The pianist from the audience at La La Land in Concert was a global feelgood story – but all was not what it seemed

When an audience member stepped in for a pianist at a Sydney performance of La La Land in Concert last month it made global headlines. During the intermission of the concert at Darling Harbour Theatre on 30 May, the two-time Oscar-winning composer and conductor Justin Hurwitz appealed to the 2,000-strong crowd for an “amazing sight-reader” , saying one of his two keyboardists had fallen ill. But now two musicians who were part of the orchestra have given a different version of events, saying the keyboardist left after tension between Hurwitz and the orchestra during rehearsals on the day of the performance. One told the Guardian the audience member stepping forward may have been “a nice sort of feelgood kind of moment” but it did not reflect the mood behind the scenes.