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An inspiring story: Itzhak Perlman
Related threads:
Itzhak breaks a string (10) (closed)
BS: ponder this (Itzhak Perlman) (22) (closed)
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Subject: An inspiring story: Itzhak Perlman From: Genie Date: 16 Oct 02 - 10:07 PM My sister, who has been valiantly fighting a very aggressive hard-to-treat cancer for several years longer than she was projected to live when first diagnosed, just sent me this story. Any of you who have ever broken strings during a gig, any of you who have had to perform under adverse conditions -- in music or in life -- will probably find this story as moving and inspiring as I did. On Nov. 18, 1995, Itzhak Perlman, the violinist, came on stage to give a concert 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 has braces on both legs and walks with the aid of two crutches. To see him walk across the stage one step at the time,painfully and slowly is a sight. He walks painfully, yet majestically, until he reaches his chair. Then he sits down, slowly, put his crutches on the floor, undoes the clasps on his legs, tucks one foot back and extends the other foot forward. Then he bends down and picks up his 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 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 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 the stage - to either find another violin or else find another string for this one. Or wait for someone to bring him another. 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, you know that. But that night Itzhak Perlman refused to know that. You could see him modulating, changing and 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. Everyone was on their feet, screaming and cheering, doing everything they could to show how much they appreciated what he had done. He smiled, wiped the sweat from his brow, raised his bow to quiet the audience, not boastfully, but in a quiet 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." ------------------ Genie |
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Subject: RE: An inspiring story: Itzhak Perlman From: michaelr Date: 16 Oct 02 - 11:30 PM Whoa, Genie -- thanks for posting that! Truly inspirational. Three cheers, Michael |
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Subject: RE: An inspiring story: Itzhak Perlman From: Sorcha Date: 17 Oct 02 - 12:57 AM Yes. Thank you genie, for reminding me of this.......he is an amazing person, and an amazing violinist. |
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Subject: RE: An inspiring story: Itzhak Perlman From: GUEST,Bardford Date: 17 Oct 02 - 04:03 PM I was quite inspired as well when I first heard this story. I subsequently discovered, however, that it likely never happened. Perlman is truly a great musician, and it is not inconceivable to think him uttering those words. Indeed, he may well have at some point. Even if it ain't verifiable, it is still a valuable lesson. Here is Snopes.com on the issue: Perlman Legend There have also been a couple of other threads here on Mudcat: Itzak breaks a string And this one, Genie, started by, you guessed it- Kendall: Ponder This |
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Subject: RE: An inspiring story: Itzhak Perlman From: Cappuccino Date: 17 Oct 02 - 04:25 PM Excellent. - Ian B |
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Subject: RE: An inspiring story: Itzhak Perlman From: Don Firth Date: 17 Oct 02 - 05:30 PM You know, this is a very inspiring story, and I hate to be a spoiler, but I feel I must put a few things right. Why do I pounce on this? Well, there is something about this story (which, I learned some time back, is an urban legend, by the way—check here) that I find a bit patronizing and annoying in spite of—or perhaps even because of—its inspirational nature. To be honest, I'm not quite sure just why. But I think it paints an unrealistic and sentimentally "goopy" picture of otherwise perfectly normal people who just happen to have a physical disability. I have seen Itzhak Perlman on numerous television programs walking out on stage with his crutches and braces, and although it is fairly laborious and it tests the strength of his shoulders, it is not all that slow and painful. In fact, he moves fairly briskly. Also, some years ago, I saw a program about him that showed him at home and elsewhere, leading a pretty active life. Among many other things, it showed him standing, leaning against a kitchen counter with his crutches set within reach, preparing dinner for his family (he's married and has kids). He likes to cook, and he stands and moves around the kitchen when he does so. He leads a rich, full life, and not just through his music. Itzhak Perlman contracted polio when he was quite young. So did I. I got it when I was two years old. I had to walk with leg braces and forearm crutches just as Perlman does. During my teens and into my early twenties, I pursued a particular athletic activity (not Special Olympics) that people wouldn't believe I could possibly do, and yet I won medals and trophies doing it. There is nothing wrong with my voice and nothing wrong with my hands, and I began singing and playing the guitar in my early twenties. When I walked out on stage, I did it the same way Perlman does, with someone carrying my guitar out for me. I have full feeling in my legs (polio affects motor nerves, not sensory nerves), and walking with the aid of crutches, although it works the arms pretty good, is not painful. I, too, have led a rich, full life (granted, I haven't climbed Mt. Everest, but that was not on my agenda anyway) and I've managed to do just about everything I wanted to do. Anything I wanted to accomplish that I didn't accomplish has nothing to do with my physical disability. Someone once asked me if I regarded myself as handicapped. I really had to think about that one, because the fact that I had to use crutches to walk was about as intrusive in my life as, say, having to wear glasses. I responded, "Handicapped? I never really thought about it. It's damned inconvenient sometimes. But handicapped? I don't know." From the program showing Perlman in his various activities other than music, I'm pretty sure he feels the same way I do. It's inconvenient, I certainly wish it had never happened, but it's no big deal. I recall one late afternoon years ago. I had just come from putting in an eight hour shift at Boeing (making a fairly good salary, by the way). I had to change buses in downtown Seattle to get to my apartment in the University District. I was leaning against the wall of the post office at Third and Union, waiting for my bus. As I stood there, a little old lady, probably on Social Security, walked up to me, said "God bless you," and tucked a dollar bill into my shirt pocket. I took it out and tried to give it back to her, but she walked off, repeating "God bless you." Now I guess her heart was in the right place, but seeing me standing there with my crutches, apparently just loitering, she seemed to have leaped to the conclusion that I was poor. Jobless. A beggar. Unable! Once in a while (not often, fortunately, and none of my friends) I've had people who don't know me very well gush and commiserate over how difficult life must be for me and how "brave" I am to have made a life in music, playing the guitar and singing, despite my handicap. "Brave?" This attitude mystifies me. What is the alternative? Spend my life sitting, staring at a wall, and whining because Nature happened to play a dirty trick on me when I was a kid? There is too much I want to do! Life is too precious to waste it that way! There is something about this apocryphal story about Perlman that effects me the same way having that little old lady poke a dollar bill into my pocket did. I definitely agree with the moral of the story: "You know, sometimes it is the artist's task to find out how much music you can still make with what you have left." Not just music, either. This is a metaphor for life. Don Firth |
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Subject: RE: An inspiring story: Itzhak Perlman From: Uncle_DaveO Date: 17 Oct 02 - 06:14 PM Hooray, Don Firth! Dave Oesterreich |
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Subject: RE: An inspiring story: Itzhak Perlman From: Genie Date: 17 Oct 02 - 09:07 PM Ah, Bardford! Another great story reduced to the status of urban legend! Quite interesting, though, that it was Kendall, whom I thought of when I read the story, who had first posted it in the forum! (I was about to PM Kendall with a link to this thread and say, "Here's a story you might find of special interest.") As for the story being patronizing about folks with physical disabilities, I did not see it that way at all. I took the point of the story to be how Perlman could overcome the handicap of having only 3 violin strings (and, by extrapolation, how my sister and others fighting cancer might be inspired to make the most of the time they have left -- how that's what we all need to do). I still find the story inspiring, factual or not. As you say, Don, "This is a metaphor for life." Exactly. Genie |
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Subject: RE: An inspiring story: Itzhak Perlman From: BH Date: 18 Oct 02 - 07:15 PM Whatever---I was moved. The Perlman comment at the end of the concert was metaphorical---and rightly so. I have seen him and also saw his presentation on the PBS program In The Fiddler's House. Awesome---enough said. By the way---it makes the comment I heard last night on Charlie Rose by Andre Previn about his wife (many years his junior) that she is the "...the greatest violinist in the world" (his words) seem a bit pompous and certainly not modesty impaired. Bill Hahn |
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Subject: RE: An inspiring story: Itzhak Perlman From: Mr Happy Date: 18 Oct 02 - 07:43 PM . |
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Subject: RE: An inspiring story: Itzhak Perlman From: Sorcha Date: 18 Oct 02 - 09:49 PM There may also be a story somewhere about Paganinni doing the 3 string thing........I think I heard it somewhere. I would believe it of him. |
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Subject: RE: An inspiring story: Itzhak Perlman From: Genie Date: 19 Oct 02 - 12:36 AM Well, I know a blues guitarist/singer (and composer) named Michael "Hawkeye" Herman who once finished a gig with only 3 of his 6 guitar strings. True, he didn't have to coordinate with a symphony orchestra, and as a blues man he was probably allowed more room to improvise. Impressive nevertheless. I have no doubt that Perlman could do as the story says and may well have done something similar, even if the story has been embellished. Genie |
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Subject: RE: An inspiring story: Itzhak Perlman From: Kaleea Date: 19 Oct 02 - 06:23 AM I was in instrumental music all through school, including orchestra. I have attended numerous concerts over the years, and have heard many fine musicians perform. We are taught all about performance ettiquette & what to do in the event you lose your place, or some other calamity occurs. It is commonly accepted, even in these modern times, that if the string playing soloist breaks a string, she or he is expected to continue without stopping. This is what I was taught when I was a youngster in Orchestra, and many young & old time string teachers still teach this practice. As we say, "the show must go on!" Mr. Perlman is an amazing musician, & has helped many musicians to overcome their challenges & play & get the music education they deserve. Interestingly enough, I have seen one of my fav guitarists, Beppe Gambetta (from Genova, Italy; Bluegrass musician extraordinaire & some of the fastest fingers on the planet!) break a string-a common occurance for him as he picks quite wildly-& while another musician fills in, he takes mere seconds to put on a new string, & continues. One of the musicians he often performs with tells about the time they pere playing & Beppe had to run off the stage, out of the building, out to the car, & get a string, run back in, & when he got the thing on & wound, there was wild applause, & the other performer said "I don't know why he gets the applause, I'm the one who had to keep playing!" |
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Subject: RE: An inspiring story: Itzhak Perlman From: Peter K (Fionn) Date: 19 Oct 02 - 10:25 PM My god, how people lap up this sentimental tosh! And if you don't see anything patronising in the account quoted above, Genie, you can't have much imagination. The whole slant of the piece was to the effect that Perlman was a helpless zombie marooned on stage, and yet heroically triumphed over cruel adversity (rounding off the achievement with a few words of Shakespearian wisdom). Subtle, or what? Maybe Perlman got the idea from the English cellist Jacqueline du Pré, with whom he played on occasion. There was a report (London Daily Mail I think, and possibly other papers too) of du Pré breaking a string during the Dvoøák Cello Concerto. (I wish it had been Elgar's, from the accents point of view.) This was at a particularly moving concert in London in 1968, in support of Czech dissidents, just after the Soviet tanks had rolled into Prague. Du Pré reportedly played through to the end of the movement then fitted a new string. As someone noted above, it is the normal course for a soloist. (I saw Peter Schidlof survive a few bars on three strings at the end of the long middle movement of Beethoven's Opus 132 at the Wigmore hall around 1988.) I suppose the du Pré anecdote might be of little interest to some Mudcatters, as the multiple sclerosis that ended her career (and eventually her life) was not yet in evidence. I thought I'd given Dvorak his squiggly bits correctly, but from the preview facility I see that one of them has been translated into something completely different. Well I did try...... |
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Subject: RE: An inspiring story: Itzhak Perlman From: Malcolm Douglas Date: 19 Oct 02 - 11:11 PM Paganini is said to have inserted a razor blade into the frog of his bow so that he could, at a strategic moment, "break" a string and continue, to the astonishment and admiration of his audience, to play. It must have taken a good bit of practice, but it certainly achieved the desired effect. This may also, of course, be a myth, as the Perlman story appears to be. |
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Subject: RE: An inspiring story: Itzhak Perlman From: GUEST,Wolfgang Date: 21 Oct 02 - 07:36 AM On Paganini myths and thruths Wolfgang |
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Subject: RE: An inspiring story: Itzhak Perlman From: Donuel Date: 21 Oct 02 - 09:55 AM After reconstructive micro surgury to reattach the sensory nerves of the left index and middle finger, a cast was put on that only allowed the pinky and third finger to poke out. Surprisingly he could play anything of a moderate or slow tempo with no diminution of tone on the cello. Over time the strength of the 3rd and 4th fingers was enhanced. The surgeon had also overlapped the tendons and stitched them for strength since they were slightly severed. The blocking of the entire hand had to be stretched back over a number of years. Intonation sometimes gave way to the 2 finger method which had to be unlearned to an extent once some of the full range returned. With every passing year using whatever is left, is a truism no matter who you are. |
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Subject: RE: whatever is left From: Donuel Date: 21 Oct 02 - 10:04 AM Beyond music itself what this boy learned was not to swim into a whirlpool that had formed in a bend of a lake, since they have a tendency to suck people down where sharp rocks wait at the bottom. Years later the same person did not see the similarity of politics and the whirlpool and emerged with yet a new set of challenges. |
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Subject: RE: An inspiring story: Itzhak Perlman From: Peter Kasin Date: 21 Oct 02 - 02:48 PM I can see Don Firth's point. In a documentary story on Perlman (it might have been on "60 Minutes") which I saw about ten years ago, he bemoaned how some early concert reviews would focus on his polio and crutches, and give detailed descriptions of him getting on stage, which Perlman found very annoying. Yes, the ending quote is very wise, but I also detect a patronizing tone in the story. Chanteyranger |
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Subject: RE: An inspiring story: Itzhak Perlman From: Genie Date: 21 Oct 02 - 05:42 PM Fionn, perhaps the reason I did not focus on the, admittedly, mawkish and patronizing way the writer of this story described Perlman's physical challenges is that I just never think of him as someone with a disability. Most of the time when I've seen him on TV, he is already sitting down, and all I observe is an extremely talented, intelligent, warm person with a great sense of humor and wit. When I read the story and it mentioned his disability, it struck me that I must have forgotten that he had one (if I ever knew it or noticed it before). I never think of Itzhak Perlman as "someone who has risen above his disability." I just think of him as a marvelous musician and a wonderful person. Of course, I can imagine that the story, as printed, may seem patronizing to folks with MS, CP, in wheelchairs, etc. The story, as sent to me, did have some of that kind of saccharine preachiness so characteristic of the many "inspiring stories" that get forwarded to me via email all the time--partly because they so dramatized the way Perlman walks, but mainly because the writer felt compelled to add a few 'the-moral-of-this-story' sentences after the portion that I posted above. I think the story would be stronger if shortened like this: Once the violinist Itzhak Perlman came on stage to give a concert at Lincoln Center in New York City. Stricken with polio as a child, Perlman [has] braces on both legs and walks with the aid of two crutches, so it takes him a while to cross the stage. 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. People wondered how he would handle it. Would someone bring him another violin? Surely he would not have to put on the braces again and go backstage for another one. Would the music have to wait while he put on another string? 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. But that night Itzhak Perlman refused to know that. You could see him modulating, changing and 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 ever corner of the auditorium. Everyone was on their feet, screaming and cheering, doing everything they could to show how much they appreciated what he had done. He smiled, wiped the sweat from his brow, raised his bow to quiet the audience, not boastfully, but in a quiet 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." Again, though, the story of Perlman improvising so exquisitely on 3 strings and the comment he allegedly tossed off afterwards had special significance to me, given who it was who sent it to me. Had the story been told of Paganini, that significance would not have been diminished. Genie As for roadies bringing out substitute instruments, and as for most accomplished instrumentalists being trained to be able to play with one or more strings broken, I'll wager the average audience member does not know that and would still be quite impressed to see a virtuoso do it. It's still a matter of "...the artist's task to find out how much music you can still make with what you have left." |
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Subject: RE: An inspiring story: Itzhak Perlman From: Joe Offer Date: 23 Jan 07 - 01:52 PM Looks like this urban legend is alive and well. I received it as an e-mail this morning, with instructions to show it to my stepson, a wannabe violinist who does not believe he needs to practice. Hey, the story made it, word-for-word, into at least one sermon. And it was in the newspaper, so it must be true... So, OK, Snopes did a good job of refuting the broken string part of the story, but how about the part about the ritual of Perlman arriving on stage, and the audience waiting in silence? Fact or fiction? Has anybody seen a Perlman performance? I wonder what happened to the reporter who wrote the story. A couple of years ago, the Sacramento Bee fired a columnist, Diana Griego Erwin, who wrote heartwarming stories like this that later turned out to be fictional. I believe she had even won a Pulitzer Prize for her work. She was one of my favorite columnists, and it was a real disappointment when questions were raised about the veracity of her work. -Joe- |
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Subject: RE: An inspiring story: Itzhak Perlman From: Don Firth Date: 23 Jan 07 - 05:19 PM An apology and a warning. I do go on a bit here. "…how about the part about the ritual of Perlman arriving on stage, and the audience waiting in silence?" I've never seen Itzhak Perlman in person, but I have seen him several times on television, including his coming on stage. He does wear braces on both legs and walks with the aid of aluminum forearm crutches. He actually comes on fairly briskly, lifting himself and doing what is called a "swing-through," landing on one foot quickly followed by the other. Someone else is following close behind, carrying his violin and bow. Instead of standing near the conductor's podium as violinists, singers, or various other soloists do, he sits down on the chair which has been placed there, lays his crutches down beside the chair, and releases the knee-locks of his braces, tucking his feet back so he is sitting in a normal position. Then, the violin caddy hands him his instrument, at which time Perlman smiles at him or her and says a quiet "Thank you." He tucks the violin under his chin, then with a few quick plucks, he checks its tuning and makes adjustments if necessary (which only takes a few seconds). Then he looks up at the conductor with an anticipatory smile and awaits his signal. I've walked on stage and sat down in exactly the same manner as Perlman, with someone following me to hand me my guitar. I used exactly the same kind of crutches, but I needed a brace only on my right leg. Now—one can never know exactly what another person is feeling, physically or emotionally, but since Perlman and I had both contracted the same type of polio when we were young and it affected us in almost exactly the same manner, I presume that our physical sensations are essentially the same. Since I walked in the manner described (lift, swing-through, and land on one foot followed by the other, then do it again), it was not "painful," it was not particularly slow, and I hardly thought of it as "majestic." In fact, I didn't even think about it. The whole point was to get from backstage out to the chair in front of the audience, just like any other performer. In fact, both Perlman and I make the trip from backstage to the chair in about the same amount of time as any other performer. Not "one step at a time, painfully, and slowly." Now, I'm in no way trying to compare myself to Itzhak Perlman as a musician. I'm a halfway decent singer and I play the guitar pretty well, but I'm certainly not in the virtuoso category that he is. But we do share an almost identical physical condition. Currently I use a wheelchair. When walking with crutches this way, every step does amount to a push-up, and since the human shoulder just isn't designed for this, walking with crutches in this manner for seventy years can really bugger your shoulder joints. But until one gets older and starts noticing that he or she doesn't have the muscular strength one used to have, it just never occurs to think about it. By the time you become aware of it, the damage is done. I believe doctors and physical therapists should warn folks about this possibility. There are lots of situations where one could use a wheelchair and save wear and tear on the shoulders. But that's a whole other matter. True anecdote: I had a guitar student and friend who had heard about me—as a singer—and came one of my concerts. He told me that when he first saw me come on stage (as described above), it surprised the hell out of him. Those who had told him about me had talked about my singing, my guitar playing, and the songs I sang, but never mentioned that I walked with crutches. It just hadn't occurred to them that it was important enough even to mention. Loren (my friend and student) commented that since he had gotten to know me, he had noticed that the fact that I needed to use crutches to walk seemed about as important me as the fact that, to him, the whole world was a blur without his glasses. Important, yes, but he just never thought much about it. When he woke up in the morning, he just automatically put his glasses on and went on his way. Another true anecdote: Some years ago, I attended a workshop on making church buildings and facilities accessibility for the disable. It was attended mostly by members of the clergy. The pastor who chaired the workshop started what a bit of a bang. He said, "Well, I notice that about half of you folks have a physical disability and need prosthetic devices." People started looking at each other in puzzlement. There were about thirty people in the room. There was a married couple who were blind, and there was me. Other than the three of us, no obvious disabilities. Then the pastor said, "I notice that about half of you are wearing glasses." They had never really thought of themselves as "physically disabled." Most people don't, because glasses, which allow people to read, drive an automobile safely, and avoid bumping into things, are so common that nobody really notices them. Things like holding a door for someone on crutches or in a wheelchair is a nice, friendly, and helpful thing to do, and it's appreciated, but I think the last thing in the world that a normal person who just happens to have a disability wants is pity or sloppy sentimentality. Don Firth |
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Subject: RE: An inspiring story: Itzhak Perlman From: Cool Beans Date: 23 Jan 07 - 05:36 PM I have seen Perlman in concert several times. He walks out on crutches and sits down. No big deal. He did a great bit on "Sesame Street" some years ago. First, a child scampers an stage, picks up a violin and plays a tune haltingly. Then Perlman haltingly walks on stage with his crutches, picks up his violin and plays brilliantly. Then he turns to the camera and says (I paraphrase) "Some things that are easy for you are hard for me, and some things that are hard for you are easy for me." A nice, low-key lesson about abilities. |
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Subject: RE: An inspiring story: Itzhak Perlman From: Joe Offer Date: 23 Jan 07 - 06:17 PM I've never seen Perlman in person, but I've seen him occasionally on TV. The thing about him that strikes me is how much he seems to enjoy the music. I really love his CD of Jewish music, Live in the Fiddler's House. -Joe- |
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Subject: RE: An inspiring story: Itzhak Perlman From: Stewart Date: 23 Jan 07 - 06:52 PM If one string breaks the other strings would certainly go out of tune due to the difference in tensions. So that while playing with only three strings that are in tune would be difficult, playing with only three strings that are not in tune would be even more difficult. I don't believe it! Perlman is very good, but... And I also love his CD "Live in the Fiddler's House." But I think he's a better classical violinist than he is a klezmer fiddler. Cheers, S. in Seattle |
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Subject: RE: An inspiring story: Itzhak Perlman From: Amos Date: 23 Jan 07 - 07:55 PM How sad to hear it is merely a piece of wild imagining. It is certainly the sort of story I would like to believe about him, but I am not likely to now, as I have too much respect for Snopes. :D I am also guilty of having posted it somewhere around here lately, just in the interest of painfully full disclosure. Regardless, I love his playing when I can hear it. What escapes me is why someone would drum up such a story and circulate it, with all these details, in such a flurry of dubious creative energy? A |
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Subject: RE: An inspiring story: Itzhak Perlman From: bobad Date: 23 Jan 07 - 08:18 PM I once heard Mr.Perlman answer an interviewer's inquiry of why there were so many accomplished violinists that were Jewish with "It was easier to carry a violin than a piano when you were being chased across the steppes by cossacks." |
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Subject: RE: An inspiring story: Itzhak Perlman From: Jack Campin Date: 23 Jan 07 - 08:27 PM I didn't know Perlman was disabled until this thread - I have seen a couple pf performers arrive on wheelchairs (Alan Hacker and a cellist, either Tortelier or Fournier, can't remember which and don't care). But I don't agree at all with that slog-through-it policy. I heard a very well known clarinetist (okay, Michael Collins) try to do the Mozart concerto after his reed split at the start. The result was the crappiest performance of it I've ever heard or ever hope to hear - not many squeaks, but the music completely botched by his defensive attempts to avoid them. I would *far* rather he'd stopped the show, put in a new reed, and started over. It took me years before I considered listening to him again, and I still can't listen to anything he does without thinking "what a bozo". What is there to praise in doing a rubbish performance when you could do a first-rate one by delaying a few minutes? And the only time I've heard a broken string in a prominent place in a classical concert, the peformers did exactly that. It was the Shostakovich Fourth Quartet, which has a solo for the violin that goes way high. The E string snapped. Any attempt to continue without it would have been musically pointless, so they didn't try. The violinist replaced the string and they started over. Much the best thing. |
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Subject: RE: An inspiring story: Itzhak Perlman From: Genie Date: 23 Jan 07 - 10:31 PM I had forgotten about this thread or that I started it. My sister, who had initially sent me the story, incredibly and valiantly held on for 3 1/2 more years after I posted the 'urban legend' about Perlman. The 'music' she continued to make during her spiritual, scientific, medical, and interpersonal (e.g., parenting) journey, despite severe encumbrances and impairments from both the cancer and some if its treatments, is very much like the way Perlman is described in this story. The story may be apochryphal, but the meaning still holds: "Sometimes it is the artist's task to find out how much music you can still make with what you have left." Genie |
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Subject: RE: An inspiring story: Itzhak Perlman From: Joe Offer Date: 28 Nov 21 - 12:15 PM Hanukkah begins tonight. It's a good occasion to listen to Itzhak Perlman’s Chanukah Radio Party. |
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