Is it Okay for a Musician to Give an Intentionally Mediocre Performance? — The Nightingale’s Sonata

Many years ago, my grandmother, Lea Luboshutz, and her pianist son, my uncle Boris Goldovsky, were scheduled to give a recital in Florida. My grandmother, being a nervous traveler, opted to go a few days early. As they were checking into the hotel, the desk clerk, seeing my grandmother’s violin case, said it was so interesting that there was another violinist staying at the hotel who was playing a concert that very night. When they learned it was the great Jascha Heifetz, a family friend and a musician they greatly admired­, they asked where they could purchase tickets. The desk clerk didn’t seem to know, but he did know where the concert was to take place and he mentioned a large hall. Not seeing anything about the concert in the newspaper, they decided to eat an early dinner, and go to the hall to purchase tickets, hoping the concert was not sold out.

My grandmother always liked to arrive at a hall early, even when someone else was playing, so she was not surprised when they were the first audience members to enter the auditorium. But as time passed and very few people joined them, they began to wonder whether there was some mistake. The time of the concert arrived and there were fewer than a hundred people in a hall with a capacity of nearly 2,000 seats. Ten minutes later, Heifetz arrived on stage with his pianist, took one look at the paltry audience, and proceeded to play very poorly. My grandmother and uncle could not believe what they were hearing. This was one of the violinists they most admired, a musician whose performances never departed from near perfection. This sounded like the playing of a mediocre student.

At intermission, my relatives had to decide what to do. On the one hand, if they went backstage, it was clearly going to be embarrassing. On the other, if Heifetz had spied them in the sparsely filled hall during the first half or even if he hadn’t and it got out that they had been at the performance and had not gone backstage to say “hello,” it would lead to even greater embarrassment. They decided to go greet the artist.

Heifetz was in a surly mood when they arrived. “What are YOU doing here?” he growled. But my grandmother, who was always most polite, spoke about how wonderful it was to see him as always, news about mutual friends, their own upcoming concert in a couple of days, and other small talk.

When the second half started, everything changed. According to my grandmother, “He played like a God. Just what one would expect from Jascha Heifetz.”

Later they learned the back story. A wealthy gentleman who had visions of becoming a concert presenter, had engaged Heifetz to play the concert but had no knowledge of how to promote it. When the violinist, who regularly played to sold out halls, saw the empty auditorium, he was infuriated and played badly… obviously intentionally. Once he knew fellow musicians and friends were in the house, he resorted to his usual superb playing.

Factors (Excuses?) for a Less than Stellar Performance

Many would say a musician should never resort to such a practice and I would agree. However, what if we were to modify the question somewhat? Let’s acknowledge the tremendous effort it takes for musicians to play or sing at top form and ask if there are situations when a performer may not give his or her absolute best? Non-musicians may be unable to appreciate the mental concentration, nervous energy, and physical dexterity involved in maintaining a musician’s peak performance. Likewise, it is difficult to appreciate the toll of being on the road for days, weeks, and sometimes months on end, playing program after program and often dealing with social and media commitments in addition. Having spoken to many musicians about this and having been a touring musician myself (I did fourteen tours with my uncle’s opera company as flutist and company manager), I enumerate some occasions when musicians may not endeavor to give their absolute best (and this list is hardly comprehensive).