The year is 1990. I am a fifth grader at the American International School in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and a first year violin student in Mrs. Meisinger’s “Beginning Strings” class. The course is part of the curriculum, and we have classes several times a week in the “music room.” Customized wooden racks line the walls of the classroom, and each morning, I stop by to deposit my violin into its slot on my way to my homeroom. To the right of the chalkboard, just above it, is the poster of a young man, looking to be in his late teens, arms crossed, and a youthful but mature smile on his face. He is holding a violin diagonally across him. The poster spells the name “JOSHUA BELL”. Announcing a performance at Carnegie Hall. With a program of Beethoven, Kreizler, and who not.
I fall for him. Well, not in “that” sense. But, I am impressed, awed by his talent. Already drawing worldwide attention at that young age. Playing the most difficult of pieces with professional dexterity. And, making headlines with performances at the most prestigious of performance halls. I have one wish: Just one day, some day, in my life, to see him in the flesh, watch him perform live somewhere in the world.
The chance came some seventeen years later – in 2007, at Iş Sanat, with Joshua Bell as the featured star of St. Martin in the Fields. By then Joshua Bell has grown into a violin superstar and is renowned throughout the world. His Istanbul concert sells out within minutes – literally. By some stroke of luck, nothing short of a miracle, I have somehow landed on two tickets just hours before the concert. I couldn’t have been more excited if I had won the lottery. I spend the day beaming to myself and just radiating joy and anticipation. I welcomed his presence on stage with a wide grin on my face, the Cheshire cat of the audience. In the months and years that follow, fate has me compensate for all those years without. I find myself at a Joshua Bell recital almost every single year. And I am forever grateful to Iş Sanat for that.
My latest encounter with him was last week, at the Zorlu Center PSM, courtesy of Piu Music. This program was of Joshua Bell’s own, a personal recital, in the accompaniment of pianist Alessio Box. In his previous visits, Bell had been the “featured guest soloist” of part of a greater program. Yes, it would be his name that received the greatest attention. But “officially,” the program would be of Orchestra X, with Bell performing as the guest star during a specific segment of the evening. But tonight, I would have Joshua Bell solo, for the entire program.
In the colossal performance hall, I was seated in the middle of row three, just a few feet from Bell. Yes… row three. Able to observe every single note that he drew from the string. And every single movement of the bow. Catch the most pianissimo of notes on the violin, observe his the shift in positions, the techniques and every single feat that he performed on the violin. Hear the slightest slur of the bow on the string, and the swiftest of grace notes. And enjoy also every single note of the grand piano, with a full view of Alessio Box’s hands gliding across and caressing the piano. And my favorite artistic indulgence in every concert: the reflections of the piano chords on the raised piano board, reflected on the black lacquer of the Steinway like reflections on a crystal clear pond.
Grieg’s Sonata No. 1 in F Major (Op. 8)….Prokofiev’s Sonata No. 1 in F Minor (Op. 80)…. Schubert’s Violin Sonata in A Major, Op. 162, D574, dubbed the “grand duo”. Moments in heaven. And “grand duets” in all the pieces. Bell and Box engaged in duet’s musical echoes, dialog and accompaniments of compositional perfection. Alessio introduced the chords and phrases, and Bell took them on and interpreted them, echoed them, played around the theme, built on it. Or transitioned into compositions of its own. The compositional genius of the masters fused with the prodigal mastery of Joshua Bell and impeccable accompaniment of Alessio Box. And “Vocalise” of Rachmaninoff as the intricate, yet graceful, finale of the evening.
Joshua Bell playing Rachmaninoff’s Vocalise
The evening also gave me a new perspective on Bell. Yes, Joshua Bell is a superstar and one of the most sought after names in the world of classical music. Yet, I have “known” him ever since his first years as the prodigious teenager making headlines. Until now, I had somehow watched him as a continuation of that. A phenomenal talent and a superstar, but most of all, “my Joshua of 1989”. It was perhaps that he hides his age really well. And, his playing is always fresh and rejuvenating. But tonight I saw him in the light that I see Itzhak Perlman or Gidon Kremer. As one of the “masters”. As one of the “elders” and “patriarchs” of the world of strings. A name that will become embedded in the history of strings and that will inspire future generations of violinists the way that Yehudi Menuhin or Kreisler do.
It was an evening out of the heavens. Only one more thing could have made it better: The program leaflet distributed left out any information on Alessio Box, who shared the stage with Joshua Bell the entire evening as the piano accompaniment. Yes, Joshua Bell was the superstar drawing us all to the Zorlu Center PSM that evening. But, Alessio Box deserved acknowledgement and he had a great share in making the evening as unforgettable as it was.
I would have also desired more information on the pieces played than just their titles: “Prokofiev: Sonate No: 1 in F Minor, Op. 80”. But what about the movements? “Andante assai / Allegro brusco/ Andante/ Allegrissimo – Andante assai, come prima”. Having had this info at hand would have enabled me to know what to look forward to in the upcoming movements. An “andante assai” movement (ie, “somewhat slow”) followed by “allegro brusco” (brisky and fast). But, yes, trifles my dear, trifles… The evening was one of the greatest highlights of the season, and certainly one that I will cherish for all time.
Melis Kanik is a contributor to Yabangee.
