Originally Posted by
jiejie
Well, if you're talking about China, it's that at the last minute, the government could pull the plug on the whole show, or demand some change in the music.
Though fortunately, these days this is more likely to happen with rock than with classical.
IME, this is usually just boilerplate. I haven't been to a music performance that deviated much if any from the original stated program. Normally there is advance description somewhere of what the program will be. I'm curious--have you actually attended concerts where a bait-and-switch happened? And if so, was it an international touring ensemble or a Chinese one?
All the concerts I've attended have been played as announced. It's just that in browsing for concerts to attend, there is too frequently no program listed. I've never been desperate enough to go to one with a blank slate.
Sometimes one can link to a Chinese website with listings in Chinese, but it takes a pretty good knowledge of the language to tell Haydn from Stravinsky--something one could do in Japan with knowledge only of forty-some kana characters. If they're going to the effort to provide an English-language posting, why not translate the program in addition to the venue and dates. Yes, Google translate helps, but not on posters one sees around the city.
As I write this I feel I am a cranky westerner, complaining too much!