Many years ago, the great violinist Jascha Heifetz gave a performance of the finale of Mendelssohn’s Concerto at a breathtaking speed. At the end of the evening, amidst the admiring crowd, there stood a violin student—equally amazed and somewhat frustrated by the pyrotechnic virtuosity that had been unleashed by the maestro’s fingers and bow. Summoning some courage, the young man approached Heifetz and asked how he managed to play so fast. The answer was: “Because I practiced it v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y.”
This anecdote opens the article I had the pleasure of writing for issue 27 of La Chiave di Sophia, a journal of practical philosophy, dedicated to the theme of slowness.
In this piece, I attempted to weave a series of reflections inspired by the act of making music. I believe that slowness profoundly permeates the entire musical experience, especially in the context of classical music—meaning all those musical traditions that require advanced levels of structure, theory, and execution. This includes not only Western classical music but also the rich traditions of other cultures.
As often happens, writing has been a way for me to discover new insights and move forward. This journey, which began with the idea of slowness, led me to the concept of gentleness, which, as I explain, can be seen as the mother or daughter of slowness, depending on the context. Gentleness is a word that may sound almost archaic, a concept fallen out of use. Yet, in today’s world, the realm of human relationships desperately needs gentleness.
In my piece, I aim to move from exploring the role of slowness in fine music to the importance of changing the “soundtrack” of our everyday communication. For while gentleness and slowness may seem like forgotten and distant values, we must not lose sight of the fact that this is the result of a cultural drift that has distanced and allowed even “classical” music—and the values it embodies—to grow old.
I would like to thank the editorial team of La Chiave di Sophia, and especially Giorgia Favero, for granting me this opportunity for research and reflection, and for the honor (and the responsibility) of presenting my thoughts in the same pages that also feature the works of two great thinkers, Luciano Manicardi and Franco Arminio. La Chiave di Sophia is a publication of great quality—rare and, indeed, gentle.
For those interested in reading the full article and discovering more about La Chiave di Sophia, here is the link: La Chiave di Sophia – Passo Lento