Japanese violinist Midori (Goto) performed with pianist Charles Abramovic last night. (I didn’t catch the name of the other performer — the guy turning the pages for the pianist.) She’s apparently a world-class violinist, and we overheard someone at intermission explaining how they’d been trying to see a Midori performance for years. The crowd was near sell-out and was very pleased with the performance. Midori was energetic with her whole body and produced sounds from the violin I never expected.
Bonnie and I mused about how much of the performance is skill and how much is art. Certainly it takes an incredible amount of skill to play so well. Surely there must be an art component, too, but I would probably have to see other violinists perform the same pieces to recognize the art component. Later, I read through the “Random Thoughts” section of Midori’s web site where she explains the importance of a performer’s interpretation of a work.
I don’t know if I had a clue or or it was something else, but I mentioned to Bonnie how the piano sounded sort of dull in the first set, and then we saw some guy spend the entire intermission tuning the piano. Maybe it just required a different sound for the rest of the concert, or just maybe I know what I’m talking about …
Celebrity sighting: Lee Buck front row and center.