Earlier this week a story appeared in the Canadian press reporting that the conductor of the Edmonton Symphony Orchestra, the revered African-American pianist William Eddins had, by virtue of an over-active arse, brought the cause and purpose of conducting into disrepute. Eddins, who played piano at the age of five and conducted the Chicago Symphony Orchestra when he was barely out of his 20s, was accused of being, wait for it, "rude".
'"He shakes his body, wiggles his bum, kicks his legs out, a chain hanging off his back pocket," complained one concerned and clearly confused fan of the classics. And she was just the first of many. It is, apparently, Eddins' bum-wiggling antics that drive these sensitive souls to howling distraction.
Prurient drivel like this was first heard back in 1958 when other enthusiastic writers of wacky letters chose to contemplate at length Elvis Presley's wiggling hips. Eddins should be congratulated for barely bothering to defend himself: "I am sorry that people find me rude. My wiggling bum was the first thing that my lovely wife claims she ever noticed about me, so I fear it shall remain." My problem is somewhat different. While you can hear audio of the concert here, I have yet to see a single video of his now infamous bum. Should any of you be able to provide suitably bountiful documentary evidence of it in action, then please post your links below.
