Fulfilling a Dream

On Friday as we arrived to Berlin to watch the Berlin Philharmonic perform, I didn't know what to feel. I was excited that I finally was going to see this brilliant orchestra perform, but knowing that I was going to walk into the great Philharmonie Hall left me quite intimidated.

In 6th grade I found a collection of classical cd's that my family had stowed away deep in a drawer. I was curious because I had never listened to classical music, so I wiped away the dust and looked to see what composers were featured on each cd. Beethoven, Bach, Mozart, ok I knew that I had heard of those names before but I still didn't really know anything about them. And then there was one last final name. Chopin. I had never heard of him before and it had his Piano Concerto no. 1 on it. I loved the piano so I decided to give it a shot. For the next 40 minutes, I experienced emotions of happiness and sorrow that I didn't know were possible. Chopin brought out a timbre of love in the piano that truly melted my heart. From that day on, I have been a true lover of classical music and I constantly visit this sweet memory when I am in rehearsals and performances of my own.

Another interesting fact about that collection is that they were all recorded by the Berlin Philharmonic. So with confidence I can say that they are the reason I am a musician today. And as I looked at the program for Friday's performance, guess what piece was on there? Yep, Chopin's Piano Concerto no. 1!

The soloist was the most musical pianist I had ever heard and it seemed like he was just pulling the emotion out of the 9 foot instrument. When the beautiful 2nd movement started, I instantly flashed back to 6th grade when I heard it for the first time, and tears started streaming down my face. I was a mess, but I was without a doubt the happiest person in the hall at that given moment. I had never felt so overwhelmed before and I'm still in disbelief that the stars aligned so perfectly for this moment to take place. It felt like I came home to where I was always supposed to be. To this day, I have never felt so inspired.