TED2010
Robert Gupta: Music is medicine, music is sanity
Robert Gupta: Música é remédio, música é sanidade
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Robert Gupta, violinista Orquestra Filarmônica de Los Angeles, fala sobre a aula que ele deu uma vez a um músico brilhante e esquizofrênico -- e o que ele aprendeu. Chamado ao palco mais tarde, Gupta toca sua transcrição do prelúdio da Suite No.1 para Violoncelo de Bach
Robert Gupta - Violinist
Violinist Robert Gupta joined the LA Philharmonic at the age of 19 -- and maintains a passionate parallel interest in neurobiology and mental health issues. He's a TED Senior Fellow. Full bio
Violinist Robert Gupta joined the LA Philharmonic at the age of 19 -- and maintains a passionate parallel interest in neurobiology and mental health issues. He's a TED Senior Fellow. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:15
One day, Los Angeles Times columnist
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Um dia, o colunista da Los Angeles Times,
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Steve Lopez was walking along
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Steve Lopez, estava caminhando
00:20
the streets of downtown Los Angeles
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pelas ruas do centro de Los Angeles
00:22
when he heard beautiful music.
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quando ele ouviu uma música maravilhosa.
00:25
And the source was a man,
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E a fonte era um homem,
00:27
an African-American man,
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um homem Afro-Americano,
00:29
charming, rugged, homeless,
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charmoso, robusto, sem-teto,
00:33
playing a violin that only had two strings.
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tocando um violino que tinha apenas duas cordas.
00:36
And I'm telling a story that many of you know,
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Estou contando uma história que muitos de vocês conhecem,
00:38
because Steve's columns became the basis
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pois as colunas do Steve se tornaram a base
00:41
for a book, which was turned into a movie,
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de um livro, que foi transformado em filme
00:44
with Robert Downey Jr. acting as Steve Lopez,
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com Robert Downey Jr no papel de Steve Lopez,
00:46
and Jamie Foxx as Nathaniel Anthony Ayers,
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e Jamie Foxx como Nathaniel Anthony Ayers,
00:49
the Juilliard-trained double bassist
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o contra baixista treinado em Juilliard
00:51
whose promising career was cut short
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cuja carreira promissora foi abreviada
00:54
by a tragic affliction with paranoid schizophrenia.
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por um trágico sofrimento de esquizofrenia paranóica.
00:58
Nathaniel dropped out of Juilliard, he suffered a complete breakdown,
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Ele saiu da Juilliard, entrou em um colapso completo,
01:00
and 30 years later he was living homeless
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e 30 anos depois tornou-se um sem-teto
01:02
on the streets of Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles.
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nas ruas de Skid Row do centro de Los Angeles.
01:06
I encourage all of you to read Steve's book or to watch the movie
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Eu recomendo a todos ler o livro do Steve, ou assistir o filme
01:09
to understand not only the beautiful bond
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para entender não apenas o belo vínculo
01:12
that formed between these two men,
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que se formou entre estes dois homens,
01:14
but how music helped shape that bond,
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mas como a música ajudou a formar esse vínculo,
01:17
and ultimately was instrumental -- if you'll pardon the pun --
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e no fim das contas foi um instrumento, me perdoem o trocadilho,
01:20
in helping Nathaniel get off the streets.
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para ajudar a tirar Nathaniel das ruas.
01:24
I met Mr. Ayers in 2008,
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Eu conheci o Sr. Ayers em 2008,
01:26
two years ago, at Walt Disney Concert Hall.
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dois anos atrás, na sala de concertos Walt Disney.
01:28
He had just heard a performance of Beethoven's First and Fourth symphonies,
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Ele tinha acabado de ouvir a primeira e a quarta sinfonia de Beethoven,
01:31
and came backstage and introduced himself.
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e veio até o backstage se apresentar.
01:33
He was speaking in a very jovial and gregarious way
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Ele se mostrou muito alegre e sociável
01:36
about Yo-Yo Ma and Hillary Clinton
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falando sobre Yo-Yo Ma e Hillary Clinton,
01:39
and how the Dodgers were never going to make the World Series,
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e como os Dodgers nunca irão ganhar a World Series,
01:41
all because of the treacherous first violin passage work
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tudo por causa da traiçoeira primeira passagem de violino
01:44
in the last movement of Beethoven's Fourth Symphony.
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do último movimento da quarta sinfonia de Beethoven.
01:48
And we got talking about music, and I got an email from Steve a few days later
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E então engatamos uma conversa sobre música. E aí recebi um email do Steve alguns dias depois
01:52
saying that Nathaniel was interested in a violin lesson with me.
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dizendo que Nathaniel estava interessado em uma aula de violino comigo.
01:56
Now, I should mention that Nathaniel refuses treatment
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Agora, devo dizer que Nathaniel recusa tratamento
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because when he was treated it was with shock therapy
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porque quando ele foi tratado, foi com terapia de choque
02:02
and Thorazine and handcuffs,
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Thorazine e algemas,
02:04
and that scar has stayed with him for his entire life.
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e essa cicatriz permaneceu durante toda a sua vida.
02:08
But as a result now, he is prone to
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Mas, como resultado, ele está propenso
02:10
these schizophrenic episodes,
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a esses episódios de esquizofrenia.
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the worst of which can manifest themselves as
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O pior deles pode se manifestar com
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him exploding
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ele enlouquecendo,
02:16
and then disappearing for days,
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e desaparecendo por dias,
02:18
wandering the streets of Skid Row,
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perambulando pelas ruas de Skid Row,
02:20
exposed to its horrors, with the torment of his own mind
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exposto a seus horrores, com tormentos de sua própria mente
02:24
unleashed upon him.
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liberados sobre ele.
02:26
And Nathaniel was in such a state of agitation
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E Nathaniel estava em tal estado de agitação
02:29
when we started our first lesson at Walt Disney Concert Hall --
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quando começamos nossa primeira aula no Walt Disney Concert Hall
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he had a kind of manic glint in his eyes,
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ele tinha um certo brilho maníaco em seus olhos,
02:35
he was lost.
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ele estava desnorteado.
02:37
And he was talking about
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E ele falava sobre
02:39
invisible demons and smoke,
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demônios invisíveis e fumaça,
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and how someone was poisoning him in his sleep.
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e como alguém estava envenenando-o durante o sono.
02:45
And I was afraid,
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E eu fiquei com medo,
02:47
not for myself, but I was afraid
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não por mim, mas porque eu tinha medo
02:50
that I was going to lose him,
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de que eu iria perdê-lo,
02:52
that he was going to sink into one of his states,
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que ele iria se afundar em um desses estados,
02:54
and that I would ruin his relationship with the violin
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e que eu arruinaria sua relação com o violino
02:57
if I started talking about scales
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se começasse a falar sobre escalas
02:59
and arpeggios and other exciting forms of
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arpejos e outros jeitos empolgantes
03:01
didactic violin pedagogy.
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de se ensinar violino.
03:03
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
03:04
So, I just started playing.
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Então, simplesmente comecei a tocar.
03:07
And I played the first movement of the Beethoven Violin Concerto.
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E toquei o primeiro movimento do concerto para violino de Beethoven.
03:11
And as I played,
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E ao tocar
03:13
I understood that there was a profound change
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eu percebi que uma mudança profunda
03:16
occurring in Nathaniel's eyes.
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estava acontecendo nos olhos de Nathaniel.
03:18
It was as if he was in the grip of some invisible pharmaceutical,
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Era como se ele estivesse nas mãos de um farmacêutico invisível,
03:21
a chemical reaction, for which my playing the music
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uma reação química, para a qual a música que eu tocava
03:25
was its catalyst.
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era o seu catalisador.
03:28
And Nathaniel's manic rage
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E a fúria maníaca de Nathaniel
03:32
was transformed into understanding,
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foi transformada em entendimento,
03:36
a quiet curiosity and grace.
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uma curiosidade tranquila, e elegância.
03:41
And in a miracle, he lifted his own violin
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E em um milagre, ele puxou seu próprio violino,
03:44
and he started playing, by ear,
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e começou a tocar, de ouvido,
03:47
certain snippets of violin concertos
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alguns trechos de concertos para violino
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which he then asked me to complete -- Mendelssohn,
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que ele me pedia então para completar, Mendelssohn,
03:51
Tchaikovsky, Sibelius.
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Tchaikovsky, Sibelius.
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And we started talking about music, from Bach
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Começamos a conversar sobre música, de Bach
03:55
to Beethoven and Brahms,
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a Beethoven, Brahms,
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Bruckner, all the B's,
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Bruckner, todos os B´s,
03:59
from Bartók, all the way up to Esa-Pekka Salonen.
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de Bártok, todo o caminho até Esa-Pekka Salonen.
04:01
And I understood that he not only
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E percebi que ele não apenas
04:03
had an encyclopedic knowledge of music,
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tinha um conhecimento musical enciclopédico,
04:05
but he related to this music at a personal level.
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como se relacionava com essa música em nível pessoal.
04:09
He spoke about it with the kind of passion
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Ele falou sobre aquilo com a paixão
04:11
and understanding that I share with my colleagues
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e entendimento que compartilho com meus colegas
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in the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
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da Filarmônica de Los Angeles.
04:16
And through playing music and talking about music,
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E ao tocar música e conversar sobre música
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this man had transformed
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esse homem se transformou
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from the paranoid, disturbed man
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do homem paranóico e perturbado
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that had just come from walking the streets
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que acabou de chegar perambulando pelas ruas
04:26
of downtown Los Angeles
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do centro de Los Angeles,
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to the charming, erudite,
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no charmoso, erudito,
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brilliant, Juilliard-trained musician.
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e brilhante músico treinado em Juilliard.
04:34
Music is medicine. Music changes us.
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Música é remédio. Música nos transforma.
04:39
And for Nathaniel, music is sanity.
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E para Nathaniel, música é saúde mental.
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Because music allows him to take his thoughts
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Pois música permite a ele pegar seus pensamentos
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and delusions and shape them
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e delírios, e dar-lhes forma
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through his imagination and his creativity,
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através da sua imaginação e criatividade,
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into reality.
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na realidade.
04:52
And that is an escape
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E essa é uma fuga
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from his tormented state.
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do seu estado atormentado.
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And I understood that this was the very essence of art.
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E eu entendi que essa é justamente a essência da arte.
04:59
This was the very reason why we made music,
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É exatamente a razão pela qual fazemos música,
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that we take something that exists within all of us
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que nós pegamos algo que existe dentro de todos nós,
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at our very fundamental core,
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lá no nosso âmago,
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our emotions,
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nossas emoções,
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and through our artistic lens,
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e pela nossa lente artística,
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through our creativity, we're able to shape those emotions into reality.
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pela nossa criatividade, somos capazes de dar forma a essas emoções na realidade.
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And the reality of that expression
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E a realidade dessa expressão
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reaches all of us
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alcança todos nós,
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and moves us, inspires and unites us.
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e nos comove, inspira e une.
05:23
And for Nathaniel,
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E para Nathaniel,
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music brought him back into a fold of friends.
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a música o trouxe de volta a uma roda de amigos.
05:28
The redemptive power of music brought him back
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O poder redentor da música o trouxe de volta
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into a family of musicians
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a uma família de músicos
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that understood him,
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que o entendia,
05:34
that recognized his talents
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que reconhecia seus talentos
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and respected him.
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e o respeitava.
05:39
And I will always make music with Nathaniel,
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Eu sempre farei música com Nathaniel,
05:42
whether we're at Walt Disney Concert Hall
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seja no Walt Disney Concert Hall,
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or on Skid Row, because he reminds me
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ou em Skid Row, porque ele me lembra
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why I became a musician.
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o porque eu me tornei um músico.
05:49
Thank you.
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Obrigado.
05:51
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
05:58
Bruno Giussani: Thank you. Thanks.
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Bruno Giussani: Obrigado. Obrigado.
06:01
Robert Gupta.
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Robert Gupta.
06:03
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
06:22
Robert Gupta: I'm going to play something that I shamelessly stole from cellists.
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Robert Gupta: Eu quero tocar algo que vergonhosamente roubei dos violoncelistas.
06:25
So, please forgive me.
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Me perdoem por favor.
06:27
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
06:28
(Music)
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(Música)
09:13
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Robert Gupta - ViolinistViolinist Robert Gupta joined the LA Philharmonic at the age of 19 -- and maintains a passionate parallel interest in neurobiology and mental health issues. He's a TED Senior Fellow.
Why you should listen
Violinist Robert Vijay Gupta joined the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the age of 19. He made his solo debut, at age 11, with the Israel Philharmonic under Zubin Mehta. He has a Master's in music from Yale. But his undergraduate degree? Pre-med. As an undergrad, Gupta was part of several research projects in neuro- and neurodegenerative biology. He held Research Assistant positions at CUNY Hunter College in New York City, where he worked on spinal cord neuronal regeneration, and at the Harvard Institutes of Medicine Center for Neurologic Diseases, where he studied the biochemical pathology of Parkinson's disease.
Gupta is passionate about education and outreach, both as a musician and as an activist for mental health issues. He has the privilege of working with Nathaniel Ayers, the brilliant, schizophrenic musician featured in "The Soloist," as his violin teacher.
Robert Gupta | Speaker | TED.com