Bravo!
Friday night I went to see Joshua Bell, violinist, at the Centrum (which just happens to be the place where I work). I was very excited to see a talent of this caliber play live. This was also the first time that I have taken the time to see a concert that was being hosted by my work.
The place was completely abuzz as we all anticipated his arrival. He was due to arrive on Thursday to teach a master class to local high schoolers that were interested in pursuing a career in classical music performance. The next morning everyone was talking about his generosity and kindness to all of the students. No one could believe how gracious he was and how well he
talked with all of the students about the life of a musician on the road and the demanding standards that are expected from a classical soloist. He seemed to be just to good to be true.
That night I met up with two friends and proceeded to the concert. We had great seats and started to truly enjoy the concert. But then, bum, bum, bum...Something happened. A lady in the front row (which is literally two feet away from Joshua Bell) gets up and walks to the back of the theatre (down the center aisle) in the middle of the first piece that he is playing. I notice that she distracts Bell by the fact that he opens his eyes, takes a slight step, and watches her leave. Not two minutes later(while he is still playing) the ushers let her come back into the theatre with her husband and trek down to the front row again. This distraction bothered a lot of people in the auditorium. But, I quickly forgot it and continued to enjoy the concert.
At the intermission I went to find a few of the people that I work with and asked how things were going. They said that the woman did distract Bell and he proceeded to throw a little hissy-fit on the side of the stage over it. I laughed and came to the conclusion that he had become a little bit of a prima donna.
The concert proceeded with some amazing pieces and truly fabulous playing. I really don't think it's fair to have that much talent all packed into one person. It's not fair to the rest of us average people. Monday morning I found the real scoop: It seems that the woman that got up, stumbled (drunkenly) and ran into the stage. The organist that I work with (Jay) said that she hit so hard that he felt the shaking where he was sitting behind the pianist. No one really blamed Bell for his little outburst about the distraction (since it turns out that he was more angry about the ushers that let her back in while he was still playing). Which I have to agree is unacceptable. What I can't believe is the shear audacity and disrespect that people have for musicians of Bell's caliber. Not only were two women next to me taking about five minutes to rustle out candy in the middle of the concert, but a man behind me fell asleep and began to snore and no one around him would nudge him to wake him up. The sad part is that the acoustics in the Centrum are so amazing that you can hear every little pin-drop on the stage.
But, the report was that in the end J. Bell was very pleased with the concert as a whole. He truly enjoyed the concert hall and the acoustics that it produced; and would be proud to come back another time. So all is well.
If you aren't familiar with the works of Joshua Bell I would like to recommend the CD "Romance of the Violin" or his newest recording "Tchaikowsky". His talent is also demonstrated beautifully on the Grammy award winning soundtrack to the Red Violin.
The place was completely abuzz as we all anticipated his arrival. He was due to arrive on Thursday to teach a master class to local high schoolers that were interested in pursuing a career in classical music performance. The next morning everyone was talking about his generosity and kindness to all of the students. No one could believe how gracious he was and how well he
talked with all of the students about the life of a musician on the road and the demanding standards that are expected from a classical soloist. He seemed to be just to good to be true.That night I met up with two friends and proceeded to the concert. We had great seats and started to truly enjoy the concert. But then, bum, bum, bum...Something happened. A lady in the front row (which is literally two feet away from Joshua Bell) gets up and walks to the back of the theatre (down the center aisle) in the middle of the first piece that he is playing. I notice that she distracts Bell by the fact that he opens his eyes, takes a slight step, and watches her leave. Not two minutes later(while he is still playing) the ushers let her come back into the theatre with her husband and trek down to the front row again. This distraction bothered a lot of people in the auditorium. But, I quickly forgot it and continued to enjoy the concert.
At the intermission I went to find a few of the people that I work with and asked how things were going. They said that the woman did distract Bell and he proceeded to throw a little hissy-fit on the side of the stage over it. I laughed and came to the conclusion that he had become a little bit of a prima donna.
The concert proceeded with some amazing pieces and truly fabulous playing. I really don't think it's fair to have that much talent all packed into one person. It's not fair to the rest of us average people. Monday morning I found the real scoop: It seems that the woman that got up, stumbled (drunkenly) and ran into the stage. The organist that I work with (Jay) said that she hit so hard that he felt the shaking where he was sitting behind the pianist. No one really blamed Bell for his little outburst about the distraction (since it turns out that he was more angry about the ushers that let her back in while he was still playing). Which I have to agree is unacceptable. What I can't believe is the shear audacity and disrespect that people have for musicians of Bell's caliber. Not only were two women next to me taking about five minutes to rustle out candy in the middle of the concert, but a man behind me fell asleep and began to snore and no one around him would nudge him to wake him up. The sad part is that the acoustics in the Centrum are so amazing that you can hear every little pin-drop on the stage.
But, the report was that in the end J. Bell was very pleased with the concert as a whole. He truly enjoyed the concert hall and the acoustics that it produced; and would be proud to come back another time. So all is well.
If you aren't familiar with the works of Joshua Bell I would like to recommend the CD "Romance of the Violin" or his newest recording "Tchaikowsky". His talent is also demonstrated beautifully on the Grammy award winning soundtrack to the Red Violin.
posted by Hayley | 3:07 PM
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