Renowned violinist Ariadne Daskalakis returns to lead local music festival
To violinist Ariadne Daskalakis, instruments aren’t just inanimate objects to be used. They are companions, and it is “your responsibility and your privilege to bring the instrument to life, and make it sing.”
“String instruments have a flexibility in their sound, which you could compare to the human voice,” Daskalakis said. “You create that sound every day anew.”
Daskalakis, the artistic director for the European Academy for Music and Art - Palazzo Ricci in Italy, and longtime Wareham summer resident, will be leading chamber music concerts as part of the annual Music from Land’s End Wareham festival, beginning in late July.
As the festival’s artistic director, Daskalakis brings with her Nina Tichman and Anthony Spiri on piano, featured young artist Andria Chang on violin, Sebastian Gottschick on viola, and Paige Riggs on cello.
Daskalakis said she is looking forward to the concerts, because she sees enjoying music as a communal activity that allows people to unplug from their otherwise hectic modern lives.
“It’s a moment where you can’t use your cell phone, or your computer,” Daskalakis said. “It’s a time to come together quietly, and enter a special realm. I expect a lot of people will hear music they have never heard before, and I hope it enriches them in some way.”
Daskalakis started playing violin at the age of five and said it's always “inspiring” to see young people in the audience because they “express their interest so clearly, and it makes our work all the more meaningful.” She also said she can better judge the caliber of her performance by how children in the audience react to the music.
“Kids are really honest listeners -- you can tell what grabs them,” Daskalakis said. “If I am not playing well, [a piece] will make less sense to them, and they will be less into it.”
One of the most important things, Daskalakis said, is to remember that music, unlike other forms of art, must be constantly recreated by musicians. In that resurrection, however, the artist must stay true to the composer’s intention.
“You want your own voice, but the piece of music is only going to make sense when you understand what the composer was intending,” Daskalakis said. “It’s not just my opinion or how I feel in the moment. I try to serve this amazing piece of art.”
The festival begins on July 26, with a concert at 5 p.m. at the Church of the Good Shepherd. The concert schedule is as follows:
- July 26, 5 p.m. -- Church of the Good Shepherd
- July 30, 4 p.m. -- Wareham Free Library (benefit concert for the Wareham Free Library)
- July 31, 8 p.m. -- St. Gabriel’s Church, Marion
- Aug. 1, 5 p.m. -- Church of the Good Shepherd (benefit concert for Tobey Hospital)
For more information, visit the festival’s website, or use the site’s contact form. Admission is based on suggested donation.