Mozart, Andrew and Itzhak Perlman

Itzhak Perlman, arguably the best violinist in the world, came to Seattle this evening to play with and conduct the Seattle Symphony. The tickets were pricey, but even on our austerity plan I didn’t want to pass up this opportunity for Andrew to see one of the best musicians of our age. I asked Rosie if she wanted to take Andrew and go but she had a Stake meeting she could not miss. So Andrew and I made the trip into Seattle and had an evening we will never forget.

Is this the next Itzhak Perlman?

Perlman had polio at the age of four, but recovered enough of his legs so that he can walk with the aid of crutches. It was moving to watch the concertmaster come out with her violin and Perlman’s because he cannot carry it while walking with his hand crutches. Then he entered the hall slowly, using his crutches. His left leg which did not appear to bend much, would swing in a sweeping motion with each step. Hearing him play his multimillion dollar Stradivarius was a lifetime thrill. One could feel emotion in every note he played.

The program was part of the Mostly Mozart series and was a celebration of his birth which was January 27, 1756. Perlman played with the symphony in three numbers that featured the violin – Mozart’s Adagio for Violin and Orchestra in E major; Beethoven’s Romance No. 2 in F major for Violin and Orchestra; and Mozart’s Rondo for Violin and Orchestra in C major. While he was playing he also served as conductor. Then he conducted as the orchestra played two of my favorite symphonies – Mozart’s No. 27, and Mendelssohn’s No. 4 “Italian”.

I have long had a great love for Mozart and virtually everything he composed. When Julie was in grade school she wrote a book titled, The Life and Death of Mozart. In her preface of the book she wrote, "Dedicated to my Dad, who loves Mozart's music and me."

She was right on the mark about my loves but the order should have been reversed. Every Mozart piece seems perfect to me. The best explanation of Mozart’s genius I have heard is in the movie Amadeus, when Salieri explains it. He says, "On the page it looked nothing! The beginning simple... almost comic! Just a pulse... bassoons, basset horns... like a rusty squeezebox. And then, suddenly high above it, an oboe... A single note, hanging there, unwavering... Until a clarinet took it over, sweetened it into a phrase of such delight. This was no composition by a performing monkey. This was a music I had never heard! Filled with such longing, such unfulfillable longing. It seemed to me that I was hearing the voice of god!"

Mozart’s work is indeed celestial. So this program that emphasized his pieces was perfect for me. The world has never known a more gifted musician than Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. He wrote Symphony No. 27 when he was only 17 years old. As we were walking out of the concert, I said to Andrew, “Just think how much more Mozart could have written if he had lived another few decades. What a tragedy that he died at 35.”

The piece played just before the intermission was Mozart’s Symphony No. 27. In between each movement the audience gave a hearty round of applause, but it made Perlman uncomfortable. Right after the intermission, just before he was about to conduct the Mendelssohn’s Italian symphony, Perlman turned to the audience and said, “At the intermission I got an urgent phone calls from two important people – Mozart and Mendelssohn. They wanted to talk about whether it was appropriate for an audience to applaud between movements of a symphony. So I put them on a conference call and we discussed it. Mozart didn’t seem to care and said it was all right if the audience gave some applause. But Mendelssohn felt strongly that applause interrupted the flow of the music and so I think we should respect his strong feelings…” What a tactful, and humorous way to instruct the audience on proper behavior. He is a master teacher.

The audience was perfectly quiet in between the movements after that. I love Mendelssohn’s Italian symphony. Each time I hear it I think of the part in one of my favorite movies, Breaking Away, when the Italian cycling team comes to Bloomington, Indiana and Dave catches them in the race. The music playing in that segment is the Italian symphony.

Here are two attendees that were moved by the master and his concert

The performance was at Benaroya Hall in Seattle – a wonderful concert hall that is about 12 years old and seats 2,500. Every seat was filled for this concert.

It was one of the best and most memorable evenings I have had in a long time and I think Andrew would agree. I hope hearing a great master like Perlman, will inspire him to new heights with his violin.