You give back what you give away.

So I said I was going to write about yesterday. I just want to let out some of these things.

It was awesome.

Both the conductor and the guest violinist had that kind of attitude that could be perceived as either genius or insane. Or both. I’d heard their names many times before. The conductor is this really well-known Venezuelan musician that has been conducting since he was 12 (not kidding) and the violinist is this well known Israeli musician that’s considered one of the greatest of the last century (And since he’s Jewish, I ran into half of the Community. It’s kinda cute how everyone attends these events when there’s a Jew involved. And I mean this in the best way possible.)

I know enough about music to differentiate Mozart from Beethoven. I could easily recognize them in the pieces that were played. But I don’t remember a single note. I was too focused in noticing how it all came together. It was so precise, that kind of subtle precision that’s too studied to be fully mechanical. That’s where the gift of the conductor came into play - I could see that that’s the way those pieces sounded in his head, and he had a whole orchestra to make his ideas come true. And normally these kind of things lack soul because you can see the work that’s behind it, that’s not spontaneous and individual… but it somehow the music managed to keep its soul. That’s just magic.

It was like everyone’s feelings were just coordinated, showing themselves as one. Of course, in an orchestra it’s nearly impossible to stand out and that’s the idea. There’s no individuality, and while it requires discipline and must be rewarding, it sounds frustrating for everyone but the conductor. I don’t think many of them felt like their work actually mattered to their final purpose. But on the other hand, they didn’t seem like they care.

There was this kid yesterday… I think he was around 16 years old. He wasn’t good looking, but he had nice features. He was short, so he sat on the edge of his chair. Something else about his posture gave away anxiety and eagerness that had nothing to do with stage fright or being exactly nervous. Everyone around him was relaxed and kind of worn out, focused in obeying what they had practiced, but the way he behaved made him look like it was the first time he was playing those notes. It was the same dedication and concentration, but he seemed to be the only one who didn’t mind his sound blending in, even though he also seemed to have that kind of personality that stands out.

It was weird. I know that the idea of an orchestra is to all sound like one, but I hated not being able to hear what his violin sounded like. I’m sure his sound was different.