Robert Gupta: Music is medicine, music is sanity

Translator: Xosé María Moreno Reviewer: Eulalia Baroja

One day, Los Angeles Times columnist

Un día, un columnista de Los Angeles Times

Steve Lopez was walking along

Steve Lopez paseaba

the streets of downtown Los Angeles

polas rúas de Los Angeles

when he heard beautiful music.

cando ouviu unha música marabillosa.

And the source was a man,

E a orixe era un home,

an African-American man,

un home afro-americano,

charming, rugged, homeless,

engaiolante, engurrado, sen teito,

playing a violin that only had two strings.

tocando un violín que tan só tiña dúas cordas.

And I'm telling a story that many of you know,

Estou contado unha historia que moitos de vostedes xa coñecen

because Steve's columns became the basis

porque a columna de Steve constituíu a base

for a book, which was turned into a movie,

dun libro, do que se fixo unha película

with Robert Downey Jr. acting as Steve Lopez,

con Robert Downey Jr. no papel de Steve Lopez,

and Jamie Foxx as Nathaniel Anthony Ayers,

e Jamie Foxx como Nathaniel Anthony Ayers,

the Juilliard-trained double bassist

o contra-chelista formado na Escola Julliard

whose promising career was cut short

cuxa prometedora carreira foi interrrumpida

by a tragic affliction with paranoid schizophrenia.

polo tráxico padecemento dunha esquizofrenia paranoide.

Nathaniel dropped out of Juilliard, he suffered a complete breakdown,

Nathaniel abandonou a Escola Julliard, sufriu unha profunda crise

and 30 years later he was living homeless

e 30 anos máis tarde vivía sen un teito

on the streets of Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles.

nas rúas de Skid Row en Los Angeles

I encourage all of you to read Steve's book or to watch the movie

Anímovos a que leades o libro de Steve ou miredes a película

to understand not only the beautiful bond

para entenderen non só o fermoso vínculo

that formed between these two men,

creado entre estes dous homes,

but how music helped shape that bond,

senón tamén para comprenderen como a música axudou a crear esa unión,

and ultimately was instrumental -- if you'll pardon the pun --

e no final foi o instrumento -- se me desculpan o xogo de palabras--

in helping Nathaniel get off the streets.

quen axudou a tirar a Nathaniel das rúas.

I met Mr. Ayers in 2008,

Coñecín a Mr. Ayers en 2008,

two years ago, at Walt Disney Concert Hall.

hai dous anos, no Auditorio Walt Disney.

He had just heard a performance of Beethoven's First and Fourth symphonies,

Acababa de ouvir a interpretación da primeira e cuarta Sinfonías de Beethoven,

and came backstage and introduced himself.

achegouse ao escenario e presentouse.

He was speaking in a very jovial and gregarious way

Falaba dun xeito moi xovial e sociábel

about Yo-Yo Ma and Hillary Clinton

sobre Yo-Yo Ma e Hillary Clinton

and how the Dodgers were never going to make the World Series,

e de que os Dodgers nunha chegarían ás Word Series,

all because of the treacherous first violin passage work

pola pouco fiel interpretación que o primeiro violín fixo

in the last movement of Beethoven's Fourth Symphony.

no último movemento da Cuarta Sinfonía de Beethoven.

And we got talking about music, and I got an email from Steve a few days later

E enleámonos a falar de música, e recibín un email de Steve uns poucos días máis tarde

saying that Nathaniel was interested in a violin lesson with me.

dicindo que Nathaniel estaba interesado en estudar violín comigo.

Now, I should mention that Nathaniel refuses treatment

Agora, deberían mencionar que Nathaniel rexeita recibir tratamento

because when he was treated it was with shock therapy

porque cando o trataron foi con terapia de choque,

and Thorazine and handcuffs,

antipsicóticos e esposas;

and that scar has stayed with him for his entire life.

e ese trauma ficou nel durante toda a súa vida.

But as a result now, he is prone to

Mais agora en consecuencia el tende a ter

these schizophrenic episodes,

esas crises esquizofrénicas,

the worst of which can manifest themselves as

as peores das cales se manifestan como

him exploding

se estourase

and then disappearing for days,

e entón desaparece durante días,

wandering the streets of Skid Row,

vagando polas rúas de Skid Row,

exposed to its horrors, with the torment of his own mind

exposto aos seus terrores, co tormento da súa mente

unleashed upon him.

fóra de control.

And Nathaniel was in such a state of agitation

E Nathaniel estaba nun estado de axitación tal

when we started our first lesson at Walt Disney Concert Hall --

cando empezamos coa nosa primeira lección no Concert Hall Walt Disney--

he had a kind of manic glint in his eyes,

tiña nos seus ollos un brillo maníaco,

he was lost.

estaba ido.

And he was talking about

E falaba sobre

invisible demons and smoke,

diaños invisíbeis e fume,

and how someone was poisoning him in his sleep.

e de cómo alguén o estaba a envelenar durante o sono.

And I was afraid,

Eu tiña medo,

not for myself, but I was afraid

non por min senón que tiña medo

that I was going to lose him,

de perdelo,

that he was going to sink into one of his states,

de que se sumise noutra das súas crises,

and that I would ruin his relationship with the violin

e de arruinar a súa relación co violín

if I started talking about scales

se empezaba a falarlle de escalas,

and arpeggios and other exciting forms of

arpexios e outros aspectos apaixonante da

didactic violin pedagogy.

pedagoxía do violín.

(Laughter)

(risas)

So, I just started playing.

Así que, simplemente empecei a tocar,

And I played the first movement of the Beethoven Violin Concerto.

E toquei o primeiro movemento do Concerto para Violín de Beethoven.

And as I played,

E mentres tocaba,

I understood that there was a profound change

comprendín que había un cambio profundo

occurring in Nathaniel's eyes.

nos ollos de Nathaniel.

It was as if he was in the grip of some invisible pharmaceutical,

Era como se estivese baixo a influencia dalgún fármaco invisíbel,

a chemical reaction, for which my playing the music

unha reacción química, da que o meu tocar

was its catalyst.

era o seu catalizacor.

And Nathaniel's manic rage

E a furia maníaca de Nathaniel

was transformed into understanding,

foi transformada en comprensión,

a quiet curiosity and grace.

unha tranquila curiosidade e un estado de graza.

And in a miracle, he lifted his own violin

E de xeito milagroso, alzou o seu violín

and he started playing, by ear,

e empezou a tocar de ouvido,

certain snippets of violin concertos

algúns retrincos de concertos para violín

which he then asked me to complete -- Mendelssohn,

que despois me pediu que completase-- Mendelssohn,

Tchaikovsky, Sibelius.

Tchaikovsky, Sibelius.

And we started talking about music, from Bach

E demos en falar sobre música, desde Bach

to Beethoven and Brahms,

Até Beethoven e Brahms,

Bruckner, all the B's,

Bruckner, todos os B,

from Bartók, all the way up to Esa-Pekka Salonen.

desde Bartók até Esa-Pekka Salonen.

And I understood that he not only

E comprendín que el non só

had an encyclopedic knowledge of music,

tiña un coñecemento musical enciclopédico,

but he related to this music at a personal level.

senón que tiña con esta músia unha relación persoal.

He spoke about it with the kind of passion

Falaba sobre ela coa mesma paixón

and understanding that I share with my colleagues

e entendemento como a que eu comparto cos meus colegas

in the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

da "Los Angeles Philharmonic".

And through playing music and talking about music,

E tocando e falando sobre música,

this man had transformed

este home transformárase

from the paranoid, disturbed man

do home paranoico, perturbado

that had just come from walking the streets

que camiñaba polas rúas

of downtown Los Angeles

da cidade de Los Angeles

to the charming, erudite,

no engaiolante, erudito,

brilliant, Juilliard-trained musician.

brillante, músico formado na Escola Juilliard.

Music is medicine. Music changes us.

A música é medicina. A música cambianos.

And for Nathaniel, music is sanity.

E para Nathaniel, a música é cordura.

Because music allows him to take his thoughts

Porque a música permítelle transformar

and delusions and shape them

os seus pensamentos e delirios

through his imagination and his creativity,

en realidades, grazas á súa imaxinación

into reality.

e creatividade.

And that is an escape

E isto é unha vía de escape

from his tormented state.

da súa mente atormentada.

And I understood that this was the very essence of art.

E comprendín que esta era a verdadeira esencia da arte.

This was the very reason why we made music,

Esta era a verdadeira razón pola que facemos música,

that we take something that exists within all of us

collemos algo que existen dentro de nós

at our very fundamental core,

no noso máis íntimo cerne,

our emotions,

as nosas emocións,

and through our artistic lens,

e a través das nosas lentes artísticas,

through our creativity, we're able to shape those emotions into reality.

a través da nosa creatividade, somos quen de dar forma real a esas emocións.

And the reality of that expression

E a realidade desa expresión

reaches all of us

chega a todos nós

and moves us, inspires and unites us.

e conmóvenos, inspíranos e únenos.

And for Nathaniel,

E para Nathaniel,

music brought him back into a fold of friends.

a música tróuxoo até un grupo de amigos.

The redemptive power of music brought him back

O poder redentor da músico tróuxoo de regreso

into a family of musicians

cunha unha familia de músicos

that understood him,

que o entendían,

that recognized his talents

que recoñecían os seus talentos

and respected him.

e respectábano.

And I will always make music with Nathaniel,

E eu farei sempre música con Nathaniel,

whether we're at Walt Disney Concert Hall

esteamos no Concert Hall Walt Disney

or on Skid Row, because he reminds me

ou en Skid Row, porque me lembra

why I became a musician.

porqué me fixen músico.

Thank you.

Grazas.

(Applause)

(Aplausos)

Bruno Giussani: Thank you. Thanks.

Bruno Giussani: Grazas, graciñas.

Robert Gupta.

Robert Gupta.

(Applause)

(Aplausos)

Robert Gupta: I'm going to play something that I shamelessly stole from cellists.

Robert: vou tocar algo que con moito papo roubei aos chelistas.

So, please forgive me.

Así que, por favor, descúlpenme.

(Laughter)

(Risos)

(Music)

(Música)

(Applause)

(Aplausos)