One day, Los Angeles Times columnist Steve Lopez was walking along the streets of downtown Los Angeles when he heard beautiful music. And the source was a man, an African-American man, charming, rugged, homeless, playing a violin that only had two strings.
Jednog dana kolumnista Los Anđeles Tajmsa Stiv Lopez je šetajući se ulicama u centru Los Anđelesa začuo predivnu muziku. Zvuke muzike proizvodio je jedan Afroamerikanac, šarmantan, krševit beskućnik, i to na violini sa samo dve žice.
And I'm telling a story that many of you know, because Steve's columns became the basis for a book, which was turned into a movie, with Robert Downey Jr. acting as Steve Lopez, and Jamie Foxx as Nathaniel Anthony Ayers, the Juilliard-trained double bassist whose promising career was cut short by a tragic affliction with paranoid schizophrenia. Nathaniel dropped out of Juilliard, he suffered a complete breakdown, and 30 years later he was living homeless on the streets of Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles. I encourage all of you to read Steve's book or to watch the movie to understand not only the beautiful bond that formed between these two men, but how music helped shape that bond, and ultimately was instrumental -- if you'll pardon the pun -- in helping Nathaniel get off the streets.
Pričam vam priču koju mnogi od vas znaju, jer su Stivove kolumne bile osnova za knjigu, po kojoj je snimljen film u kom Robert Dauni Džunior ima ulogu Stiva Lopeza, a Džejmi Foks glumi Natanijela Antoni Ajersa, kontrabasista njujorškog konzervatorijuma Džulijard, čiju je obećavajuću karijeru tragično zaustavio nastup paranoidne šizofrenije. Natanijel se ispisao sa Džulijarda, preživeo potpuni nervni slom, a 30 godina kasnije živeo je kao beskućnik na ulicama zapuštenog naselja Skid Rou u centru Los Anđelesa. Želim da vas podstaknem da pročitate Stivovu knjigu, ili pogledate film, da biste razumeli ne samo prelepu povezanost koja je nastala između ova dva čoveka, već i kako je muzika uticala na stvaranje te veze i na kraju bila zaslužna za - oprostite na izrazu - to da Natanijela sklonimo sa ulice.
I met Mr. Ayers in 2008, two years ago, at Walt Disney Concert Hall. He had just heard a performance of Beethoven's First and Fourth symphonies, and came backstage and introduced himself. He was speaking in a very jovial and gregarious way about Yo-Yo Ma and Hillary Clinton and how the Dodgers were never going to make the World Series, all because of the treacherous first violin passage work in the last movement of Beethoven's Fourth Symphony. And we got talking about music, and I got an email from Steve a few days later saying that Nathaniel was interested in a violin lesson with me.
Gospodina Ajersa sam upoznao 2008, pre dve godine, u Volt Diznijevoj koncertnoj dvorani. Upravo je čuo izvođenje Betovenove prve i četvrte simfonije, i došao je iza pozornice da se predstavi. Sa radošću i druželjubivo je pričao o čembalisti Jo-Jo Mau i Hilari Klinton, i kako Dodžersi nikada neće ući u finale američkog bejzbola, i sve to zbog nesigurnog prvog odlomka violine u zadnjem stavu Betovenove četvrte simfonije. Započeli smo priču o muzici. Par dana kasnije dobio sam mejl od Stiva u kom kaže da Natanijel želi da mu držim časove violine.
Now, I should mention that Nathaniel refuses treatment because when he was treated it was with shock therapy and Thorazine and handcuffs, and that scar has stayed with him for his entire life. But as a result now, he is prone to these schizophrenic episodes, the worst of which can manifest themselves as him exploding and then disappearing for days, wandering the streets of Skid Row, exposed to its horrors, with the torment of his own mind unleashed upon him.
Trebao bih da napomenem da Natanijel odbija lečenje jer su ga lečili šok terapijom, torazinom i lisicama, i to sećanje mu je ostalo za ceo život. Ali kao rezultat toga, sada je sklon tim šizofrenim epizodama. Koje se u najgorem slučaju ispoljavaju tako što on pobesni, nestane na nekoliko dana, lutajući ulicama Skid Roua, predat svojim užasima, a njegovi unutrašnji demoni ga muče.
And Nathaniel was in such a state of agitation when we started our first lesson at Walt Disney Concert Hall -- he had a kind of manic glint in his eyes, he was lost. And he was talking about invisible demons and smoke, and how someone was poisoning him in his sleep.
Natanijel je bio toliko uzbuđen kada smo započeli prvi čas u Volt Diznijevoj koncertnoj dvorani da je imao mahnit sjaj u očima, bio je izgubljen. Pričao je o nevidljivim demonima i dimu, i o tome kako ga neko truje u snu.
And I was afraid, not for myself, but I was afraid that I was going to lose him, that he was going to sink into one of his states, and that I would ruin his relationship with the violin if I started talking about scales and arpeggios and other exciting forms of didactic violin pedagogy. (Laughter) So, I just started playing. And I played the first movement of the Beethoven Violin Concerto.
Ja sam se plašio, ne zbog sebe, već da ću ga izgubiti, da će zapasti u neko od njegovih raspoloženja, i da ću ja da pokvarim njegov odnos prema violini ako počnem da pričam o lestvicama i arpeđima i drugim uzbudljivim oblicima didaktičke pedagogije violine. (smeh) Zato sam počeo da sviram. Svirao sam prvi stav Betovenovog koncerta za violinu.
And as I played, I understood that there was a profound change occurring in Nathaniel's eyes. It was as if he was in the grip of some invisible pharmaceutical, a chemical reaction, for which my playing the music was its catalyst. And Nathaniel's manic rage was transformed into understanding, a quiet curiosity and grace. And in a miracle, he lifted his own violin and he started playing, by ear, certain snippets of violin concertos which he then asked me to complete -- Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky, Sibelius. And we started talking about music, from Bach to Beethoven and Brahms, Bruckner, all the B's, from Bartók, all the way up to Esa-Pekka Salonen.
I dok sam svirao shvatio sam da se desila duboka promena u Natanijelovim očima. Delovalo je kao da se nalazi u stisku nekog nevidljivog leka, hemijske reakcije, za koju je to što sam svirao bilo katalizator. Natanijelov mahniti bes se pretvorio u razumevanje, tihu radoznalost, gracioznost. I kao u čudu, on je podigao svoju violinu i počeo da po sluhu svira određene isečke koncerata za violinu, koje je tražio da dovršim, Mendelson, Čajkovski, Sibelius. I tako smo počeli da pričamo o muzici, od Baha preko Betovena, do Bramsa, Bruknera, svim na slovo B, od Bartoka, sve do Esa Peka Salonena.
And I understood that he not only had an encyclopedic knowledge of music, but he related to this music at a personal level. He spoke about it with the kind of passion and understanding that I share with my colleagues in the Los Angeles Philharmonic. And through playing music and talking about music, this man had transformed from the paranoid, disturbed man that had just come from walking the streets of downtown Los Angeles to the charming, erudite, brilliant, Juilliard-trained musician.
Shvatio sam da on ne samo da je imao enciklopedijsko znanje o muzici, već i da je imao vrlo ličan odnos sa muzikom. Pričao je o muzici sa onom vrstom strasti i razumevanja koju imamo ja i moje kolege u losanđeleskoj filharmoniji. I kroz sviranje i pričanje o muzici on se od paranoičnog i poremećenog čoveka, koji je upravo došao sa ulica centra Los Anđelesa, pretvorio u šarmantnog, obrazovanog, brilijantnog muzičara sa džulijardskim obrazovanjem.
Music is medicine. Music changes us. And for Nathaniel, music is sanity. Because music allows him to take his thoughts and delusions and shape them through his imagination and his creativity, into reality. And that is an escape from his tormented state. And I understood that this was the very essence of art. This was the very reason why we made music, that we take something that exists within all of us at our very fundamental core, our emotions, and through our artistic lens, through our creativity, we're able to shape those emotions into reality. And the reality of that expression reaches all of us and moves us, inspires and unites us.
Muzika je lek. Muzika nas menja. A za Natanijela, muzika je zdrav um. Jer mu muzika omogućava da uhvati svoje misli i zablude, i sprovede ih svojom maštom i kreativnošću u stvarnost. A to je izlaz iz njegovog mučnog stanja. Shvatio sam da je ovo sama bit umetnosti. To je bio suštinski razlog zbog kog pravimo muziku, što uzimamo nešto što postoji u svima nama, u samoj našoj srži, našim osećanjima, i kroz našu umetničku prizmu, kroz našu kreativnost, mi prelamamo naša osećanja u stvarnost. Stvarnost tog izraza nas sve dotiče. ganjava, inspiriše i ujedinjuje.
And for Nathaniel, music brought him back into a fold of friends. The redemptive power of music brought him back into a family of musicians that understood him, that recognized his talents and respected him. And I will always make music with Nathaniel, whether we're at Walt Disney Concert Hall or on Skid Row, because he reminds me why I became a musician. Thank you. (Applause)
A za Natanijela je muzika bila povratak u krug prijatelja. Iskupljujuća moć muzike ga je vratila u porodicu muzičara koja ga je razumela, koja je prepoznala njegov talenat i poštovala ga. Ja ću uvek svirati sa Natanijelom, bilo da smo u Volt Diznijevoj koncertnoj dvorani ili na Skid Rou, zato što me on podseća na to zašto sam postao muzičar. Hvala. (aplauz)
Bruno Giussani: Thank you. Thanks. Robert Gupta. (Applause)
Bruno Đuzani: Hvala vam. Hvala. Robert Gupta. (aplauz)
Robert Gupta: I'm going to play something that I shamelessly stole from cellists. So, please forgive me.
Robert Gupta: Želim da odsviram nešto što sam bestidno ukrao od čelista. Molim da mi oprostite.
(Laughter) (Music) (Applause)
(smeh) (muzika) (aplauz)