Last night I went with my dad to the Philharmonic to see a performance of the Shostakovich Violin Concerto and Tenth Symphony, with Maxim Vengerov on violin and Mstislav Rostropovich conducting. Rostropovich is better known as one of the great cellists of the twentieth century, and a close friend of Shostakovich as well as other important composers. He didn't start conducting until a lot later in his career. He's turning 79 this year. Watching him conduct last night was really great. After the Symphony, he went into the orchestra section by section to kiss the principal players and he seemed to absolutely adore the musicians and audience as much as we loved him.
Anyway, today I had 45 minutes to kill before my orchestra rehearsal, so I bought some sushi to go and sat next to my cello on a wall outside Juilliard, which is right around the corner from Lincoln Center and up the block from the church where we practice. I was very into my book and didn't really notice anyone approaching me, but then all of a sudden I looked up and there he was, Mr. Rostropovich himself, his face about a foot away from mine. This is what he said to me: "Good appetite!" All I could think of in reply was to ask him if he would like some pieces of sushi. He laughed and shook my hand and waddled away and I just stared after him before realizing what had just happened and looking around for someone who had witnessed the interaction and could appreciate how cool it was.
Of course now I'm thinking of all the things I could have said to him. I mean, I had just seen him conduct a concert that I raved about at work this morning. I had just read an interview with him in the Times. I play the same instrument as him and was on my way to a rehearsal of very music that is basically impossible for me to play, that I'm sure he'd have been familiar with. What if he thinks I didn't know who he was? What kind of cellist could I be if I didn't? I have decided that the recognition was there in my voice and in the hand shake and the offer to share my dinner.
