have you ever passed out during a performance?

[Legato]

I had a lesson early in the morning the other day.  I had been up late the night before and I didn't get a chance to eat anything before the lesson.  I started to feel faint right in the middle of a piece and had to stop.  Made me wonder if anyone has themselves or seen someone passed out/ fainted during a performance?

Rob

[ayahav]

David Helfgott is infamous for having had a nervous breakdown at the end of the Rach 3...

Watch Shine

[Antnee]

Passing out in the middle of a performance would really, REALLY suck...  

-Tony-

[Xelles]

The only possible reason any pianist has for passing out during a recital is they didn't have their good luck bananas before the performance!

[dj]

Passing out in the middle of a performance would really, REALLY suck...  

-Tony-

o i don't know about that, it might get you some attention....i mean ya never know what your big break is gonna b  

[ayahav]

sad but true...

[donjuan]

I know sometimes a peformance, or even just thinking about a performance can a have various effects on a performer.  I, myself suffer from various forms of stage fright.  I admit, I never have passed out, the worst that happened is when my hands were shaking, my feet were shaking and my heart was pounding.  

I gave a REALLY crappy performance, and what really sucks is when members of the audience tell you how "great" it was.  I hate being humored.  I would have felt better if the person told me what I should do next time.  The best teacher, in my opinion, is the audience- they have specific needs and afterall- isnt all music meant to be listened to?

donjuan

[Shagdac]

Thank goodness I've never passed out! As a very young child I cried one time....my first recital. As an adult, probably the worst thing that ever happened was I reached up to turn the music and all the pages fell off the piano!!!! Talk about embarassed. I never used music after that!  )(when performing)

Shag

[comme_le_vent]

passing out isnt the worst thing that could happen...
lets hope none of us do a 'barere'.

[Shagdac]

Hey Comme....what's a "Barere"

(almost afraid to ask)!!!!!!!!!

Shag

[DarkWind]

"Mr. Barere seemed to be in top form. His entrance solo was brilliantly delivered.  But presently this writer was puzzled by the pace of his performance, which seemed excessively fast. Then comes the passage after the violoncellos have announced the second theme, of developments discoursed between the piano and the orchestra.  A moment later it seemed as if Mr. Barere were bending over to one side, listening with special attention to the instruments as he matched his tone with theirs.  In another moment his left hand fell from the keyboard and in another second he fell senseless from the stool to the floor.  The orchestra stopped in consternation, someone shouted from the stage for a doctor, and with some difficulty the unconscious man was carried from the stage."

That's what I got from a Google search. Good ol' google .

[Rach3]

Perhaps some clarification is in order:

When Simon Barere suddenly passed away on April 2, 1951, on the stage of Carnegie Hall while performing the Grieg A minor piano concerto with Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Symphony Orchestra, the music world lost a colossal figure.

[Antnee]

Ouch....  

At least he went doing what he loved to do...


-Tony-

[Clare]

I was going to mention passing away on stage too.
I think there's an amusing story about one time when Liszt was feeling particularly florid at a recital, and at the end of some piece 'fainted' and had to be carried off, which made the audience go crazy.
It's in that book by Harold C Schonberg (among other books, I'm sure).

[Shagdac]

Louis Moreau Gottschalk collapsed during one of his performances of "Morte", (how appropriate, huh)....and was carried off. He passed away 3 weeks later in Brazil.


Shag

[JeffL]

As a student at the Royal College of Music in the 1960s-1970s I was at the performance of Rach. 3 given by David Helfgott. He didn't pass out - just took his bows as usual!(and there WASN'T a standing ovation).
According to film-makers pianists are always passing out during performances; just watch Ann Todd hit the deck after finishing the Grieg in "The Seventh Veil" or Margaret Lockwood sprawl in "Love Story" whilst playing the "Cornish Rhapsody".
On a more serious note, dizziness can be caused by holding one's breath as a result of tension during a performance. I've experienced that. One must make a special mental effort to relax when any kind of tension begins to make itself apparent. Of course, being completely "on top" of a work before airing it in public helps one's mental attitude enormously!

[Legato]

On a more serious note, dizziness can be caused by holding one's breath as a result of tension during a performance. I've experienced that. One must make a special mental effort to relax when any kind of tension begins to make itself apparent. Of course, being completely "on top" of a work before airing it in public helps one's mental attitude enormously!

JeffL,

Breathing is something I am definitely working on.  Even if I feel I have total mastery of a piece, once I get in front of an audience, even if it is just 1 or 2 people, my abdomen starts to tighten and things go bad.  Even if can get through without making a mistake, it's an uncomfortable experience.  Concentrating on taking deep, steady breaths (like I'm snoring without making any noise) seems to help.

Rob

[amanfang]

I almost passed out right after a recital back in March.  I had been having some health problems and the stress of the recital didn't help.  My teacher suggested taking a break after one of my pieces during the first half to give myself more of a break before intermission, but I was afraid that walking on and off stage, I would go ahead and pass out.  So I didn't break.  When I walked off stage after the whole thing and went to greet people after the performance, my duo partner had to catch me as I was falling.  I had to sit down the entire people were coming to greet me.  Just glad it didn't happen during the performance!

[ahmedito]

Sad to say, I have passed out, but I have learned from it and vowed to never repeat it again.

It happened last december. My wife and I were passing through an economic crisis since I was waiting for a check that came in late due to a strike at the bank. We had been eating really badly for 2 weeks and got the flu. I played 4 straight concerts in diferent cities: one solo recital, one recital with a violinist (Beethoven mostly), my piano exams and the last day, the Shostakovich first concerto with the schools orchestra. Id had rehearsals all week, with the violinist and the orchestra, not to mention my theory exams and practice time. AND I was preparing an important audition.

Anyways, I played Shostakovich even though I was running a 102 degree fever and I was really dizzy! (but I wouldnt have money for the doctor till I got payed, which Ironically was the same day this happened).
It went extremely well, even though I was in a daze most of the time. The last movement requires a HUGE physical investment, so when I got up from the piano and came on to stage for the second time (although I had no intention of playing an encore) everything went black and I fainted right there. I woke up backstage and got up only to faint once more. I woke with a paramedic above me. He told me I had the flu combined with anemia... It took me about 3 months to recover completely.

[pianojems]

Wow that sounds terrible. I had a similar thing happen to me last year. I was not feeling well, but I had to play my piano jury in college. After I finished I had to walk down some steps to exit the stage, and I fainted right as I was walking down the stairs. It seemed that I rolled right down them, and all my jurors were around me when I came through, and I felt really embarassed for a while. Now everytime I perform or go on the stage I get extreme anxiety at the thought that I might collapse again.

[bachmaninov]

As a judge... I've seen ALOT of nervousness on the stage. I think if you have SO much pressure on you, that you "pass out", Then you obviously are picturing "the worst case scenario"... and simply cannot deal with that!

The truth is... you "forget" or "lose" 30% of what you have learned in a piece when you are in front of an audience... Simple as that. Performing actually does involve luck too.

((One contestant in a competition walked up on stage... sat down at the piano... and starting crying uncontrollably)) --  I would much rather faint that that...

[Stolzing]

((One contestant in a competition walked up on stage... sat down at the piano... and starting crying uncontrollably)) --  I would much rather faint that that...

Did this student have a teacher named kulahola?  

[Spatula]

As a judge... I've seen ALOT of nervousness on the stage. I think if you have SO much pressure on you, that you "pass out", Then you obviously are picturing "the worst case scenario"... and simply cannot deal with that!

The truth is... you "forget" or "lose" 30% of what you have learned in a piece when you are in front of an audience... Simple as that. Performing actually does involve luck too.

((One contestant in a competition walked up on stage... sat down at the piano... and starting crying uncontrollably)) --  I would much rather faint that that...

Yeah sad case, very very sad.  If I were to do such a thing,  I probably just start doing some technique infront of the audience...yikes that would suck to burst into tears.... even before touching  a note