Famous cellist fired for symphony of abuse

A Russian cellist with the Beijing Symphony Orchestra has been fired for abusing a female passenger on a high-speed train, people.com.cn reports.

Oleg Vedernikov, a 45-year-old award-winning cellist was sacked by the orchestra for damaging its reputation after a video of him cursing a passenger on the Shenyang to Beijing train on May 14 was posted online and sparking a wave of indignation.

Oleg Vedernikov, 45-year-old cellist who worked for the Beijing Symphony Orchestra was sacked for insulting a Chinese passenger. [File photo/sina.com]

The four-minute footage shows an argument between Vedernikov and a Chinese woman who complained about his feet on the headrest of the seat in front of him.

When he refused to remove his feet, the woman pelted him with newspapers and plastic bottles. He retaliated by cursing at her in Chinese: "You silly idiot," "You are insane."

The video was forwarded thousands of times on Sina Weibo, the twitter-like micro-blogging website, after it was uploaded on May 16.

Vedernikov himself also posted a video on the Internet on May 17, apologizing in Russian for his misconduct on the train.

However, his apology failed to silence the public's own orchestra of anger.

One blasted: "Why didn't you use Chinese language to offer an apology, since you can speak such good Chinese," a blogger named "Wei An and Susan" said on Sina Weibo.