Unfortunate Occurrences

Was this the result of practicing the Precipitato to the Piano Sonata No. 7 by Prokofiev without warming up properly?

And we may never know what happened to this 300-year-old viola da gamba in the hold of an Alitalia flight:

This is what happens when you don't purchase a seat in the cabin for your cello:

I'm not sure what happened here: a group improvisation just got completely out of hand? The aftermath of a rehearsal of The Who, circa 1970? A really extreme case of bad karma?

Another instrument destroyed by an airline, but I knew a lutenist who had the pegbox of his lute snapped off by an elevator door closing. Never, ever carry your lute around in a soft case!

Why yes, I was stuck for a good theme for a post this morning, why do you ask?

Let's end with some soothing lute music. This is the fantasia Semper Dowland Semper Dolens ("Always Dowland, Always Sad") by John Dowland, played by Julian Bream.