#728 Musings Beyond the Bunker (Tuesday August 15)
Good morning,
There is no experience quite so quintessential to Southern California as an evening at the Hollywood Bowl. A great performance (even a mediocre one), coupled with good friends and an excellent bottle of wine, is as good as it gets. The concert we attended a couple of weeks ago hit a number of chords for me (pun intended), only some of which have to do with the actual performance.
STANDING UP AND SHOWING RESPECT
One of the most wonderful traditions of the Bowl is the orchestra beginning the evening with the national anthem (often under the baton of a popular figure or major donor). One doesn’t have to be a card-carrying member of MAGA to show respect for the American experiment and the ideals and values expressed by our founders, which generally have served us well. Singing along to start the evening feels good. We need more communal events such as these.
THE PROGRAM
The program itself began with the now seemingly de rigueur playing of a piece by John Williams, the 91 year-old ubiquitous composer for the movies. This was followed by the premiere of a Billy Childs violin concerto composed during COVID that sought to be evocative of the anxiety of the time (it was). The soloist delivered a virtuosic performance of this complex piece. Despite its newness, it followed the traditional three movement concerto form, incorporating both melodic and atonal elements. While I don’t always love modern pieces, I am happy to see that the symphonic canon remains open to new works. This one was pretty good.
The evening ended with Mussorgsky’s Pictures at an Exhibition (the classic Ravel arrangement). The piece evokes a series of paintings at an exhibition, ending with The Great Gates of Kyiv. The conductor, a Frenchman, began the evening after noting that music binds people through history and should be a reminder of our common humanity. He noted that this piece was composed by a Russian, describing a painting of a place in Ukraine, arranged and conducted by Frenchmen, and performed for an American audience.
The violinist, Rachel Barton Pine, played with gusto and precision. Her story of dedication to her craft and her violin (and, perhaps, questionable judgment…) is remarkable. In 1994, the strap to her Amati violin got stuck in a subway door in Winnetka. Rather than risking losing the $500,000 Amati violin, she wouldn’t let go. She was dragged over 300 feet before the train ran her over, severing a leg and mangling the other. She comes on stage in a motorized wheelchair and performs while seated. It is a tale of resiliency and commitment to her art.
At the intermission, I overheard two men speaking about how she reminded them of Heifetz, walking with his leg braces and crutches. Their recollection was almost right. That violinist was not Heifetz, but was Itzhak Perlman, who contracted polio as a child (news report to Robert Kennedy, Jr.: that vaccine actually worked and spared many children from a similar fate or worse). As for Heifetz, I have a wonderful historic Hurrell photograph of Heifetz playing the violin, which Andrea gave me for a birthday many years ago. The photograph captures the intimacy and intensity of a great master, violin tucked under his chin, producing remarkable music.
VIOLIN MEMORIES
My mother played the violin and introduced our family to classical music, and violin concertos in particular. At first, she dragged us and then we came of our own free will. As I watched Ms. Pine, memories of our many concerts ran through my mind.
I experienced a vivid violin memory the other day, when I purchased a turntable. The four albums I brought into the house first were in pristine condition (books weren’t the other things we were taught to take care of!), surprising the installer. They four albums were among my favorites and represent the eclecticism of my taste: Creedence Clearwater’s 1969 album, Duets, with Dave Brubeck and Paul Desmond, the original cast album of Sweeney Todd, and the Mendelsohn and Tchaikovsky violin concertos (yes, I know, it’s really “concerti,” but even I’m not that pedantic…).
WILL FUTURE GENERATIONS EXPERIENCE THIS JOY?
I worry that, in the rush to make sure schools teach the history that the parents want taught (from both right and left), we are failing to teach not only reasonable skills in writing and math, but an appreciation of the arts. As the conductor noted, music and the arts elevate us. Long after we forget who might have been in the news or on TMZ this week, culture will live on. Hopefully future generations will be taught to pause and appreciate the timelessness of great art.
While I do not believe in spirits or afterlife, I wiped a tear from my eye as the violinist played on, as I couldn’t help but feel my mother was there with us that night.
Have a great day,
Glenn