By Daniel Buckwalter
So, where was I before I was rudely interrupted by an insidious, unseen force of a virus? Oh yes, it was Friday, March 13 of this year, my birthday.
Reviewer and writer Daniel Buckwalter; photo by Randi Bjornstad
I remember it well. I was supposed to be at the Hult Center for Eugene Opera’s production of Tosca. Two days later, I was set to attend the Delgani String Quartet’s celebration of Brazilian music at the Christian Science Church in Eugene. It was supposed to be a busy and glorious birthday weekend.
Then the COVID-19 chaos swept over us and slammed shut the immediate prospect of any gathering to soak in any of life’s joys. Tweets morphed into headlines and into stories, and many have been infected and died. Everyone is familiar with everything, yet it’s still bewildering.
Almost seven months later, Delgani, made up of violinists Wyatt True and Jannie Wei, violist Kimberlee Uwate and cellist Eric Alterman, has taken tentative steps to restore a sense of normalcy and beauty in a wretched landscape with two outdoor concerts — both socially distanced and with masks — at the North Pavilion of Island Park in Springfield. The final concert was Friday, Oct. 2.
Both concerts featured quartets by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, William Grant Still (a Black composer whose work should be better known) and Antonín Dvořák.
Friday’s concert, originally postponed for a week because of wildfire smoke, also featured a man on a motorized scooter zooming by, as well as cyclists, skateboarders, gulls flying over after the Mozart quartet, and curious dog walkers.
It was lovely, and the only real shame was that it lasted a touch under one hour.
Still, it was good to be part of the socially distant audience of 40 people and be reminded of what I have missed for the bulk of this year.
We have all ached for the elegance and splendor of the arts. I have missed how live music can take hold of the soul and take the imagination beyond the concrete and dirt where I stand, giving my mind a place to rest. It is the pulse of life.
At the darkest moments in this pandemic, I have put on the ear buds and listened for hours. It has been soothing, to be sure.
Yet to see musicians performing live with precision and grace — especially the Delgani String Quartet — is to recall again the reverence they have for the notes on the page, and that they also see the imaginative trails ahead. They are happy to drive, and I’m happy to be a passenger.
I only hope that Lane County can stay in Phase 2 of Covid recovery long enough to hear more of Delgani — and all other arts organizations — in what remains of 2020.
