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Einstein's Violin
Encore! Bis! to EINSTEIN Exhibition
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Encore! Bis! Bravo! to EINSTEIN Exhibition & its Organizers
Einstein exhibition at Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California
One peaceful afternoon my wife and I got to the beautiful Skirball Cultural Center, here in L.A., to visit Einstein exhibition. Radio and newspaper announcements made it feel excited, but nothing was to compare with a real "feel and touch". Displays selected for the Einstein presentation were impressive, some even interactive and you could see how much research, love and work went into the preparation of the exhibition.
A subject of Einstein's violin was the one we were most interested to witness. There is so much gossip on the subject, that it became a necessity to give more extensive account on Einstein's violin playing.
Einstein's passion for violin playing is important to society (or at least educators, music teachers like my wife) not for the mere quality of his performance. In addition to Einstein's way of relaxation and solitude, violin playing (maybe) served him as a channel to experience daily relativity of moving music lines together with colleagues...
The Einstein exhibition had few tributes to the Einstein's violin passion:
- a special display with a large picture of Einstein playing violin ;
- eloquent note "Music for Life" written by Albert Einstein Archives of The Hebrew University (if a permission to post the note here will be granted, I will gladly do it);
- Audio tour included music excerpts of Einstein's favorite composer W.A. Mozart.
The whole concept of the exhibition and its sophisticated schedule were so brilliant and playful ( Einstein on a bicycle :) , that we wanted to comeback for more. And we definitely did it.
Shortly after it, I visited an exhibition "Time/Space, Gravity, and Light" with contemporary art works, which complemented the Einstein exhibition. Most valuable to me was a display "Protrude, Flow" by Sachiko Kodama and Minako Takeno. It rendered visible forces of magnetic attraction, evoking behavior that seems to defy gravity. According to small description of the presentation, the artists created a sleek fluid that responds to the pull of magnetic attraction and to the sounds in the gallery.
With great anticipation I attended a slide-illustrated lecture "Einstein's Legacy" by Prof. Diana K.Buchwald. It was a quality evening. Lecturer was down to Earth at the presentation, during which she touched many subjects on. Lively discussion from largely gathered audience focused on Sir Arthur Eddington's famed trip to measure starlight to confirm the Einstein's general relativity. Prof. Buchwald was generous not only to discuss the academicals, but also shared Einstein's sense of humor in dealing with press. On the subject of Einstein's violin: Prof. Buchwald displayed a famous slide with Einstein playing violin at Caltech, told a wonderful story about Einstein acquiring valuable Guarneri violin on a loan from local violin master to promote him a bit.
Albert Einstein's 126 birthday...you had to be there to see and taste a gorgeous Happy Birthday cake... :)
At the end of the Einstein exhibition, Glendale Youth Orchestra invited families to sit among the musicians and be immersed in music that Albert Einstein loved. What could be better way to wrap up the most wonderful spiritual party ever?
Exhibition was organized throughout the U.S. and one of the best events ever took place at Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles, from September 2004 to May, 2005. As teachers for Violin Ensemble Classes at Santa Monica College CE, we wholeheartedly agree that the Einstein landmark exhibition was the most comprehensive presentation ever mounted on the life and theories of the greatest scientist of the 20th century.
Thank you, sincerely, to the Organizers of the Einstein exhibition! It was unbelievable!!!
Einstein exhibition at Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles, California
Encore! Bis! Bravo!
