An Astonishing Cellist

 Last night my family and I attended a fantastic performance, the world premier of Gaia, by the French cellist, Gautier Capucon, at the San Francisco symphony hall. He commissioned works by sixteen composers on the theme of nature and the earth. He performed with an excellent pianist, Jerome Ducros, the composers of two of the pieces he played, and six cellists from the San Francisco Symphony Youth Orchestra.

The music was excellent. I especially enjoyed two pieces by Bryce Dessner.

All of us were impressed on every score: Capucon's brilliant musicianship, his openness to new music, his generosity toward the composers he commissioned, and his appearing with young musicians, who will certainly remember this performance as one of the high moments in their lives.

Young Musicians

In the summer of 2025, our California grandson, then thirteen years old, attended the Alameda It where he played viola and trombone in ensembles. He came home determined to play in an orchestra better than the one at his otherwise excellent middle school. On his own he found out about the Berkeley Youth Orchestra, made an audition video, and was accepted in the viola section. On a visit to his family in Alameda, I attended a rehearsal of the orchestra and was impressed by the way it was run. In addition to the conductor, Sam Wilde, a number of instructors sat in during the rehearsal and helped the musicians. Their comments were helpful and supportive.

Luckily for us, the orchestra gave a performance while we were visiting our family. They played well and sounded good. What pleased me, in addition to the music, was the seriousness of the young musicians. They clearly conveyed their conviction that they were doing something consequential that demanded concentration, preparation, and skill. How many opportunities do young people for that kind of seriousness?

Even if they give up music later in life, the experience of rehearsing regularly, of practicing in order to play decently, and performing is character building and offers a sense of accomplishment. It also introduces them to classical music. In general I was impressed by the music program at our grandchildren's elementary school in Alameda. How else would our grandson have ever begun to play viola?