Joshua Bell talks about his violin the way one might talk about a lover.
He remembers the moment they "met," at the famous violin shop J & A Beare in London.
FAQ
‘An Evening
With Joshua Bell’
WHEN — 7:30 p.m. Sunday
WHERE — ArcBest Corp. Performing Arts Center in downtown Fort Smith
COST — $17-$45
INFO — 452-7575
He knows its family history, which he says "is complete with twists and turns to rival the film that I had only recently finished working on -- 'The Red Violin.'"
He was willing to fight to win it -- it was promised to a wealthy German industrialist for his private collection -- and says he "simply did not want it to leave my hands."
Of course, the violin is a 303-year-old Stradivarius. And critics do say Bell "plays like a god."
"This violin is special in so many ways," Bell says. ""It's been my companion for eight years, and as with any relationship, we've had intense moments ... There are some days when I just want to get rid of it. It's not working with me the way it should, then, four days later, I completely fall in love with it again, and it will start to cooperate, like this living thing. It's a marriage of ups and downs, but it's still a love affair.
"Who knows what other adventures will come to my precious violin in the years to come? While it certainly will be enjoyed and admired long after I am not around anymore, for the time being I count myself incredibly lucky to be its caretaker..."
Bell will bring the violin to Arkansas for the opening concert of the Fort Smith Symphony's 20th season under the baton of John Jeter.
"We are thrilled that an artist of Joshua Bell's stature will be performing ... with the Fort Smith Symphony," Jeter says. "As one of classical music's most significant soloists, Mr. Bell combines musical sensitivity, passion and excitement with a command of his instrument and technical prowess matched by only a select few performers."
Bell, who grew up in Bloomington, Ind., is often called a child prodigy, having started to play the violin at age 4 -- after his parents, both mental health professionals, noticed him plucking tunes with rubber bands he had stretched around his dresser drawer handles. By 12, he was serious about the instrument. Two years later, Bell came to national attention in his debut with the Philadelphia Orchestra.
"I have never been fond of the title 'child prodigy' and was happy to grow up and out of it," he says. "The 'prodigy' label makes one into a circus act of sorts, which I never enjoyed. I preferred the audience listen to the music rather than think about how old I was."
Bell will join the Fort Smith Symphony for Max Bruch's Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor, by far the most popular of some 200 works by the German composer born in 1838.
"The Bruch concerto is one of the top five Romantic era violin concertos -- Beethoven, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Mendelssohn, Bruch," Jeter says. "Joshua Bell has made this particular concerto a specialty piece of his."
NAN What's Up on 09/09/2016