<p>Renowned violinist Kyung-Wha Chung has publicly berated the parents of a coughing child during her first performance here in 12 years, shocking the audience and music critics.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The 66-year-old South Korean prodigy had been absent from the London stage for 12 years, partly due to a finger injury.<br /><br />She took offence at a child coughing during her performance of Mozart's Sonata In G at the Royal Festival Hall here on Tuesday.<br /><br />"Maybe bring her back when she's older," she scolded the parents from the stage.<br />The Royal Festival Hall said it had not received a complaint from the child's family after the performance.<br /><br />"At this time of the year in particular, coughing isn't uncommon at events at any venue," it said in a statement to the BBC.<br /><br />"We don't discourage parents or carers who wish to bring young people to an evening event and we do, where possible, check that they are aware of the nature of the event.<br /><br />"We are aware that Kyung Wha Chung is also a keen supporter of young people experiencing classical music," it said.<br /><br />Meanwhile, Anna Picard, music critic for The Times, said the atmosphere in the hall had already been tense, such was the anticipation surrounding the violinist's comeback.<br />"With one shrivelling put-down, a tetchy atmosphere turned toxic," she wrote in her review.<br /><br />British violinist Thomas Gould was also in the audience, and tweeted: "Difficult to be charmed by Kyung-Wha Chung's Mozart after her curious outburst at parents of a coughing child.<br /><br />"But the raised temperatures added an extra belligerence to her taut Prokofiev," he added.<br /><br />Fellow string player Elizabeth Stahlmann noted that there were "plenty of people coughing" during the performance and it was "not cool to pick on a child".<br /><br />Kyung-Wha Chung's concert was laden with expectation. Lifesize posters of her had even appeared around London declaring "The Legend Returns".<br /><br />She became an international star in 1970 after a performance with the London Symphony Orchestra, playing the Tchaikovsky Concerto. But her career was cut short when she lost the use of her left index finger in 2005.</p>
<p>Renowned violinist Kyung-Wha Chung has publicly berated the parents of a coughing child during her first performance here in 12 years, shocking the audience and music critics.<br /><br /></p>.<p>The 66-year-old South Korean prodigy had been absent from the London stage for 12 years, partly due to a finger injury.<br /><br />She took offence at a child coughing during her performance of Mozart's Sonata In G at the Royal Festival Hall here on Tuesday.<br /><br />"Maybe bring her back when she's older," she scolded the parents from the stage.<br />The Royal Festival Hall said it had not received a complaint from the child's family after the performance.<br /><br />"At this time of the year in particular, coughing isn't uncommon at events at any venue," it said in a statement to the BBC.<br /><br />"We don't discourage parents or carers who wish to bring young people to an evening event and we do, where possible, check that they are aware of the nature of the event.<br /><br />"We are aware that Kyung Wha Chung is also a keen supporter of young people experiencing classical music," it said.<br /><br />Meanwhile, Anna Picard, music critic for The Times, said the atmosphere in the hall had already been tense, such was the anticipation surrounding the violinist's comeback.<br />"With one shrivelling put-down, a tetchy atmosphere turned toxic," she wrote in her review.<br /><br />British violinist Thomas Gould was also in the audience, and tweeted: "Difficult to be charmed by Kyung-Wha Chung's Mozart after her curious outburst at parents of a coughing child.<br /><br />"But the raised temperatures added an extra belligerence to her taut Prokofiev," he added.<br /><br />Fellow string player Elizabeth Stahlmann noted that there were "plenty of people coughing" during the performance and it was "not cool to pick on a child".<br /><br />Kyung-Wha Chung's concert was laden with expectation. Lifesize posters of her had even appeared around London declaring "The Legend Returns".<br /><br />She became an international star in 1970 after a performance with the London Symphony Orchestra, playing the Tchaikovsky Concerto. But her career was cut short when she lost the use of her left index finger in 2005.</p>