TEDSalon Berlin 2014
Daria van den Bercken: Why I take the piano on the road ... and in the air
Filmed:
Readability: 3.9
984,049 views
Pianist Daria van den Bercken fell in love with the baroque keyboard music of George Frideric Handel. Now, she aims to ignite this passion in others. In this talk, she plays us through the emotional roller coaster of his music — while sailing with her piano through the air, driving it down the street, and of course playing on the stage.
Daria van den Bercken - Pianist
Daria van den Bercken has played piano with major Dutch orchestras, and performed many a recital in her country’s famed concert halls. But her larger vision is to bring classical music to the masses. Full bio
Daria van den Bercken has played piano with major Dutch orchestras, and performed many a recital in her country’s famed concert halls. But her larger vision is to bring classical music to the masses. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:17
Recently, I flew over a crowd
0
5170
2351
00:19
of thousands of people in Brazil
1
7521
2385
00:21
playing music by George Frideric Handel.
2
9906
3633
00:25
I also drove along the streets of Amsterdam,
3
13539
3004
00:28
again playing music by this same composer.
4
16543
3375
00:31
Let's take a look.
5
19918
2767
00:34
(Music: George Frideric Handel, "Allegro."
Performed by Daria van den Bercken.)
Performed by Daria van den Bercken.)
6
22685
8580
00:53
(Video) Daria van den Bercken: I
live there on the third floor.
live there on the third floor.
7
41888
2072
00:55
(In Dutch) I live there on the corner.
8
43960
1889
00:57
I actually live there, around the corner.
9
45849
1608
00:59
and you'd be really welcome.
10
47457
1676
01:01
Man: (In Dutch) Does that sound like fun?
Child: (In Dutch) Yes!
Child: (In Dutch) Yes!
11
49133
2819
01:03
[(In Dutch) "Handel house concert"]
12
51952
3787
01:28
(Applause)
13
76722
5914
01:40
Daria van den Bercken: All this was a real
14
88236
1918
01:42
magical experience for hundreds of reasons.
15
90154
3656
01:45
Now you may ask, why have I done these things?
16
93810
2520
01:48
They're not really typical for a musician's
17
96330
2362
01:50
day-to-day life.
18
98692
2221
01:52
Well, I did it because I fell in love with the music
19
100913
3550
01:56
and I wanted to share it with as many people
20
104463
3082
01:59
as possible.
21
107545
2284
02:01
It started a couple of years ago.
22
109829
2115
02:03
I was sitting at home on the couch with the flu
23
111944
3431
02:07
and browsing the Internet a little,
24
115375
2122
02:09
when I found out that Handel had written works
25
117497
2823
02:12
for the keyboard.
26
120320
2000
02:14
Well, I was surprised. I did not know this.
27
122320
2317
02:16
So I downloaded the sheet music and started playing.
28
124637
4383
02:21
And what happened next was
29
129020
1900
02:22
that I entered this state of pure,
30
130920
3571
02:26
unprejudiced amazement.
31
134491
2869
02:29
It was an experience
32
137360
2340
02:31
of being totally in awe of the music,
33
139700
3127
02:34
and I had not felt that in a long time.
34
142827
3780
02:38
It might be easier to relate to this when you hear it.
35
146607
4153
02:42
The first piece that I played through
36
150760
3291
02:46
started like this.
37
154051
2789
02:49
(Music)
38
157845
5947
03:14
Well this sounds very melancholic, doesn't it?
39
182950
3730
03:18
And I turned the page and what came next
40
186680
3034
03:21
was this.
41
189714
1958
03:23
(Music)
42
191672
3720
03:50
Well, this sounds very energetic, doesn't it?
43
218624
4066
03:54
So within a couple of minutes,
44
222690
2700
03:57
and the piece isn't even finished yet,
45
225390
2160
03:59
I experienced two very contrasting characters:
46
227550
4095
04:03
beautiful melancholy and sheer energy.
47
231645
3622
04:07
And I consider these two elements to be
48
235267
2070
04:09
vital human expressions.
49
237337
2803
04:12
And the purity of the music makes you hear it
50
240140
2675
04:14
very effectively.
51
242815
3432
04:19
I've given a lot of children's concerts
52
247893
2340
04:22
for children of seven and eight years old,
53
250233
3138
04:25
and whatever I play, whether it's Bach, Beethoven,
54
253371
3814
04:29
even Stockhausen,
55
257185
1575
04:30
or some jazzy music,
56
258760
2992
04:33
they are open to hear it,
57
261752
2149
04:35
really willing to listen,
58
263901
1287
04:37
and they are comfortable doing so.
59
265188
3528
04:40
And when classes come in
60
268716
1534
04:42
with children who are just a few years older,
61
270250
3449
04:45
11, 12, I felt that I sometimes already had trouble
62
273699
4848
04:50
in reaching them like that.
63
278547
2093
04:52
The complexity of the music does become an issue,
64
280640
3667
04:56
and actually the opinions of others —
65
284307
3833
05:00
parents, friends, media — they start to count.
66
288140
4683
05:04
But the young ones, they don't question
67
292823
2508
05:07
their own opinion.
68
295331
3341
05:10
They are in this constant state of wonder,
69
298672
2992
05:13
and I do firmly believe that we can keep listening
70
301664
3690
05:17
like these seven-year-old children,
71
305354
2284
05:19
even when growing up.
72
307638
2474
05:22
And that is why I have played
73
310112
2149
05:24
not only in the concert hall
74
312261
2340
05:26
but also on the street, online, in the air:
75
314601
4329
05:30
to feel that state of wonder,
76
318930
2567
05:33
to truly listen,
77
321497
2182
05:35
and to listen without prejudice.
78
323679
3544
05:39
And I would like to invite you
79
327223
2126
05:41
to do so now.
80
329349
3033
05:50
(Music: George Frideric Handel, "Chaconne in G Major."
Performed by Daria van den Bercken.)
Performed by Daria van den Bercken.)
81
338862
6968
09:17
(Applause)
82
545733
6227
09:23
Thank you.
83
551960
1946
09:25
(Applause)
84
553906
3494
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Daria van den Bercken - PianistDaria van den Bercken has played piano with major Dutch orchestras, and performed many a recital in her country’s famed concert halls. But her larger vision is to bring classical music to the masses.
Why you should listen
Pianist Daria van den Bercken makes classical music lovers — and those who had no idea that they appreciated this kind of music — listen to classic composers with fresh ears. She has played with the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra, the Arnhem Philharmonic Orchestra and the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra, and is a regular guest at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam. But it’s bringing classic music to unexpected audiences where her passion engages.
While sick with the flu several years ago, Daria discovered the keyboard compositions of George Frideric Handel. She wanted to bring these beautiful works to the masses. With her project ‘Handel at the Piano,’ she played these pieces in unexpected places — even flying with her piano 25-feet over the audience at the Virada Cultural Festival in São Paulo, Brazil. Through a series of concerts, and an album, she asked audiences to rethink Handel.
Daria’s latest project is 'Keys to Mozart,' an effort to breathe new life into Mozart’s piano works. She is preparing to record an album for Sony Classical and will play a series of concerts too.
Daria van den Bercken | Speaker | TED.com