|
|
||
|
|
Elizabeth Pitcairn and Her
Deepening Love Affair with 'The Red Violin' Violin Virtuoso to perfrom
with the 1720 Stradivarius at Temple Theatre February 18th
By Robert E. Martin
Virtuoso concert violinist Elizabeth Pitcairn is an attractive 30-year old musician engaged in one of the deepest love affairs that forms the essence of mythology and imagination. As the owner and only known artist to ever play the extraordinary 'Red Violin' hand crafted by Antonio Stradivarius back in 1720, Pitcairn has cultivated a world renowned reputation for the deep and soulful music that she creates with her legendary instrument.
Moreover, the mid-Michigan area will
have a first hand glimpse that the emotional range of music crafted by
this marriage of artist & instrument at a special performance with the
Saginaw Bay Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of conductor
Patrick Flynn, entitled The Red Violin: A Touch of Hollywood
Glamour on Saturday, February 18th
at 8:00 PM at Saginaw's lush & spacious Temple Theatre.
The 1998 Oscar-winning film The Red
Violin is loosely based on Pitcairn's mesmerizing 285-year old
crimson-colored instrument, which she won in a bid at Christie's
auction house in London 15 years ago. "It was a gift from my
Grandfather," explains Elizabeth in a phone interview from San Diego,
"who was a great benefactor of the arts and supported many composers and
their works."
Born into a musical family (her mother
is a Juilliard trained cellist and Elizabeth, by the way, also has
'perfect pitch') Pitcairn started playing violin at age 3 and was only
16 years old when she first encountered the 'Mendelssohn Red Violin'.
She and her mother flew to London to visit the auction house, where
Pitcairn was allowed to play the instrument for 20 minutes.
"It has the most beautiful sound and of
all the violins Stradivarius made, is considered to be one of the finest
examples of his work," she explains when asked to distinguish it from
other violins. "It has attributes of a beautiful human being in terms of
its qualities being in proportion and balanced. There is a glow about
the sound and it has a voice, a personality, and its own essence. You
can hear the perfect sound of it in the back of a concert hall as well
as you can in the first seat. But mainly it was created to be played in
a big concert hall. That's where it really shows off. It was not
created to be enshrined in a closet or on a shelf."
"While she will not reveal exactly how
much the winning bid for this precious instrument was, speculation
places it well into the seven figure range. In the film the instrument
makes its way through several owners over several centuries and
countries, including 17th
century Italy, an 18-th century Austrian monastery, 19-th century
England, China during the Cultural Revolution, and modern Montreal,
where a collector tries to establish the identity and secrets of the
'red violin'.
In possession of it since Thanksgiving
Day, 1990, I can't help but ask if Elisabeth gets nervous traveling with
her infamous Strad, or takes many precautions with it. "Actually, it can
fit in overhead luggage," she laughs. "No one knows what I'm carrying
on, but sometimes they ask. Once a guy joked to me, 'Is that a Strad?'
And I just smiled and said, 'Oh, yeah' Of course, they don't believe
me."
Pitcairn will be performing composer
John Corigliano's Chaconne from The Red Violin,
along with Richard Strauss' symphonic poem Don Juan,
Richard Rogers' Victory at Sea, Symphonic Scenario and
Richard Wagner's Tannhauser: Overture.
Elizabeth is one of the first few
soloists in the world to perform Chaconne, which she has done
frequently since 2000, when she gave the Southern California premiere
with the California Philharmonic. She practices 4 hours each day. "It's
a lot like an athlete preparing for the 100-meter."
When asked if she recalls any favorite
'stand-out' performances, Pitcairn is reflective. "I don't consider that
question in terms of audience numbers or concert halls. To me a stand
out performance is that rare occurrence where everything comes together,
which hardly ever happens for an artist. But once in awhile, everything
converges. When I truly feel in the zone, that's what I consider a great
performance. But its like children, none of them are favorites, really."
Added to this celebrated performance,
the film The Red Violin will be shown on Thursday, Feb. 16th
at 7:30 PM at the Temple Theatre in Saginaw and Friday, Feb.
17th
at the State Theatre in Bay City.
Tickets for Elizabeth's Febrtuary
18th performance are $35 & $30 for adults; $14 & $10
for youth when purchased with adult tickets. Call the SBSO office
at 989-755-6471 to order tickets by phone.
|
|
|
|
||
