A close encounter with a cellist

Out of so many musical instruments, the sound of the cello resembles most of a human's voice, people say. Tonight, I was very fortunate to have a close encounter with a young cellist, whose skills on the cello more than convinced me of the truth of the beginning statement.

I went to attend the Royal Scottish National Orchestra this evening at the Royal Concert Hall. I wasn't prepared to be able to sit so close to the musicians -- it was the 3rd row and right in the middle at the front. The RSNO played 2 concertos: the cello concerto Op85 in E minor by Edward Elgar (1857-1934), and the symphony No.4 (a.k.a. The Inextinguishable) by Carl Nielsen (1865-1931). The conductor was James Lowe, and the cellist Guy Johnston.

Right from the moment Guy Johnston set his bow on the strings, it was like listening to someone's inner voices that would go straight into your heart. Every musical note he made was like murmuring, unabashedly revealing his true feelings to the audience. The RSNO was accompanying him in the background, notes popping up here and there, always at the right moment. The musicians must have practised a lot, as they were almost syncronised in every movement (I was a bit unused to the floor plan: unlike those orchestras in Hong Kong, the RSNO had its 2nd violin and the viola sections located on the right hand side of the stage, whereas the cello and double bass sections sat behind the lead cellist -- at the centre.) Sitting so close to the stage, I was unable to see the wind section; but I could tell that they were sitting behind the strings. Then on both sides of the stage, there were the percussionists.

From the programme, I learned that Guy Johnstgon is only 25 years old. He began his cello lessons at the age of five and made his London debut at the age of 19. He has since appeared with London Philharmonic, BBC Philharmonic, City of Birmingham Symphony, BBC Scottish Symphony and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. No wonder he was so confident and well at ease when he was being accompanied by so many outstanding musicians. I think he was even better when he was soloing after the concerts, during thr bonus post-concert recital of Bach's solo cello site No. 3 in C major.

All through the concert, I kept thinking about the author of a book "Never too late" -- John Holt -- an educator and a self-taught musician. He was an accomplished cellist, and he only started teaching himself to play cello at the age of 40! I can't imagine how a mature person could ever handle such a musical instrument like cello, not to say to play it so well, without the long and ardous musical training since childhood. Was it really because, like John Holt said in his self confession, a person needs to be single, unmarried, and imbued with determination in order to pursue one's interests and instincts to the fullest?