The conductor was nervous. It was the last performance of the season, Beethoven's 9th Symphony, and earlier he'd caught his basses passing a bottle around. So far the symphony had gone as planned, but this particular one required a little extra effort from the basses at the end. Taking a deep breath, he cued the basses for the grand finale and succeeded in knocking his music stand over. As the sheet music scattered in every direction, his worst fear was realized; it was the bottom of the 9th, no score, and the basses were loaded.