Since July, I have been allowing myself more time for music than for science. While I initially envisioned spending most of that time behind my harpsichord and piano, the reality has turned out somewhat differently: the early stages of my comeback in music are also filled with organizational tasks—selecting beautiful concert venues, initiating inspiring collaborations, drafting new programs, creating new videos, and so on. Deadlines do help us to make progress, but they can also distract us from the essence of life.
Nature and music offer me a timeless and natural counterbalance to this often fleeting state of being. I am totally fascinated by music’s magic ability to connect us with emotions and impressions from hundreds or even thousands of years ago. This Prélude by the French composer Claude Debussy, which I recently posted on YouTube, creates the impression of a petrified dance from ancient Greece. Dance and stone may seem contradictory, yet through music, Debussy manages to breathe movement into these centuries-old dancers from Delphi. In doing so, this piece connects us—through Debussy’s emotional lens as a 19th-century composer—to the aesthetic world of Greek sculptors from over two millennia ago. From this sense of timelessness, music helps me slow down and detach from the continuous succession of tasks and to do’s of modern life. Hopefully, this video gives you a short break from the constant flow of deadlines.
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