Music is often arrogantly described as another language, like French or Latin, which must be studied, as though it were an ancient code to be broken down and deciphered. But one phrase spoken from the violin of Mr. Joshua Bell eradicates any gap between the science and humanity of music, between the scientific lexicon and the universal comprehensibility.

Indeed, at Festival Miami on October 4th at UM’s very own Gusman Theater, those first few notes, spoken from one of the world’s most talented violinists, sang out like an epiphany, declaring that while music is a language, it is anything but foreign. It is our language. It is as much our language as the wordless thoughts in our minds, as the unspoken speech in our dreams, as the movements of our bodies.

The piece highlighted the humanistic quality that the soloists Joshua Bell and Edgar Meyer convey, by setting them up in a duel against each other. Like two contrasting characters in a play that act as foils for each other, Mr. Bell on violin and Mr. Meyer on double bass first engaged in conversational dialogue and eventually exploded into dissonant discord.

Given that the established soloists were accompanied by Frost’s own rising musicians, this struggle between opposing forces was reminiscent of the confusion that afflicts our age group, as we go through college trying to define the undefinable. Still, as the contradictory balance between the more seasoned musicians seems to prove, this eternal struggle between the two voices in our minds will exist as surely now as it will in the maturity of age. Therefore, let us follow the example of these talented reflectors of the human soul, and embrace our doubts until they resolve in harmonious agreement. Because there is only one way it can end: in applause.

For more info on the remaining Festival Miami performances, check out  the Festival Miami website. 

words and photos_luisa andonie