I came to Vienna to get my fill of classical music. I saw museums, concerts, statues, artwork, street performers, palaces and composers' houses, all ranging in price from one Euro to fifty, but I've never in my life seen anything quite like the free Vienna Phil concert at Schonbrunn.
Picture if you will eleven thousand people, all of different walks of life. Some had been camped there for a good spot all day, most were wandering in about an hour before for standing room only. As twilight fell, the Glorietta albaze with light, the first tuning pitch sounded and the crowd fell silent. John William's Star Wars theme filled the air, and everyone gasped.
I realize that there was no Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, or Brahms on the program, but it was one of the most significant concerts I saw there as a musician. It wasn't a high brow concerto, it wasn't a technically advanced aria. It was the theme from an American classic movie, and in that moment, all those thousands of people were nothing but completely united as one, just listening.
That is why we are musicians. We live for those moments. I know that if ever I'm in doubt about what I'm devoting my life to, all I have to do is think back to that moment. One of the premiere ensembles of the world was playing Darth Vader's march and nothing could've bonded us all any better. It didn't matter if you were a concert violinist or a car mechanic. The whole world stood in awe, soldered together by music. Indeed this is why we play.
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