Pianist Recovers After Orchestra Plays The Wrong Concerto

As the orchestra begins to play a Mozart concerto, renowned pianist Maria João Pires’ face forms into a panicked smile and she drops her head into her hand.

The orchestra is playing the wrong concerto. As Mozart’s no. 20 in D minor K466 rings out in the auditorium, played by the Amsterdam Concertgebouw conducted by Riccardo Chailly, the pianist stares off and speaks to the conductor momentarily, telling him she had prepared to play something else.

“You played it last season, you know it so well,” the conductor says to a frantic Pires.

She collects herself, pulls away and rubs her face, looking worried, then places her fingers on the piano and proceeds to play.