And now, fourteen years after Bernard Holland's New York Times article on coughing at concerts, comes James Oestrich's review of an oxygen ventilator's clicking. I feel sorry for the sick concert-goer who's on oxygen and I hope for their sake they're not a NY Times reader. I'm sure it was annoying for Mr. Oestrich, but why not just try to move to another seat, and if there aren't any available, explain to the management that you're from the Times and maybe they'll find a way to set up a folding chair for you at the back of the hall? How about more sympathy and less self-centeredness? Readers from around the globe who'll never be lucky enough to hear Louis Langrée conduct Mozart and Stravinsky live were waiting to learn what Oestrich thought of the music. All they got was a few paragraphs of whining by a jaded critic who hears world-class concerts for free all the time. (Maybe next time the Times can send him to review the Smashing Pumpkins?) The whole tradition of spectatorial silence at classical concerts is a pretty recent phenomenon, anyhow...
In the meantime, you can watch Langrée's opening night concert from the comfort of your own computer:
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