What’s an orchestra do to if it gets stuck on a plane, waiting for it to take off? Give an impromptu performance of course! That’s exactly what the Philadelphia Orchestra did while it waited for its plane to leave the Beijing tarmac.
According to The New York Times, the orchestra was traveling in China to mark the 40th anniversary of its trip there in 1973. The orchestra was chosen by President Nixon as one of the first American cultural delegations after his historic visit in 1972. The 2013 tour traveled around China, performing in surprising spots and finishing Sunday night in Macau.
However, one part of the tour that wasn’t planned at all is making the headlines. The Huffington Post reports that the orchestra and other travelers were stuck on the tarmac for several hours. A few of the musicians managed to bring their instruments out and decided to perform Antonin Dvorak’s "American" String Quartet No. 12 Finale.
The other passengers were surprised by the performance and took out their cameras to catch the moment. At the end, the performance was met with a wild round of applause.
“Now China has become one of the great audiences in classical music,” violinist Davyd Booth, who took part in the 1973 trip as well as the 2013 trip, told the Times. “Some people even go so far as to say the audience in China as a whole is going to be the savior for classical music. I can see that happening.”
You can check out the video of the plane performance here:
image: YouTube