I heard a violin cry, yes I did last evening....listening to Mozart's Sonata for Piano and Violin in E minor, a beautiful heart wrenching rendition by Shani Diluka on Piano and Gabriel Le Magadure on Violin...  I learned this composition was written by Mozart after his mother's death...in August 1777, Mozart and his mother set off on a quest to find a job to Mozart's liking, during which time he commenced his work on this Sonata, soon after which his mother fell ill and died... and last evening Gabriel brought back the dark moods and the shadows that would have plagued Mozart during this composition and the Violin cried, bled  and sighed his anguish leaving the audience in the grip of this haunting sadness...

I was lucky to be the audience of a show presented by the Mano Chanmugam Music Foundation featuring Shani, Gabriel and Valentin Erben the Cellist. I looked on when Valentin played on his Cello, the famous Matteo Gofriller Cello 1722, ( a two hundred and ninety one year old venerable piece of instrument people !!!)

Together these three made their instruments cry, laugh, thunder and rain on the lucky audience and took us all through the Sonata for Piano and Cello No.3 in A major Op. 69... and the agony of Ludwig Van Beethoven having lost his hearing and an unsuccessful attempt at suicide. I felt his pain of loss and also his mustering of strength and joy in the notes of the finale....

Music came alive last evening when these three super musicians gave us a rendition of Franz Schubert  a man who knew he was dying and gave his all to this composition and actually died once it was completed... I relived his pathos in No.2 in E flat major D. 929 ...Shani, Gabriel and Valantin played Schubert's own words 'Imagine someone whose health will never be right again, and whose sheer despair makes things ever worse rather than trying to improve matter; imagine someone whose highest hopes have been dashed and to whom happiness of love and friendship brings only pain; whose enthusiasm for all things beautiful threatens to forsake him'

I hardly knew the history or background of these great musicians,   the great classics remained great classics, to be enjoyed by those 'others'.... however last evening Mozart, Bethovan, Schubert, Greig and Dedussy became human, they cried for lost mothers, loves and in fear of their mortality, they hated the cold, loved the East, longed to Travel and being unable to do so created imaginary music about the east.... the 'Greats' became one of us and those 'Others' that imbibe in the classics simply became 'me'

Thank you Mr. Chanmugam for a treat to the senses....