Take Two

Over the past few years, Patricia Kopatchinskaja has exploded the norms of the classical violin. Her highly personal – even extreme – interpretations of the great classics leave no one indifferent and fascinate the public, which adores her generosity and commitment on the concert platform, her taste for new musical creations and pieces from off the beaten track. Now the barefoot violinist invites us to join her in a unique musical experience that mixes composers of the seventeenth (and even the eleventh!) century with living composers, a clarinettist playing the ocarina, an improvisatory harpsichordist, an electro musician, a toy piano…

Although they weren't as great a team as Gaye and Tammi Terrell, the Gaye/Weston duo turned out a few solid numbers. The finest was "It Takes Two," a steamy bit of uptempo soul that came close to equaling any fast duet number Gaye ever made at Motown. The rest was well done, but not quite on the same level.

It all started with a commission from the Théâtre du Bois d’Arcy near Paris, to do a jazz performance with a theme. I spontaneously chose “cinema,” probably due to the strong connection between jazz standards and movies. It also felt like an amusing challenge to juxtapose genres and make each piece a kind of short film for the ears. Since that first performance, the project has rolled around in my head, hibernated, and periodically resurfaced. Today it has finally emerged from my mind’s egg.