The Cellist of Sarajevo

In class, right now, we’re doing a unit on arts. The listening section was about “boosting brain power through the arts” (Mozart effect, keeping music in schools etc). It’s appealing to me because there’s plenty of material to bring in and if I had time I could try some cool experiments with the students. Things being as they are though, it’s mostly adding a youtube video here and an abstract reasoning test there.

When I read the first passage of the reading section though, I was surprised because it was well-written and interesting (unusual for our texts). It’s about Vedran Smailovic, the Cellist of Sarajevo. The reading talks about the world premiere of the cello piece of the same name, composed by David Wilde and played, on that occasion, by Yo-yo Ma. It also tells the story of Smailovic who, after witnessing the deaths of 22 people from a mortar shell, went down to the crater, systematically at 4pm (time of the bombing) for 22 days and played Albinoni’s Adagio in G-minor in memory of the dead. A striking story, if I’ve ever heard one.

Anyway, the chapter opens with a picture of a man in a tuxedo, sitting at a cello in a cemetery. His eyes are covered by his hand and it seems like he might be in front of a grave. His right hand holds the bow but he isn’t playing. I asked my students, in groups to come up with the story behind the picture. They hadn’t read the story of Smailovic so I was really just working out their imagination. Here are some of their answers:

A long time ago, this man had a music teacher but he didn’t appreciate him and didn’t want to study with him. In the end though, he became famous for his cello playing so he looked for the teacher to tell him and thank him. Unfortunately, he discovered that the man had died. Now he is at his grave and plays a composition for him.

When he was a child, the man told his parents that he wanted to be a musician. They were very poor, but because he wanted this so much, his parents worked very hard and eventually were able to send him to music academy. He became very famous but as he got famous his parents became sick. He was worried about them but had to go perform a very important concert far away. He came back as soon as possible, but his parents died before he made it back. Now he is playing for them and is overcome with sadness and shame for having chosen his career over them.

The man is playing for his family and friends who were the victims of a big war. Maybe the cemetery is full of war victims and he is also playing for all of them, to calm their spirits and help them rest in peace.

The man is playing for his dead lover. When he was younger he met a woman. They were both poor but because he was a good musician, they put together all his money so he could study music and become famous. Eventually he did become famous, but she was sick and died. He wasn’t there when she died because he was at a performance, but now he comes to play for her every week to remember her and honour her memory.

There were more in this vein, where a beloved family member/ spouse was supportive but has died while the musician was away. The details varied, but the theme was common.

Then there were the bizarre answers:

The man is in the cemetery playing for his wife who died a long time ago. He has been doing this for many years, but today is different. Today he plays so well and with such strong emotion that the ghosts are pulled out of their graves and come out to hear him. He is hiding his face because he is scared of them.

He comes to play for his wife every week. He practices a new piece for her every time (or plays the same one) and always is very careful to play well, to ease her spirit. Today though, he doesn’t know why, but he cannot remember the piece he was going to play so he stops in the middle and hides his face in sadness and shame.

He is such a bad cellist, that noone will listen to him so he can only play in the cemetery where noone will need to hear him.

He is a composer as well as a cellist and comes to the cemetery for inspiration. Today, he cannot find any inspiration so he is sad and hides his face in frustration.

Alternatively, He is hiding his face to concentrate and get more inspiration.

And last of all, while there was a very large black bee buzzing around the classroom:

The man comes to the cemetery to play for the dead people and help them be at peace. He does this every week. Today is different though because he cannot finish his playing. This is because a very large bee has stung him in the eye, so he covers his face because he is in great pain.

So creative sometimes! I can’t wait to see what they make of the actual piece of music tomorrow and what new stories I get.