Something to think about

Joe Smith · Post by **Joe Smith** » 10 Apr 2001 12:10 pm

On Nov. 18, 1995, Itzhak Perlman, the violinist, came on stage to give a
concert at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center in New York City. If you
have ever been to a Perlman concert, you know that getting on stage is no small achievement for him. He was stricken with polio as a child, and so he has braces on both legs and walks with the aid of two crutches. To see him walk across the stage one step at a time, painfully and slowly, is an unforgettable sight. He walks painfully, yet majestically, until he reaches his chair. Then he sits down, slowly, puts his crutches on the floor,undoes the clasps on his legs, tucks one foot back and the other foot forward. Then he bends down and picks up the violin, puts it under his chin, nods to the conductor and proceeds to play.
By now, the audience is used to this ritual. They sit quietly while he makes his way across the stage to his chair. They remain reverently silent
while he undoes the clasps on his legs. They wait until he is ready to play.

But this time, something went wrong. Just as he finished the first few bars, one of the strings on his violin broke. You could hear it snap-it went off like gunfire across the room. There was no mistaking what that sound meant. There was no mistaking what he had to do. People who were
there that night thought to themselves: "We figured that he would have to get up, put on the clasps again, pick up the crutches and limp his way off stage -- to either find another violin or else find another string for this one.
But he didn't. Instead, he waited a moment, closed his eyes and then signaled the conductor to begin again. The orchestra began, and he played from where he had left off. And he played with such passion and such power and such purity as they had never heard before. Of course, anyone knows that it is impossible to play a symphonic work with just three strings. I know that, and you know that, but that night Itzhak Perlman refused to know that. You could see him modulating, changing, recomposing the piece in his head. At one point,it sounded like he was de-tuning the strings to get new sounds from them that they had never made before.
When he finished, there was an awesome silence in the room. And then people rose and cheered. There was an extraordinary outburst of applause from every corner of the auditorium. We were all on our feet, screaming and cheering, doing everything we could to show how much we appreciated what
he had done. He smiled, wiped the sweat from this brow, raised his bow to quiet us, and then he said, not boastfully, but in a quiet, pensive, reverent tone, "You know, sometimes it is the artist's task to find out
how much music you can still make with what you have left."

What a powerful line that is. It has stayed in my mind ever since I heard it. And who knows? Perhaps that is the [way] of life -- not just for artists but for all of us. Here is a man who has prepared all his life to
make music on a violin of four strings, who, all of a sudden, in the middle of a concert, finds himself with only three strings. So he makes music with three strings, and the music he made that night with just three strings was more beautiful, more sacred, more memorable, than any that he had ever made before, when he had four strings. So, perhaps our task in this shaky, fast-changing, bewildering world in which we live is to make music, at first with all that we have, and then, when that is no longer possible, to make music with what we have left.

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Playing PSG keeps you on your toes.

John Paul Jones · Post by **John Paul Jones** » 10 Apr 2001 1:43 pm

I heard him say on a talk show that he likes country music.

He went to Nashville and cut an album of hoedowns, once. I never did hear it. I would love to.

JPJ

erik · Post by **erik** » 10 Apr 2001 5:30 pm

that's why people like him are called virtuosos.

Ken Lang · Post by **Ken Lang** » 10 Apr 2001 8:01 pm

Wow! That is a quote that can be applied to so many things in life; not just music. Thanks for that, Joe.

Chris Brooks · Post by **Chris Brooks** » 11 Apr 2001 12:56 am

Good words from a marvelous human being. Thanks for posting them.

Chris.

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from the oasis ....

Chris Walke · Post by **Chris Walke** » 11 Apr 2001 8:41 am

Everyday, there are people who look at the obstacles and misfortunes in their lives and boldly decide that these barriers will not hold them back. Ever. And they use these hurdles to build strength, to fuel creativity, and to learn compassion. They disable their disabilities and become the most inspiring people in the world.

I was not aware of this aspect of Perlman's life. Thanks for the story. It is indeed something to think about.

Bill Rowlett · Post by **Bill Rowlett** » 11 Apr 2001 1:08 pm

I saw him play one of those hoedown songs on a live TV show one time. He was very good. At the time, I remember thinking that it was the best old time playing that I had ever heard.

Bill

Ron Whitworth · Post by **Ron Whitworth** » 12 Apr 2001 4:21 am

Hi Joe;
Thanks so much for posting this story..
This is GREAT!!.I have printed it out & will post it on my wall in my music room..I have heard it said that most all of the pro steel players can fold all their knee levers up & still play-WOW-I just hope that i can get there someday..Thanks Again..Ron

Don Walters · Post by **Don Walters** » 12 Apr 2001 3:26 pm

Man! I'd give almost anything to have been there for that!

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Don Walters
Carter D-10, 8p/6k
Session 500 with Lemay Mod

Frank Freniere · Post by **Frank Freniere** » 14 Apr 2001 4:52 pm

This story reminds me of a couple of Forum posts by our own Perlman/Paganini, Buddy Emmons, where he talked about practicing picking with different finger combinations at an early age on the off chance that he might lose a thumb or finger accidentally someday.

Robby Thomas · Post by **Robby Thomas** » 14 Apr 2001 7:54 pm

Thanks for that story.
It stirred my emotions just reading it, I can only imagine being there.

BJ Bailey · Post by **BJ Bailey** » 16 Apr 2001 8:20 pm

Thanks alot Joe for that inspireing bit of truth.And we seem to wan't to quit untill we can replace our broken 11 even tho we still have nine left