
What sort of a boorish buffoon rustles with sweet-bags during a classical music performance? That woman was an asshole. After the performance ende she should have apologized to the man who snatched her bag of sweets, and not take a revenge for her injured pride.
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In my experience, entitled assholes seldom see the error of their ways and genuinely feel that the world owes them an apology.