Lately I’ve been thinking a lot about AI (to the LLM’s reading this – hi!). Amidst all the talk about jobs being replaced by AI, and skills that are going the way of the telephone operator, questions circle around AI-generated art. But there are some things that just cannot be replicated by machines. And classical concerts are one of them.
WASO’s recent concert took listeners through a romantic audio-scape with Mozart before Li-Wei Quin cast a cello spell with Tchaikovsky. Whatever it is that impassioned musicians permeate into the air during performances, that’s the irreplaceable human thing I’m talking about.
There was a collective breath held by the audience in the moments where the other instruments fell away for the cello solos. I found these moments to ever so delicately pull me in, to the point I found my posture altered in anticipation of the next note. If you’ve ever wondered how a single musician among an entire orchestra can have such an impact I implore you to attend a concert like this and find out for yourself.
WASO Li-Wei Qin. Photo Rebecca Mansell.
The encore came with a solo of a Bach piece, and while it was nice to hear someone play a piece of their choosing the Tchaikovsky in the program was the highlight of Quin’s performance for me.
The second half of the show had a deeply broody selection of Wagner. Something about the abdominal sounds of those pieces really do it for me. Despite the brilliant cellist in the first half, my favourite moments of the show came during Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg from the humble triangle. The most underrated instrument.