‘Brutal And Careless’
“A rare Heinrich Knopf bow belonging to Alban Gerhardt was damaged by security officers as he entered the U.S.,” the Strad reports.
“In what the cellist called ‘an act of brutal and careless behavior’, the bow stick was snapped in two, over the bridge of the cello, by air security staff at O’Hare International Airport, Chicago, as they examined the case’s contents.”
Gerhardt was on his way to a performance in Madison, Wisconsin.
Here’s a report from RT America:
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Here’s how the story unfolded on Gerhardt’s Facebook page.
Status Update February 6, 11:39 P.M.:
Arrived at last in Madison, 5 hours late after a 24 hour trip, missed most of the rehearsal – and the worst: TSA broke my favorite bow right in the middle. No idea how and why ;(
and here a photo of the poor thingy, taken at the airport last night…
Status Update February 8, 12:41 P.M.:
The editor read what happened to the bow on facebook, sent me an e-mail to explain and put it already on their webpage – that was quick!
Gerhardt later reported that he enjoyed the performance. “Great job, Madison Symphony!!”
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Comments welcome.
Posted on February 12, 2013