In a world of isolation, at-home performances bring a sense of joy and surprise that even live ones can’t match.
For me, it began with Steve Martin.
In addition to his talent as a comedian and actor, Martin is also a superb banjo player and the leader of a bluegrass band called the Steep Canyon Rangers. On March 21, nine days after I began self-isolating, Martin posted a 76-second video on Twitter that shows him standing in the woods, playing a song. He turns on the camera, plays, and then turns off the camera without speaking. The title of his video is “Banjo balm.”
I have no idea what the song is, but it’s beautiful. See for yourself:
I must have watched Martin’s video at least 10 times that day. I found it deeply, surprisingly moving, and I wasn’t alone. “I literally cried watching Steve Martin playing the banjo and I can’t quite explain why,” read one of the thousands of replies. “I did too,” read another. “It’s because we are all in this together. Kind gesture from a beloved entertainer.” It’s since been played more than 500,000 times.
About a week later,
1
Reuters posted a three-minute video of the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra playing Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy.” Arjen Leendertz, the orchestra’s bassist, plays the first bars. Then in come three cellos, followed a few measures later by Galahad Samson, the assistant principal violist. Pretty soon 18 members of the orchestra have joined in:
Except, as you can see, this is no ordinary “Ode to Joy.” With a limited lockdown in place in the Netherlands, the musicians are all playing in their homes. There are no black dresses or tuxedos that can make orchestra members seem indistinguishable in a concert hall. Leendertz is wearing a suit jacket with an open collar shirt; Samson has an aqua baseball hat that says “vegan power;” Josephine Olech, a flautist, is in a bright blue sweater.
As the music nears its climax, the video goes from showing one musician or a small handful to showing all 18, in split screens, playing together. It’s like one of those CNN talking-head panels, except that beautiful music is pouring out of each panel. Although this is one of the best-known pieces of music in the world, viewers react as if they’ve never heard anything more powerful.
An emergency room doctor wrote: “You have touched my heart and given me, and others, strength to keep being what we are —doctors — because of what you are — artists.
