Recently I, as part of the Orion Quartet, performed Haydn’s miraculous Seven Last Words of Our Saviour on the Cross. Although I have played the work numerous times, this particular experience crystallised some personal thoughts that have been forming over the past few years regarding the continuity of great art from generation to generation. My first encounter with this piece was at the Marlboro Music Festival in the early 1980s with David Soyer, eminent cellist of the Guarneri Quartet. It was an unforgettable process of exploring the depths and nuances of the work, yet the most important thing we learnt was how much learning still lay ahead of us.
A few years later, I was asked to play the Seven Last Words again, this time with the violinist Alexander (Sasha) Schneider of the Budapest Quartet, violinist Isidore Cohen of the Juilliard Quartet and the Beaux Arts Trio, and cellist Laurence Lesser, then head of the New England Conservatory of Music. Sasha was a champion of Haydn’s music and performed this piece each year in New York City. Being surrounded by my heroes and mentors was an experience that I have come to appreciate more and more each time I lift up my instrument.
I am older now – and perhaps a bit wiser. At any rate, I’d like to think I’ve gained a bit of perspective. The transition from generation to generation is and should be a celebration of the continuity of great art. Composers rely on the passing down of musical values that bring powerful expression from the page directly to the listener. It seems to me that with longevity comes understanding and clarity. I was keenly aware as a young player that my mentors could ‘hear’ more in the music.
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