The Joy of Music

For a few years at secondary school I learned the violin. Unfortunately, I lacked the talent, and the application to become anything other than a beginner, but what I did learn was an immense respect for any instrumentalist who is really good, as well as an appreciation of classical, and, throughout life, of other forms of music.  Many years later, each summer, this enjoyment is given a boost through the availability of the Prom Concerts on Radio 3 and BBC TV.  These provide a substitute for actually attending the concerts, and provide an experience which is different from being a member of the audience, remote from the performers on a distant stage.

Recently there have been two contrasting concerts which, nonetheless, shared one thing in common: in both cases, the instrumentalist was a female violinist.  The first was Nicola Benedetti playing the lushly romantic Korngold violin concerto, a work which she clearly loves performing, an enjoyment which she shared with the orchestra and with her listeners and watchers.  What a TV performance like this provides is a view of the interaction between the solist, the conductor and the orchestra as together they make music.  There are moments of intimacy, flashes of humour, displays of team work.

The second event could not have been more different. Instead of a glamorous young woman fronting an orchestra, there was a solitary soloist on the Albert Hall stage.  Dressed in black, Alina Ibragimova  appeared to be a vulnerable figure, just her and her fiddle.  This was musical performance reduced to is essentials: a player and an instrument.  From the opening notes of the Bach sonata which was the first part of her performance, it was clear that Ibragimova was in complete control, and for ninety minutes, and from memory, she performed some of the greatest music ever composed: Bach's sonatas and patitas for solo violin.  It was a breathtaking performance.

This evening I've been 'attending' a performance of the Eastern Divan Orchestra, of which the highlight was the Beethoven Triple concerto.  Here was a chamber trio -- piano, violin and cello -- making music with an orchestra conducted by the pianist, Daniel Barenboim. What was so great was to see the interaction among the trio and their interaction with the orchestra.  A wonderful evening's music making.

And now, a complete change: the final part of a series of Frank Sinatra.  Such is the rich diversity of music and an enjoyment which had its start with my very, very modest attempts as a violinist.