On Thursday I got a forwarded email from my wife, saying that Cho-Liang Lin was coming to town to perform Tchaikovsky’s violin concerto with a local orchestra in a local church Friday night and the concert would be free. "Would you like to go", she asked. What? A free concert with a world renowned violin virtuoso, free parking, and "feel free to donate"? I would not miss such opportunity for anything. I don't consider myself a Cho-Liang Lin fan. I don't get crazy about him; I don't follow his news and performance schedules. But many years ago I did read something about how people raised money for him to buy his 1715 "Titian" Stradivarius. I bought a couple of his CDs. I had gone to his performances in concerts a few times. I still remember vividly how I felt listening to him playing the same Tchaikovsky violin concerto with the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center more than 20 years ago. Some of the melodies still resonate in my brain sometimes. Brilliant techniques and exquisite expression, those were my main impressions of him.
Friday evening came. My wife and I got to the church early and beat the crowd to get to choose seats front and center. I am so glad we did. The event drew a huge crowd. The concert opened with Shostakovich's Festive Overture, which we had heard less than 2 weeks ago in another concert. Of course I didn't mind listening to this beautiful piece again, except that the music got too loud on a few occasions because of the proximity of our seats. Then it was Cho-Liang Lin time. Sitting less than 20 feet from him at the same level created a unique, chamber music kind of atmosphere. I could see every detail of his movements and the slightest change of his facial expressions, and feel his emotions directly. I didn't make any effort to try to understand what he was doing, why and how. The music flowed from his figures, from the strings of his violin, and my heart just followed. For a moment I felt there was just me in a beautiful dream. But my "dream" ended abruptly when the applause erupted around me at the end of the first movement. Many of the music enthusiasts in the audience couldn't hide their excitement and decided to give Lin an early standing ovation. I never knew there were so many Cho-Liang Lin fans in our area. Lin was a little surprised by the disruption at first, but quickly expressed his appreciation. The rest of his performance was just as beautiful. The second movement had never sounded so deep to me before. The time elapsed way too quickly. No one wanted the music to end, but it ended anyway. The loud applause lasted quite a few minutes. When Cho-Liang Lin comes again to perform, I will definitely go again.
Have pictures have truth.
It happened to be the birthday of the president of the orchestra. The sponsorship of his family foundation made this concert possible.
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