The transformative power of classical music | Benjamin Zander | TED

Translator: Fanie Pretorius Reviewer: Christo Crafford

Probably a lot of you know the story of the two salesmen

Van julle ken waarskynlik die storie van die twee verkoopsmanne

who went down to Africa in the 1900s.

wat in die 1900's Afrika besoek het.

They were sent down to find if there was any opportunity

Hulle's gestuur om te kyk of daar geleentheid is

for selling shoes,

om skoene te verkoop.

and they wrote telegrams back to Manchester.

Hulle stuur toe telegramme terug na Manchester toe.

And one of them wrote,

Die een skryf:

"Situation hopeless. Stop. They don't wear shoes."

"Situasie hopeloos. Stop. Hulle dra nie skoene nie."

And the other one wrote,

Die ander een skryf:

"Glorious opportunity. They don't have any shoes yet."

"Uitstekende geleentheid. Hulle't nog nie skoene hier nie."

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

Now, there's a similar situation in the classical music world,

Daar's ’n soortgelyke situasie in die wêreld van klassieke musiek,

because there are some people who think that classical music is dying.

want party mense dink dat klassieke musiek besig is om uit te sterf.

And there are some of us who think you ain't seen nothing yet.

En dan is daar van ons wat dink dis nog net die begin van veel groter dinge.

And rather than go into statistics and trends,

Eerder as om statistiek en tendense aan te haal

and tell you about all the orchestras that are closing,

en julle te vertel van al die orkeste wat ontbind,

and the record companies that are folding,

en die platemaatskappye wat sluit,

I thought we should do an experiment tonight.

het ek gedink ons kan vanaand ’n eksperiment doen.

Actually, it's not really an experiment, because I know the outcome.

Dis nie regtig ’n eksperiment nie, want ek weet wat die uitkoms is.

(Laughter)

But it's like an experiment.

(Gelag)

Maar dis iets soos ’n eksperiment.

Now, before we start --

Nou, voor ons --

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

Before we start, I need to do two things.

-- voor ons begin, moet ek twee dinge doen.

One is I want to remind you of what a seven-year-old child

Die een is dat ek julle wil herinner hoe ’n sewejarige kind

sounds like when he plays the piano.

klink wanneer hy klavier speel.

Maybe you have this child at home.

Miskien het julle so ’n kind by die huis.

He sounds something like this.

Hy klink omtrent so.

(Music)

(Musiek)

(Music ends)

I see some of you recognize this child.

Ek sien sommige van julle herken hierdie kind.

Now, if he practices for a year and takes lessons, he's now eight

As hy ’n jaar lank oefen en les neem, is hy nou agt

and he sounds like this.

(Music)

en dan klink hy so.

(Musiek)

(Music ends)

He practices for another year and takes lessons -- he's nine.

Dan oefen hy nog ’n jaar en neem les -- nou's hy nege.

(Music)

(Musiek)

(Music ends)

Then he practices for another year and takes lessons -- now he's 10.

Dan oefen hy nog ’n jaar en neem les -- nou's hy tien.

(Musiek)

(Music)

(Music ends)

At that point, they usually give up.

Op daardie stadium gooi hulle gewoonlik tou op.

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

(Applause)

(Applous)

Now, if you'd waited for one more year, you would have heard this.

Maar as jy nog een jaar gewag het, sou jy dit gehoor het:

(Music)

(Musiek)

(Music ends)

Now, what happened was not maybe what you thought,

Wat gebeur het, is nie wat julle dalk dink nie,

which is, he suddenly became passionate, engaged,

dat hy skielik passievol en betrokke geraak het,

involved, got a new teacher, he hit puberty, or whatever it is.

’n nuwe onderwyser gekry het, puberteit bereik het, of wat ook al.

What actually happened was the impulses were reduced.

Wat in werklikheid gebeur het, is dat die klemtone verminder is.

You see, the first time, he was playing with an impulse on every note.

Julle sien, die eerste keer het hy elke noot beklemtoon.

(Music)

(Musiek)

And the second, with an impulse every other note.

En die tweede, met die klem op elke tweede noot.

(Music)

(Musiek)

You can see it by looking at my head.

Julle kan dit sien deur na my kop te kyk.

(Laughter)

The nine-year-old put an impulse on every four notes.

(Gelag)

Die negejarige plaas die klem op elke vierde noot.

(Music)

(Musiek)

The 10-year-old, on every eight notes.

En die tienjarige op elke agt note.

(Music)

(Musiek)

And the 11-year-old, one impulse on the whole phrase.

En die 11-jarige, een klem op die hele frase.

(Music)

(Musiek)

I don't know how we got into this position.

Ek weet nie hoe ons hier beland het nie.

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

I didn't say, "I'm going to move my shoulder over, move my body."

Ek't nie gesê ek gaan my skouer oor beweeg, my lyf beweeg nie.

Nee, die musiek het my omgestoot,

No, the music pushed me over,

which is why I call it one-buttock playing.

dis hoekom ek dit een-boud-spel noem.

(Music)

(Musiek)

It can be the other buttock.

Dit kan ook die ander boud wees.

(Music)

(Musiek)

You know, a gentleman was once watching a presentation I was doing,

’n Man het een keer na ’n aanbieding gekyk

when I was working with a young pianist.

waar ek met ’n jong pianis gewerk het.

Hy was die president van ’n maatskappy in Ohio.

He was the president of a corporation in Ohio.

I was working with this young pianist, and said,

Ek't met die jong pianis gewerk en gesê:

"The trouble with you is you're a two-buttock player.

"Die moeilikheid met jou is, jy's ’n twee-boud-speler.

You should be a one-buttock player."

Jy moet ’n een-boud-speler wees."

I moved his body while he was playing.

Toe verskuif ek sy lyf so terwyl hy speel.

And suddenly, the music took off. It took flight.

En skielik het die musiek lewe gekry -- opgestyg.

The audience gasped when they heard the difference.

Die gehoor het na hul asems gesnak toe hulle die verskil hoor.

Then I got a letter from this gentleman.

Toe kry ek ’n brief van dié man.

He said, "I was so moved.

Hy skryf: "Ek was so geroer.

I went back and I transformed my entire company

Ek't teruggegaan en my hele firma omskep

into a one-buttock company."

in ’n een-boud-maatskappy."

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

Now, the other thing I wanted to do is to tell you about you.

Die ander ding wat ek wou doen, is om julle oor julleself te vertel.

There are 1,600 people, I believe.

Daar is 1600 mense hier.

My estimation is that probably 45 of you

Ek skat dat 45 van julle waarskynlik

are absolutely passionate about classical music.

’n absolute passie vir klassieke musiek het.

You adore classical music. Your FM is always on that classical dial.

Julle is mal oor klassieke musiek. Jul radio's is altyd op klassiek ingestel.

You have CDs in your car, and you go to the symphony,

Julle't CD's in julle motors en julle woon simfoniekonserte by.

your children are playing instruments.

Julle kinders speel instrumente.

You can't imagine your life without classical music.

Julle kan nie jul lewens indink sonder klassieke musiek nie.

That's the first group, quite small.

Dis die eerste groep; ’n redelike klein een.

Then there's another bigger group.

Dan's daar ’n groter groep.

The people who don't mind classical music.

Dis mense wat niks teen klassieke musiek het nie.

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

You know, you've come home from a long day,

Jy kom tuis na ’n lang dag

and you take a glass of wine, and you put your feet up.

en jy kry ’n glasie wyn en gaan sit gemaklik.

A little Vivaldi in the background doesn't do any harm.

’n Bietjie Vivaldi in die agtergrond doen geen skade nie.

That's the second group.

Dis die tweede groep.

Now comes the third group:

Nou die derde groep.

people who never listen to classical music.

Dis mense wat nooit klassieke musiek luister nie.

It's just simply not part of your life.

Dis eenvoudig nie deel van jou lewe nie.

You might hear it like second-hand smoke at the airport ...

Jy tel dit dalk nes sekondêre rook by die lughawe op, maar --

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

-- and maybe a little bit of a march from "Aida"

-- en miskien ’n mars uit Aïda

when you come into the hall.

wanneer jy die saal instap.

But otherwise, you never hear it.

Maar andersins nooit nie.

That's probably the largest group.

Dis waarskynlik die grootste groep.

And then there's a very small group.

En dan is daar ’n baie klein groepie.

These are the people who think they're tone-deaf.

Dis mense wat dink dat hulle toondoof is.

Amazing number of people think they're tone-deaf.

’n Verbasende aantal mense dink hulle is.

Actually, I hear a lot, "My husband is tone-deaf."

Ek hoor dikwels: "My man is toondoof."

(Laughter)

Actually, you cannot be tone-deaf.

(Gelag)

Die waarheid: Jy kan nie toondoof wees nie.

Nobody is tone-deaf.

Niemand is nie.

If you were tone-deaf, you couldn't change the gears

As jy toondoof was, sou jy nie die ratte kon verwissel

on your car, in a stick shift car.

in jou motor met ’n handrat nie.

You couldn't tell the difference between

Jy sou nie die verskil kon hoor tussen

somebody from Texas and somebody from Rome.

iemand van Texas en iemand van Rome nie.

And the telephone. The telephone.

En die telefoon. Die telefoon.

If your mother calls

As jou ma op die

on the miserable telephone, she calls and says, "Hello,"

elendige telefoon bel en sê: "Hallo,"

you not only know who it is, you know what mood she's in.

dan weet jy wie dit is én in watter bui sy is.

You have a fantastic ear. Everybody has a fantastic ear.

Jy het ’n wonderlike oor. Almal het ’n wonderlike oor.

So nobody is tone-deaf.

So niemand is toondoof nie.

But I tell you what.

Maar ek sê julle wat.

It doesn't work for me to go on with this thing,

Dit help nie ek gaan voort met die ding,

with such a wide gulf between those who understand,

met so ’n groot gaping tussen dié wat verstaan,

love and are passionate about classical music,

en wat passievol en lief vir klassieke musiek is,

and those who have no relationship to it at all.

en diegene wat glad geen aanklank daarmee het nie.

The tone-deaf people, they're no longer here.

Die toondoof mense is nie meer hier nie.

But even between those three categories,

Maar selfs tussen daai drie kategorieë

it's too wide a gulf.

is die gaping te groot.

So I'm not going to go on until every single person in this room,

Ek gaan dus nie voortgaan totdat elkeen in hierdie vertrek,

op die onderste vloer en in Aspen, en almal wat hierna kyk,

downstairs and in Aspen, and everybody else looking,

will come to love and understand classical music.

geleer het om klassieke musiek lief te hê en te verstaan nie.

So that's what we're going to do.

So dis wat ons gaan doen.

Now, you notice that there is not the slightest doubt in my mind

Julle sien dat ek nie die geringste twyfel het

that this is going to work, if you look at my face, right?

dat dit gaan werk nie, as julle na my gesig kyk, nè?

It's one of the characteristics of a leader that he not doubt

Dis een van die eienskappe van ’n leier: Hy het geen twyfel

for one moment the capacity of the people he's leading

aan die mense wat hy lei se vermoë

to realize whatever he's dreaming.

om dit te bereik waaroor hy droom nie.

Imagine if Martin Luther King had said, "I have a dream.

Dink net, as Martin Luther King gesê het: "Ek het ’n droom.

Of course, I'm not sure they'll be up to it."

Maar ek's nie seker of hulle kans sien nie."

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

All right. So I'm going to take a piece of Chopin.

Goed. Ek gaan ’n stuk van Chopin gebruik.

This is a beautiful prelude by Chopin.

Dis ’n pragtige prelude van Chopin.

Some of you will know it.

Van julle sal dit ken.

(Music)

(Musiek)

Do you know what I think probably happened here?

Weet julle wat dink ek het waarskynlik nou gebeur?

When I started, you thought, "How beautiful that sounds."

Toe ek begin het, het julle gedink: "Dit klink so pragtig."

(Music)

(Musiek)

"I don't think we should go to the same place

"Ek dink nie ons moet vir die volgende somervakansie

for our summer holidays next year."

na dieselfde plek toe gaan nie."

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

It's funny, isn't it?

Dis snaaks, nè?

It's funny how those thoughts kind of waft into your head.

Dis snaaks hoe sulke dinge in ons gedagtes insluip.

And of course --

(Applous)

(Applause)

Of course, if the piece is long and you've had a long day,

As die stuk lank is en jy't ’n lang dag gehad,

you might actually drift off.

mag jy selfs insluimer.

Then your companion will dig you in the ribs

Dan pomp jou metgesel jou in die ribbes

and say, "Wake up! It's culture!" And then you feel even worse.

en sê: "Word wakker! Dis kultuur!" En dan voel jy nog slegter.

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

But has it ever occurred to you that the reason you feel sleepy

Maar het dit al ooit by jou opgekom dat die rede waarom jy vaak word

in classical music is not because of you, but because of us?

met klassieke musiek nie jou skuld is nie, maar ons s'n?

Did anybody think while I was playing,

Het iemand gedink, terwyl ek gespeel het:

"Why is he using so many impulses?"

"Waarom gebruik hy soveel klemtone?"

If I'd done this with my head you certainly would have thought it.

As ek dit met my kop gedoen het, sou julle beslis so gedink het.

(Music)

(Musiek)

(Music ends)

And for the rest of your life, every time you hear classical music,

En vir die res van julle lewens sal julle altyd bewus wees

van die klemtone wanneer julle na klassieke musiek luister.

you'll always be able to know if you hear those impulses.

So let's see what's really going on here.

Kom ons kyk wat regtig hier aangaan.

We have a B. This is a B.

Ons het ’n B. Dis ’n B.

The next note is a C.

Die volgende noot is ’n C.

And the job of the C is to make the B sad.

En die C se taak is om die B treurig te maak.

And it does, doesn't it?

En dit werk, of hoe?

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

Composers know that.

Komponiste weet dit.

If they want sad music, they just play those two notes.

As hulle treurige musiek wil hê, speel hulle net dié twee note.

(Music)

(Musiek)

But basically, it's just a B, with four sads.

Maar basies is dit net ’n B, met vier treuriges.

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

Now, it goes down to A.

Nou gaan dit af na A.

Now to G.

Nou na G.

And then to F.

En dan na F.

So we have B, A, G, F.

So ons het B, A, G, F.

And if we have B, A, G, F,

En as ons B, A, G, F het,

what do we expect next?

wat verwag ons volgende?

(Music)

(Musiek)

That might have been a fluke.

O, dit was seker toeval.

Let's try it again.

Kom ons probeer weer.

(Music)

(Musiek)

Oh, the TED choir.

(Gehoor sing)

(Laughter)

O, die TED-koor.

(Gelag)

And you notice nobody is tone-deaf, right?

En julle let op dat niemand toondoof is nie, ne?

Nobody is.

Niemand nie.

You know, every village in Bangladesh

Julle weet, elke dorpie in Bangladesh

and every hamlet in China -- everybody knows:

en elke gehuggie in Sjina -- almal weet:

da, da, da, da -- da.

da, da, da, da -- da.

Everybody knows, who's expecting that E.

Almal weet om ’n E daar te verwag.

Chopin didn't want to reach the E there,

Chopin wou nie daar by die E uitgekom het nie,

because what will have happened?

want wat sou gebeur het?

It will be over, like Hamlet. Do you remember?

Dit sou verby wees, soos Hamlet, nè?

Eerste bedryf, derde toneel:

Act One, scene three,

he finds out his uncle killed his father.

hy vind uit dat sy oom sy pa vermoor het.

He keeps on going up to his uncle and almost killing him.

Hy hou aan om sy oom te nader en hom amper dood te maak.

Dan tree hy terug, nader hom weer en maak hom amper dood.

And then he backs away, he goes up to him again, almost kills him.

En die kritici daar in die agterste ry,

The critics sitting in the back row there,

hulle moet ’n opinie hê, so hulle sê: "Hamlet sloer."

they have to have an opinion, so they say, "Hamlet is a procrastinator."

Or they say, "Hamlet has an Oedipus complex."

Of hulle sê: "Hamlet het ’n Oedipus-kompleks."

No, otherwise the play would be over, stupid.

Nee, anders sou die opvoering verby gewees het, simpel!

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

That's why Shakespeare puts all that stuff in Hamlet --

Dis waarom Shakespeare al daai goed in het --

Ophelia going mad, the play within the play,

Ophelia wat mal word, die storie in die storie,

and Yorick's skull, and the gravediggers.

en Yorick se kopbeen, en die grafgrawers.

That's in order to delay --

Dis om uit te stel --

until Act Five, he can kill him.

tot die vyfde bedryf, dan kan hy hom doodmaak.

It's the same with the Chopin.

Dieselfde geld vir Chopin.

He's just about to reach the E,

Hy wil net-net E bereik,

and he says, "Oops, better go back up and do it again."

en hy sê: "Oeps, ek moet liewer terug gaan en dit weer doen."

So he does it again.

Dan doen hy dit weer.

Now, he gets excited.

Nou raak hy opgewonde.

(Music)

(Musiek)

That's excitement, don't worry about it.

Dis opgewondenheid, moenie bekommer nie.

Now, he gets to F-sharp, and finally he goes down to E,

Nou kom hy by F-kruis uit en uiteindelik gaan hy af tot by E,

but it's the wrong chord --

maar dis die verkeerde sleutel --

because the chord he's looking for is this one,

want die sleutel waarna hy soek is dié een

and instead he does ...

en in plaas daarvan doen hy ...

Now, we call that a deceptive cadence,

Nou, ons noem dit misleidende intonasie,

because it deceives us.

want dit mislei ons.

I tell my students, "If you have a deceptive cadence,

Ek sê altyd vir my studente: "By misleidende intonasie,

raise your eyebrows, and everybody will know."

lig julle wenkbroue, dan weet almal."

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

(Applause)

(Applous)

Right.

Goed.

He gets to E, but it's the wrong chord.

Hy kom by E uit, maar dis die verkeerde sleutel.

Now, he tries E again.

Hy probeer E weer.

That chord doesn't work.

Daai sleutel werk nie.

Now, he tries the E again. That chord doesn't work.

Nou probeer hy die E weer. Die sleutel werk nie.

Now, he tries E again, and that doesn't work.

Nou probeer hy E weer, en dit werk nie.

And then finally ...

En dan, uiteindelik ...

There was a gentleman in the front row who went, "Mmm."

Daar is ’n man in die voorste ry wat so "Hmf" sug.

(Laughter)

It's the same gesture he makes when he comes home

(Gelag)

Dis dieselfde ding wat hy doen wanneer hy na ’n lang dag

after a long day, turns off the key in his car and says,

by die huis kom, sy motor afskakel en sê:

"Aah, I'm home."

"A, ek is tuis."

Because we all know where home is.

Want ons weet almal wanneer ons tuis voel.

So this is a piece which goes from away to home.

Dis dus 'n stuk wat van weggaan af weer tuiskom.

I'm going to play it all the way through and you're going to follow.

Ek gaan dit regdeur speel en julle gaan volg.

B, C, B, C, B, C, B --

B, C, B, C, B, C, B --

down to A, down to G, down to F.

af na A, af na G, af na F.

Almost goes to E, but otherwise the play would be over.

Amper tot by E, maar dan sou die opvoering verby wees.

He goes back up to B, he gets very excited.

Terug op B toe, raak baie opgewonde.

Goes to F-sharp. Goes to E.

Na F-kruis toe. E toe.

It's the wrong chord. It's the wrong chord.

Dis die verkeerde akkoord.

And finally goes to E, and it's home.

En uiteindelik na E, en dis tuis.

And what you're going to see is one-buttock playing.

En wat julle gaan sien, is een-boud-spel.

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

Because for me, to join the B to the E,

Want vir my, om die B en die E te verbind,

I have to stop thinking about every single note along the way,

moet ek ophou dink aan elke enkele noot op hierdie roete

and start thinking about the long, long line from B to E.

en begin dink aan die lang, lang lyn van B tot E.

You know, we were just in South Africa, and you can't go to South Africa

Julle weet, ons was pas in Suid-Afrika, en jy kan nie Suid-Afrika toe gaan

without thinking of Mandela in jail for 27 years.

sonder om aan Mandela wat 27 jaar lank in die tronk was te dink nie.

What was he thinking about? Lunch?

Waaraan het hy gedink? Middagete?

No, he was thinking about the vision for South Africa

Nee, hy't gedink aan die visie vir Suid-Afrika

and for human beings.

en ’n visie vir die mensdom.

This is about vision. This is about the long line.

Dit gaan oor visie. Dit gaan oor die lang lyn.

Like the bird who flies over the field

Soos die voël wat oor die veld vlieg

and doesn't care about the fences underneath, all right?

en geen aandag gee aan die heinings daar onder nie, nè?

So now, you're going to follow the line all the way from B to E.

Nou gaan julle die lyn al die pad volg, van B tot E.

And I've one last request before I play this piece all the way through.

Ek't een finale versoek voor ek die stuk regdeur speel.

Would you think of somebody who you adore,

Dink aan iemand wat jy baie liefhet,

who's no longer there?

wat nie meer daar is nie?

A beloved grandmother, a lover --

’n Geliefde ouma, ’n beminde --

somebody in your life who you love with all your heart,

iemand in jou lewe wat jy met jou hele hart liefhet,

but that person is no longer with you.

maar die persoon is nie meer by jou nie.

Bring that person into your mind,

Dink aan daai persoon

and at the same time,

en volg terselftertyd

follow the line all the way from B to E,

die lyn al die pad van B na E,

and you'll hear everything that Chopin had to say.

en jy sal alles hoor wat Chopin te sê gehad het.

(Music)

(Musiek)

(Music ends)

(Applause)

(Applous)

Now, you may be wondering --

Julle wonder dalk nou --

(Applause)

(Applous)

(Applause ends)

You may be wondering why I'm clapping.

Julle wonder dalk hoekom ek saam klap.

Well, I did this at a school in Boston

Ek't dit by ’n skool in Boston gedoen

with about 70 seventh graders, 12-year-olds.

met omtrent 70 graad sewes -- 12-jariges.

I did exactly what I did with you,

Ek't presies dieselfde met hulle gedoen,

and I explained the whole thing.

en die hele ding verduidelik.

At the end, they went crazy, clapping.

En aan die einde het hulle soos besetenes geklap.

I was clapping. They were clapping.

Ek't geklap. Hulle't geklap.

Finally, I said, "Why am I clapping?"

Tot ek gevra het: "Waarom klap ek?"

And one of them said, "Because we were listening."

En een van die kleintjies sê: "Want ons het geluister."

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

Think of it. 1,600 people, busy people,

Dink daaraan. 1600 mense, besige mense,

involved in all sorts of different things,

wat by allerhande dinge betrokke is,

listening, understanding and being moved

aan't luister, verstaan en geraak word

by a piece by Chopin.

deur ’n stuk van Chopin.

Now, that is something.

Dit is merkwaardig.

Am I sure that every single person followed that,

Is ek seker dat elkeen dit gevolg

understood it, was moved by it?

en verstaan het en daardeur geraak is?

Of course, I can't be sure.

Natuurlik nie.

But I'll tell you what happened to me in Ireland

Maar ek vertel julle wat met my in Ierland gebeur het,

during the Troubles, 10 years ago,

tydens hulle moeilikhede, 10 jaar gelede.

and I was working with some Catholic and Protestant kids

Ek't met 'n klompie Katolieke en Protestantse kinders gewerk

on conflict resolution.

oor konflikoplossing.

And I did this with them --

Toe doen ek dit met hulle --

a risky thing to do, because they were street kids.

’n gewaagde ding, want hulle was straatkinders.

And one of them came to me the next morning

En een van hulle kom die volgende oggend na my toe

and he said,

en hy sê:

"You know, I've never listened to classical music in my life,

"Jy weet, ek het nog nooit na klassieke musiek geluister nie,

but when you played that shopping piece ..."

maar toe jy daai 'shopping' stuk speel ..."

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

He said, "My brother was shot last year and I didn't cry for him.

Hy sê: "My broer is laas jaar geskiet en ek't nie oor hom gehuil nie.

But last night, when you played that piece,

Maar gisteraand toe jy daai stuk speel,

he was the one I was thinking about.

was hy die een waaraan ek gedink het.

And I felt the tears streaming down my face.

En ek't gevoel hoe trane oor my gesig stroom.

And it felt really good to cry for my brother."

En dit het regtig goed gevoel om oor my broer te huil."

So I made up my mind at that moment

Op daardie oomblik het ek besluit

that classical music is for everybody.

dat klassieke musiek aan almal behoort.

Everybody.

Almal.

Now, how would you walk --

Nou, hoe sou julle loop --

my profession, the music profession doesn't see it that way.

my professie, die musiekprofessie sien dit nie so nie.

They say three percent of the population likes classical music.

Hulle sê 3% van die bevolking hou van klassieke musiek.

If only we could move it to four percent, our problems would be over.

As ons dit maar net kon opstoot na 4% sou ons probleme opgelos wees.

(Laughter)

How would you walk? How would you talk? How would you be?

(Gelag)

Hoe sou jy loop? Hoe sou jy praat?

Hoe sou jy wees as jy gedink het 3% hou van klassieke musiek?

If you thought, "Three percent of the population likes classical music,

if only we could move it to four percent."

As ons dit maar net kon opstoot na 4%.

How would you walk or talk? How would you be?

Hoe sou jy loop of praat?

If you thought, "Everybody loves classical music --

Hoe sou jy wees as jy gedink het almal is lief is vir klassieke musiek --

they just haven't found out about it yet."

hulle't dit nog net nie ontdek nie.

See, these are totally different worlds.

Sien, dis totaal verskillende wêrelde.

Now, I had an amazing experience.

Ek't ’n wonderlike ervaring gehad --

I was 45 years old,

ek was 45 jaar oud.

I'd been conducting for 20 years,

Ek dirigeer toe al 20 jaar lank,

and I suddenly had a realization.

en skielik het ek iets besef.

The conductor of an orchestra doesn't make a sound.

Die dirigent van ’n orkes maak nie ’n geluid nie.

My picture appears on the front of the CD --

My foto verskyn voor op die CD --

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

But the conductor doesn't make a sound.

Maar die dirigent maak nie ’n geluid nie.

He depends, for his power,

Vir hom om mag te hê,

on his ability to make other people powerful.

is hy afhanklik van sy vermoë om ander mense te bemagtig.

And that changed everything for me.

En dit het alles vir my verander.

It was totally life-changing.

Dit was ’n totale lewensomkeer.

People in my orchestra said,

Mense in my orkes het gesê:

"Ben, what happened?" That's what happened.

"Ben, wat het gebeur?." Dis wat gebeur het:

I realized my job was to awaken possibility in other people.

Ek't besef dat my taak is om moontlikheid in andere te wek.

And of course, I wanted to know whether I was doing that.

Natuurlik wou ek weet of ek dit doen.

En weet julle hoe mens dit bepaal?

How do you find out?

You look at their eyes.

Jy kyk na hulle oë.

As hulle oë blink, dan weet jy dat jy daarin slaag.

If their eyes are shining, you know you're doing it.

You could light up a village with this guy's eyes.

Jy kan ’n dorpie van lig voorsien met hierdie man se oë.

(Laughter)

(Gelag)

Right. So if the eyes are shining, you know you're doing it.

So as die oë blink, weet jy dat jy slaag.

If the eyes are not shining, you get to ask a question.

As die oë nie blink nie, moet jy ’n vraag vra.

And this is the question:

En die vraag is:

who am I being

Wie is ek besig om te wees,

that my players' eyes are not shining?

dat my spelers se oë nie blink nie?

We can do that with our children, too.

Ons kan dit met ons kinders ook doen.

Who am I being,

Wie is ek besig om te wees,

that my children's eyes are not shining?

dat my kinders se oë nie blink nie?

That's a totally different world.

Dis ’n totaal ander wêreld.

Now, we're all about to end this magical, on-the-mountain week,

Nou, ons moet amper hierdie magiese, op-die-berg week beëindig,

we're going back into the world.

en ons gaan terug na die wêreld.

And I say, it's appropriate for us to ask the question,

En ek sê dis gepas dat ons die vraag vra:

who are we being as we go back out into the world?

Wie is ons besig om te wees wanneer ons teruggaan na die wêreld toe?

And you know, I have a definition of success.

En weet julle, ek't ’n definisie van sukses.

For me, it's very simple.

Dis baie eenvoudig.

It's not about wealth and fame and power.

Dit gaan nie oor rykdom, roem of mag nie.

It's about how many shining eyes I have around me.

Dit gaan oor hoeveel blink oë ek om my het.

So now, I have one last thought,

En nou het ek een laaste gedagte,

which is that it really makes a difference what we say --

en dis dat dit regtig ’n verskil maak wat ons sê --

the words that come out of our mouth.

die woorde wat uit ons mond kom.

I learned this from a woman who survived Auschwitz,

Ek't dit geleer van ’n vrou wat Auschwitz oorleef het,

one of the rare survivors.

een van die min oorlewendes.

She went to Auschwitz when she was 15 years old.

Sy is Auschwitz toe op 15.

And ...

En ...

And her brother was eight,

haar broer was agt,

and the parents were lost.

en hulle ouers was verlore.

And she told me this, she said,

En sy't vir my gesê:

"We were in the train going to Auschwitz,

"Ons was in die trein op pad Auschwitz toe

and I looked down and saw my brother's shoes were missing.

en ek't afgekyk en gesien dat my boetie se skoene weg was.

I said, 'Why are you so stupid, can't you keep your things together

Toe sê ek: "Hoekom is jy so simpel, kan jy nie jou goed bymekaar hou nie,

for goodness' sake?'"

om hemelsnaam!"

The way an elder sister might speak to a younger brother.

Soos ’n ouer suster dalk met haar jonger broer sou praat.

Unfortunately, it was the last thing she ever said to him,

Ongelukkig was dit die laaste ding wat sy ooit vir hom gesê het,

because she never saw him again.

want sy't hom nooit weer gesien nie.

He did not survive.

Hy't nie oorleef nie.

And so when she came out of Auschwitz, she made a vow.

Toe sy uit Auschwitz kom, het sy ’n eed geneem.

She told me this.

Sy't my vertel.

She said, "I walked out of Auschwitz into life

Sy't gesê: "Ek't uit Auschwitz die lewe ingeloop

and I made a vow.

en ek't myself iets belowe.

And the vow was,

Die belofte was:

"I will never say anything that couldn't stand as the last thing I ever say."

"Ek sal nooit iets sê wat nie aanvaarbaar as my laaste woorde is nie."

Now, can we do that? No.

Kan ons dit doen? Nee.

And we'll make ourselves wrong and others wrong.

Ons sal misluk en ander ook.

But it is a possibility to live into.

Maar dis ’n ideaal om na te streef.

Thank you.

Dankie.

(Applause)

(Applous)

Shining eyes.

Blink oë!

(Applause)

Shining eyes.

Blink oë!

(Applause)

(Applous)

Thank you, thank you.

Dankie, dankie.

(Applous)