Ariane Todes asks if string players deal with adversity particularly well

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It just took me 32 hours to get home from a holiday in Asturias, Spain, an epic journey that involved a combination of van, ferry, taxi, train, and lots of sugar and coffee. In the scheme of things I feel pretty lucky, but I’m supposed to go to Oslo tomorrow to visit the Menuhin Competition and the exhibition of ‘Ole Bull’ Guarneri copies. It’s looking increasingly unlikely, which is very sad.

The organisers seem to be doing an amazing job of carrying on regardless (a couple of the judges spent days travelling from England by car) but it’s upsetting when something that involves such meticulous planning and personal commitment is affected by such a random event.

On one hand it reminds us how over-dependent we are as a community on easy travel, but on the other, it brings out people’s determination and creative thinking, qualities that string players have by the planeload. (Or should that be truckload?)

Have you been stranded, rescued, forced to cancel a performance or asked to deputise? Has anything good come out of your experience, or have you suffered? Share your stories with us here.

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