The 9th Comes Alive

Dear Maestro. Zimmermann:

I attended the University of Texas symphony performance last Saturday at the invitation of a student, and I was not sure what to expect. I have not always been moved by classical performances. Too often, they seem distant, removed; inapplicable to me here, now. And knowing it was a student performance gave me pause. But I have committed to appreciating all this city has to offer, and the talent at UT is an important part of that.

Recently, I moved back to Austin leaving behind some very dear friends, friends who added much to my life, some who taught me to open myself to new experiences. One friend, Jim, who graduated Yale with degrees in accounting and piano, reintroduced me to the symphony. I was reluctant at first, telling him that I usually wanted to leave at half-time.

“Intermission,” he smiled/grimaced.

I told him that I didn’t understand the point of classical music, the context, the setting. It seemed detached from the real world and anything having to do with my experience.
Our first performance together included a Rachmaninoff piece, and at dinner beforehand, Jim took the time to introduce me to Rachmaninoff--the history of that time and what was going on with the composer personally when he wrote the piece. I cannot recall what concerto or symphony it was, but I remember how the music came alive for me that night, touched me in a way classical music never had before.

This is all a fairly long-winded way of saying thank you.

Before the performance, I took time to read about the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto and what was happening with the composer at the time he wrote the piece—his recent rather public divorce, depression, certain personal questions about who he was and where he was headed, and of course the early rejection of the piece and then its later recognition as a masterpiece and a true test of a violinist. It helped me appreciate the performance in a way I could not have otherwise.

But I did not have time, or take the time to do that with the Beethoven. Maybe I took it for granted that I knew all there was to know about the piece. Maybe, like you said, I was somewhat numbed to it after all its commercialization. But when you took the time to place it in context for me, to explain what was going on with Beethoven at the time, to introduce the nuances of the movements and how they fit together, I was anxious to hear the piece in a way I never have been before. What you gave us was a wonderful gift of context and purpose and intention that, for me, made the concert-- an impressive performance in my admittedly inexperienced view--come alive. And the passion with which you gave your introduction and conducted the performance was refreshing and inspiring.

And all of it reminded me of Jim and the gratitude I feel toward him for showing me a way of looking at music in a new light, understanding the world from a different perspective, with a different soundtrack .

Anyway, I did not intend to go on like this. I really just wanted to say thank you. The performance was moving and enjoyable.

Ed