The case of the missing cello
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2016
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The case of the missing cello
I've been following the tweets of @zoeCello (Zoe Keating) this evening - she's a fabulous cellist who uses loops to create amazing soundscapes, wonderful. I don't know her personally but I'm a big fan of her music.
Anyway, she's reporting that BA have lost her cello between Dusseldorf and London, so thought I'd post just in case anyone in the know can give her some info.
Losing an instrument for a musician is like losing a limb, she's bereft.
Anyway, she's reporting that BA have lost her cello between Dusseldorf and London, so thought I'd post just in case anyone in the know can give her some info.
Losing an instrument for a musician is like losing a limb, she's bereft.
#3
Join Date: Sep 2015
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There are quite a few that are doing just that. Seat booked for Mr or Mrs Cello. Does get complicated on international flights as the UK requires API for Mr/Mrs Cello.
#4
Join Date: Dec 2009
Location: Flatland
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You can order an extra seat for a cello.
You do have to know this is possible, do it correctly (not by buying a second ticket for a second passenger called "Mr Cello"!) and get whoever is paying for the ticket to pay for it (and afford it yourself if you're paying). Musicians are not always well off.
In any case, passengers should not be blamed for airlines losing luggage.
You do have to know this is possible, do it correctly (not by buying a second ticket for a second passenger called "Mr Cello"!) and get whoever is paying for the ticket to pay for it (and afford it yourself if you're paying). Musicians are not always well off.
In any case, passengers should not be blamed for airlines losing luggage.
#5
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: London
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Posts: 1,675
Maybe wrongly Id assumed there was a proper procedure for this. Using a fake name, descriptive or otherwise, would obviously be problematic.
#7
Join Date: Sep 2017
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I've been following the tweets of @zoeCello (Zoe Keating) this evening - she's a fabulous cellist who uses loops to create amazing soundscapes, wonderful. I don't know her personally but I'm a big fan of her music.
Anyway, she's reporting that BA have lost her cello between Dusseldorf and London, so thought I'd post just in case anyone in the know can give her some info.
Losing an instrument for a musician is like losing a limb, she's bereft.
Anyway, she's reporting that BA have lost her cello between Dusseldorf and London, so thought I'd post just in case anyone in the know can give her some info.
Losing an instrument for a musician is like losing a limb, she's bereft.
#8
Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2016
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To be fair to her, I think she does, she's An experienced international musician. I suspect she was a victim of the "for operational reasons..." thing. But anyway that's hardly the point, was really just asking to see if any inside info. If not then hopefully official channels will work this morning.
It reached the Tarmac airside, so a little disturbing if it got lost from there I guess.
It reached the Tarmac airside, so a little disturbing if it got lost from there I guess.
#9
Moderator, Iberia Airlines, Airport Lounges, and Ambassador, British Airways Executive Club
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It's been found, BA and DUS airport were painfully aware of this problem and went the extra mile. It's now en route to London.
#11
Join Date: May 2012
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I expect it's more that all musicians would prefer to bring their own, but pianists grudgingly accept that it is beyond the limits of practicality.
#12
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: London
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Pianos are relatively robust and highly engineered to mechanical perfection - much more standardised at the top end.
String players are very, very protective of their instruments - she must have been horrified. I'm an orchestral conductor and during my last performance at a large music festival in the UK, there was a dedicated storage container and security man for the string orchestra to store their instruments. They were still nervous when out and about between performances!
#13
Join Date: Aug 2006
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It’s not unlike getting used to a new car. While it gets you from A to B, finding the right settings for the windscreen wipers and headlights are not all the same, the clutch bite is different, the accelerator response isn’t the same, the brakes behave differently, etc. After a while you learn the subtleties and adapt, and it becomes second nature, but it takes time, and it’s not unusual to stall and judder while you do so.
#15
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String instruments are definitely considered to be amongst the most sensitive and personalised - with players having preference over things like the resin used, the type of bow-hair, the brand of strings, how long they need to be played in before they are ready for a concert etc.
Pianos are relatively robust and highly engineered to mechanical perfection - much more standardised at the top end.
String players are very, very protective of their instruments - she must have been horrified. I'm an orchestral conductor and during my last performance at a large music festival in the UK, there was a dedicated storage container and security man for the string orchestra to store their instruments. They were still nervous when out and about between performances!
Pianos are relatively robust and highly engineered to mechanical perfection - much more standardised at the top end.
String players are very, very protective of their instruments - she must have been horrified. I'm an orchestral conductor and during my last performance at a large music festival in the UK, there was a dedicated storage container and security man for the string orchestra to store their instruments. They were still nervous when out and about between performances!
Now I am mostly a pianist and I can make do on almost any instrument, even occasionally on electronic ones! String instruments are different creatures I'm afraid. It's interesting to note that good string instruments typically accrue in value whereas pianos just become more knackered and valueless with time.
When I'm conducting, easy enough to put the baton in its long case and off I go, you'd think. But I occasionally I run into problems at security with it. And once, security at Frankfurt found my tuning fork (useful if you're rehearsing a choir).
In this case, the subject of the thread, I am glad the instrument turned up. I guess she won't let herself get separated from it again!