Benjamin Zander… Today he is 83 years old (he turned 9 this month) and is considered one of the best conductors in the world; he is considered a specialist in the music of Gustav Mahler. In fact, on one occasion he was asked what would be the last work he would like to conduct, and he replied: ‘Mahler’s Ninth Symphony, because it is a farewell that expresses gratitude for being alive’.
Benjamin Zander is an American nationalized conductor. As he was the son of Jewish parents established in Berlin, the whole family was forced to emigrate from Germany and settled in England.
Today he is 83 years old (he turned them on the 9th of this month) and is considered one of the best conductors in the world; he is considered a specialist in the music of Gustav Mahler. In fact, on one occasion he was asked what would be the last work he would like to conduct, and he replied: “Mahler’s Ninth Symphony, because it is a farewell that expresses gratitude for being alive.”
Among his great teachers is Benjamin Britten, perhaps from him he inherited the taste for explaining to the public the meaning of what they will hear at each concert, because it is about making them fall in love with music. “Classical music, he insistently repeats, elevates the human being to be the best version of himself”.
Another of his innumerable virtues is giving lectures. On March 9, 2020, he offered a talk, one of the so-called TED Talks, with the title: The Transformative Power of Classical Music, where he told a suggestive anecdote of how music should feel.
He pointed out that an Ohio businessman attended a performance while working with a young pianist, who couldn’t play well enough. And he told the boy: “The problem is that you play with both buttocks. You should play with only one buttock.”
He added that he moved the young man’s body while playing: “And suddenly the music took off. She took flight. The audience sighed in amazement at the difference. And then I got a letter from this man. He said: «He moved me. I went back and transformed my entire company into a one-glute company.”
Does music make me fall in love?
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