A percussionist used a massive hammer during Wagner and it went terribly wrong

4 December 2018, 17:36

There was a dramatic percussion malfunction during rehearsals for Wagner's Ring cycle. Eek.

Lorin Maazel's epic orchestral piece The Ring Without Words is based on Wagner's Ring cycle and features some seriously bombastic orchestration.

But things got even more explosive (and potentially hazardous) in one particular rehearsal this week – as this video taken by percussionist Yana Krichevsky proves.

A percussion malfunction sent the hammer's head careering into the brass section.

Fortunately, no musicians were harmed in the making of this video. Stay safe out there with your late-Romantic orchestral epics, guys.