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March 23,
2005
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Bell |
Joshua Bell back home in Indiana
Violinist, fellow IU graduate Ranjbaran return for concert
By Nicole Kauffman,
Herald-Times
Hearing Joshua Bell premiere "Violin Concerto" in Liverpool,
England, its composer, Behzad Ranjbaran, was more than
satisfied.
"It was so brilliant," Ranjbaran said in a telephone call from
his New York home.
The 2003 concert with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic marked
the world premiere of the concerto, which Ranjbaran, a faculty
member at the Juilliard School, wrote specifically for Bell.
"He is a rare musician who possesses that high musical integrity
as well as a willingness to bring the music to a wider
audience," Ranjbaran said.
The musicians met 25 years ago, when Ranjbaran was a student at
Indiana University in Bloomington, Bell's hometown. Bell was a
12-year-old violin prodigy.
Next week, the musicians return to their old stomping ground for
the American debut of the concerto, which Bell will perform with
the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra March 31-April 2.
A guest lecture by Bell and Ranjbaran will take place at 6:30
p.m. March 31 in Sweeney Hall at the IU School of Music in
Bloomington.
"We're going to talk about the violin concerto … about the
composition process, how the work was conceived and how the
music (is) played by Josh Bell," Ranjbaran said.
Bell, who also graduated from IU, is looking forward to
performing something new with the Indianapolis Symphony
Orchestra, where he has appeared about 15 times since his early
teens.
"To bring something new was appealing to me, and to have a
little reunion like that, I thought this was perfect," Bell said
in a phone interview from his home in Manhattan.
The 30-minute, Persian-influenced concerto was inspired by the
ancient violinlike instrument, the kamancheh.
Ranjbaran, who wrote it about a decade ago, describes it as a
mix of ancient and modern worlds.
Until 2003, Bell was too busy to fit adequate practice time —
about a month — into his schedule of touring and musical
collaborations.
"It was sort of, in some ways, frustrating, that at the time I
couldn't get around to learning it," Bell said. "It really sat
for many years. It was a source of a lot of guilt for me."
The Grammy Award winner had been working on his 27th release,
"Romance of the Violin," which became the top-selling classical
recording of 2004, the same year Bell was named Classical Music
Artist of the Year by Billboard Magazine.
In 2003, he appeared on Josh Groban's album "Closer."
Known as a successful crossover artist — he played bluegrass
alongside double-bassist and fellow IU graduate Edgar Meyer in
the late 1990s — Bell even has begun making a name for himself
in the movie soundtrack arena.
His violin is featured in the 1999 movie "The Red Violin," and
Bell played in "Ladies in Lavender," starring Maggie Smith and
Judi Dench. Its soundtrack will be released April 26.
"It's a nice escape," Bell said of movie work.
Ranjbaran has had a busy schedule of his own.
The violin concerto was his second to be premiered by Gerard
Schwarz with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic in 2003. And last
year, Ranjbaran released the CD "The Persian Trilogies."
The upcoming trip to Bloomington will be his first since the
mid-1980s.
"So this is a very special trip," he said.
He is traveling with his wife, Rita Melikian, who was an IU
School of Education student in Bloomington when they met.
The couple will bring their 11-year-old daughter and 16-year-old
son along and plan to see how the tulips and hyacinths Ranjbaran
planted outside his Third Street home are doing.
Bell, too, is looking forward to coming home:
"I still feel very connected with Bloomington, and the
university, too. I'm very much in touch with people and the
administration," he said.
After catching up with his family, he will once again walk the
halls of the music school to visit the studio where his late
mentor, Josef Gingold, spent decades with students.
Bell admits there were many times he headed to the arcade when
he was supposed to be practicing his violin.
The arcade, Spaceport, is gone now. So is Bruce's Cafe, where
the violinist spent many a late night hour drinking coffee with
friends.
But Bloomington still holds its charm.
"Although it's growing a lot, still it brings back a lot of
great, great memories," Bell said.
Hear Bell play
WHO: Joshua Bell plays the North American debut of
"Violin Concerto" by Behzad Ranjbaran with the Indianapolis
Symphony Orchestra.
WHEN: 11 a.m. March 31, 8 p.m. April 1, 5:30 p.m. April
2.
WHERE: Hilbert Circle Theatre, 45 Monument Circle,
Indianapolis.
HOW MUCH: $18-$62.
INFO: www.indianapolissymphony.org, www.joshuabell.com,
www.behzadranjbaran.com.
MORE: Bell and Ranjbaran, both Indiana University
graduates, will be in Sweeney Hall at the IU School of Music at
6:30 p.m. March 31 to discuss the piece. The event is open to
the public.
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Violinist Joshua Bell performs at the Grammy Awards
in this photo from 2002. |
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