I’ve had this nightmare several times. I’m seated in a large
orchestra, dressed in concert black. The conductor walks to the podium to
thunderous applause. As the performance is about to begin, I notice the music
on all the stands around me is different from what’s in front of me. That’s when
I wake up in a cold sweat, relieved to find it was only a vivid dream. But it
actually happened to at least one pianist. In 1999, Maria João Pires was asked on
short notice to substitute for another pianist at an open rehearsal (before a
live audience) of Mozart’s 23rd Piano Concerto in A Major. The music starts,
and Maria is shocked to find the orchestra is playing Mozart’s 20th Concerto in
D Minor. She face-palms. Should she stop the conductor? Storm off stage? But,
as the introduction continues, Maria composes herself and, drawing from memory,
flawlessly performs the 20th. My hero.
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