TED2006
Sirena Huang: An 11-year-old's magical violin
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Violinist Sirena Huang gives a technically brilliant and emotionally nuanced performance. In a charming interlude, the 11-year-old praises the timeless design of her instrument.
Sirena Huang - Violinist
Sirena Huang started taking violin lessons at age 4 and made her professional solo debut at 9 with the Taiwan Symphony Orchestra. She has won top prizes in numerous international competitions, delighting audiences worldwide with her virtuosity and charm. Full bio
Sirena Huang started taking violin lessons at age 4 and made her professional solo debut at 9 with the Taiwan Symphony Orchestra. She has won top prizes in numerous international competitions, delighting audiences worldwide with her virtuosity and charm. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
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Hi everyone. I'm Sirena.
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I'm 11 years old and from Connecticut.
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(Applause)
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Well, I'm not really sure why I'm here.
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(Laughter)
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I mean, what does this have to do with
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technology, entertainment and design?
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Well, I count my iPod, cellphone and computer as technology
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but this has nothing to do with that.
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So I did a little research on it.
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Well, this is what I found.
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Of course, I hope I can memorize it.
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The violin is basically made of a wood box
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and four main strings.
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By playing the string, the string vibrates
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and produces a sound wave.
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Sound passes through a piece of wood called a bridge
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and goes down to the wood box and gets amplified
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but ... let me think.
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(Laughter)
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Okay. On the other hand
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by placing your finger in a different position on the fingerboard
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it changes the string length,
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that changes the frequency of the sound wave.
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Oh, my gosh!
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(Laughter)
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Okay. This is sort of a technology
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but I can call it a 16th-century technology.
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But actually, the most fascinating thing that I found
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was that even the audio system
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or wave transmission nowadays
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are still basically based on the same principle
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of producing and projecting sound.
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Isn't that cool?
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(Laughter)
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(Applause)
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Design -- I love its design.
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I remember when I was little
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my mom asked me,
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would you like to play the violin or the piano?
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I looked at that giant monster
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and said to myself --
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I am not going to lock myself on that bench
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the whole day.
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This is small and lightweight.
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I can play from standing, sitting or walking.
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And you know what?
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The best of all is that if I don't want to practice,
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I can hide it.
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(Laughter)
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The violin is very beautiful.
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Some people relate it as the shape of a lady
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but, whether you like it or not,
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it's been so for more than 400 years,
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unlike modern stuff that easily looks dated.
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But I think it's very personal and unique that,
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although each violin looks pretty similar,
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that no two violins sound the same.
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Even from the same maker
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or based on the same model.
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Entertainment -- I love the entertainment,
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but actually, the instrument itself
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isn't very entertaining.
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I mean, when I first got my violin
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and tried to play around, it was
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actually, really bad because
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it didn't sound like the way I'd heard from other kids --
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so horrible and so scratchy --
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so it wasn't entertaining at all.
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But besides, my brother found this very funny.
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Yuk, yuk, yuk.
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(Laughter)
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A few years later I heard a joke about
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the greatest violinist, Jascha Heifetz.
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After Mr. Heifetz's concert
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a lady came over and complimented,
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"Oh, Mr. Heifetz, your violin sounded so great tonight."
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And Mr. Heifetz was a very cool person,
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so he picked up his violin and said,
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"Funny, I don't hear anything."
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(Laughter)
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And now, I realize that as the musician,
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we human beings, we have a great mind,
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artistic heart and skill
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that can change the 16th-century technology
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and a legendary design
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to a wonderful entertainment.
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Now, I know why I'm here.
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(Music)
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(Applause)
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At first I thought I was just going to be here to perform,
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but unexpectedly, I learned and enjoyed much more.
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But ... although some of them were quite up there for me.
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(Laughter)
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Like the multi-dimension stuff.
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I mean, honestly, I'd be happy enough
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if I can actually get my two dimension correct in school.
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(Laughter)
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But actually, the most impressive thing to me
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is that ... well, actually,
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I would also like to stand this for all children
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is to say, thank you, to all adults
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for actually caring for us a lot
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and to make our future world much better.
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Thank you.
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(Applause)
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(Music)
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(Applause)
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(Music)
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(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Sirena Huang - ViolinistSirena Huang started taking violin lessons at age 4 and made her professional solo debut at 9 with the Taiwan Symphony Orchestra. She has won top prizes in numerous international competitions, delighting audiences worldwide with her virtuosity and charm.
Why you should listen
Only 11 years old when she performed at TED, Sirena Huang is still technically a child. But as anyone who sees her perform can attest, she has a musician's soul that transcends her years. "Her musical imagination is boundless," said Juilliard dean Stephen Clapp, who described her as "a musical artist with qualities of maturity far beyond her age."
What's most striking in her performance style is the way she combines technical ability with emotional force and nuance. Her fiercely virtuoso performances are profoundly moving, even via podcast. "Amazed," "delighted" and "spellbound" are the words bloggers often use after watching her play. She has won numerous awards for her brilliant performances worldwide, and has played for the likes of French president Nicolas Sarkozy, King Abdullah II of Jordan, and the Dalai Lama.
Sirena Huang | Speaker | TED.com