Percussionist Waits 47 Minutes to Play Single Triangle Note, Misses It

Percussionist David Ping missed his single triangle note during Friday's performance of Bruckner's Seventh Symphony after spending the preceding 47 minutes motionless on stage with nothing to do, during which time his concentration gradually migrated from the score to his mobile phone. The triangle part in the Bruckner Seventh consists of one note in the second movement, arriving after approximately 47 minutes of orchestral music in which the percussionist has no role. Ping, who has performed the work before, reportedly began the evening with full attentiveness, gradually shifted to a state of what he describes as 'alert waiting,' and eventually descended into what colleagues observed as 'scrolling.' 'I was reading about vintage drum kits,' Ping admitted afterward. 'I had 47 minutes. The score was open. My eyes drifted. Then the silence came — the big silence before the triangle — and I heard it, and I looked up, and I knew I was late.' The triangle strike, which is intended to mark a moment of transcendent stillness in the Bruckner adagio, arrived approximately one beat after the conductor's cue. In the hall's acoustics, the delayed ping was, according to one critic, 'clearly, unmistakably, devastatingly late — a lone metallic interjection that sounded less like the voice of eternity and more like someone's kitchen timer going off.' Maestro Fortissimo addressed the incident diplomatically. 'The triangle is the most exposed note in the orchestral repertoire,' he said. 'One note, one moment, total silence around it. It is the musical equivalent of a penalty kick. David missed the penalty kick. These things happen.' Ping has vowed to leave his phone in the dressing room for future performances. He has also requested a second triangle note 'for insurance,' a suggestion the Bruckner estate has not entertained.