Audience member throws bra at Ray Chen after a rousing Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto
19 January 2024, 15:09 | Updated: 19 January 2024, 15:44
An appreciative audience member threw their underwear onto the stage after Chen’s stirring performance of Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto in Munich.
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Amid rapturous applause from a Munich audience, an unidentified object flew onto the stage as star Taiwanese-Australian violinist Ray Chen took a bow.
He’d just performed Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto alongside the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and conductor Thomas Søndergård on the third night of their European tour, when an audience member had a somewhat unusual reaction to the night’s performance.
It’s hard not to be moved by Tchaikovsky’s concerto, but one audience member in particular had something to get off their chest.
From somewhere in the venue’s upper gallery a black bra soared through the air, landing amongst the first violins of the RSNO.
A chuckle passed through the section as they handed the undergarment forward towards Chen, who accepted the item with surprise and disbelief.
He told Classic FM: “My first thoughts were, ‘No way, is this actually what I think it is?!’
“The orchestra thought it was hilarious,” he continued. “Everyone was quite excited. It felt a bit like a rock concert.”
Read more: Violinist Ray Chen plays a beautiful serenade for two horses
“I just got thrown my first bra,” Chen posted on social media. “If only I could tell my 13-year-old self: If you practice hard enough and sound good, people will throw themselves (and their underwear) at you.”
He shared a close up photo of the bra, revealing one cup adorned with a hand-stitched treble clef.
This wasn’t the first eventful night of Chen’s tour, or the last! A broken string interrupted his performance the previous evening in Eindhoven, Netherlands, and the following night in Mannheim.
Not to mention Chen’s catastrophic string break and masterful recovery that went viral in 2021, whilst playing the very same Tchaikovsky concerto with the Seattle Symphony Orchestra...
Read more: When soloist Ray Chen snapped a string mid-Tchaikovsky, and handled it like a boss
As for the bra’s owner, they’re yet to come forward, but it’s wonderful to know that Ray Chen has such supportive fans.
Bra-vo, to all involved.