"Music is the divine way to tell beautiful, poetic things to the heart'" -- Pablo Casals (Spanish/Catalan Cellist & Conductor 1876-1973)
How rich is our world of music...and how poor would we be without it? Even if one does not speak another language, music has no borders; it has a language of its own and has limitless appeal. More than any other art form, music is universally accessible...it is the language of mankind. It touches everyone, no matter if one is passionate about classical, contemporary, rap or any other form of musical expression; music fills the heart and soul. It is not for a privileged few but for everyone. Just observe people singing along with passion, swaying to the sound or sitting quietly, just listening. It is a moment everyone treasures and remembers. Our turbo-empowered time still gives the listener the gift of cherishing music and the company of people who do.
Often it is questioned, who listens to classical music anymore? The answer is that the joy and passion for this type of music has enriched and moved people for many centuries. Listening to Frederic Chopin, Robert Schumann or Peter Tchaikovsky or any other great composer, all still fill and enrich our hearts and minds. In our time of quick sounds and sometimes powerful disturbing lyrics, yet music has often a calming effect. Music is not impersonal...it reaches deep into every human being. Musicians practice daily for many, many years to give us the pleasure and enjoyment.
Susan Wadsworth, the Founder and Director of Young Concert Artists, based in New York, has been leading and is dedicated to this non-for profit organization for more than fifty-five years. She has launched some of the most gifted and now best known musicians from around the world. Exceptional talents have been discovered by Ms. Wadsworth. Through the initiative of YCA, talented young musicians are given the opportunity to be presented at Carnegie Hall and other well-known concert halls. Ms. Wadsworth passionately observes the following:
"In every nation one can find supreme talent in music. When these young people have the chance to have a music teacher, take lessons for piano, violin or cello or other instruments they can excel. There are great teachers in all countries. Nurturing young talents here or abroad by great schools like Juilliard, Curtis Institute of Music, or the Colburn School Conservatory in Los Angeles is the goal. I know of several highly talented musicians from different parts of the world. Today Lang Lang is a megastar in China. Classical music is passionately performed there, more than one million pianos have been bought in China. In this country our great concert halls provide extraordinary environments, yet smaller halls are very much loved. Amplified music centers can perform for twenty thousand people, whereby smaller halls don't need to be acoustically enhanced. Music is great art...and it will never disappear."
Music provides a collective experience and inspiration, it enriches people's lives. For centuries to this day artistic traditions of music have been celebrated and enjoyed, it always provides a tender and sometimes mysterious experience.
"Music gives the soul to the universe, wings to the mind and life to everything." -- Plato (Greek philosopher 424 BCE - 348 BCE)