TED2010
Robert Gupta: Music is medicine, music is sanity
Robert Gupta: A música é medicina, a música é cordura
Filmed:
Readability: 5.7
1,333,855 views
Robert Gupta, violinista da Orquestra Filarmónica de Los Ángeles, fala dunha lección que unha vez deu a un brillante músico esquizofrénico -- e do que el aprendeu. Máis tarde volve ao escenario para tocar a súa transcrición para o violín do Preludio de Bach para Chelo Suite Nº 1.
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
0
0
3000
Un día, un columnista de Los Angeles Times
00:18
Steve Lopez was walking along
1
3000
2000
Steve Lopez paseaba
00:20
the streets of downtown Los Angeles
2
5000
2000
polas rúas de Los Angeles
00:22
when he heard beautiful music.
3
7000
3000
cando ouviu unha música marabillosa.
00:25
And the source was a man,
4
10000
2000
E a orixe era un home,
00:27
an African-American man,
5
12000
2000
un home afro-americano,
00:29
charming, rugged, homeless,
6
14000
4000
engaiolante, engurrado, sen teito,
00:33
playing a violin that only had two strings.
7
18000
3000
tocando un violín que tan só tiña dúas cordas.
00:36
And I'm telling a story that many of you know,
8
21000
2000
Estou contado unha historia que moitos de vostedes xa coñecen
00:38
because Steve's columns became the basis
9
23000
3000
porque a columna de Steve constituíu a base
00:41
for a book, which was turned into a movie,
10
26000
3000
dun libro, do que se fixo unha película
00:44
with Robert Downey Jr. acting as Steve Lopez,
11
29000
2000
con Robert Downey Jr. no papel de Steve Lopez,
00:46
and Jamie Foxx as Nathaniel Anthony Ayers,
12
31000
3000
e Jamie Foxx como Nathaniel Anthony Ayers,
00:49
the Juilliard-trained double bassist
13
34000
2000
o contra-chelista formado na Escola Julliard
00:51
whose promising career was cut short
14
36000
3000
cuxa prometedora carreira foi interrrumpida
00:54
by a tragic affliction with paranoid schizophrenia.
15
39000
4000
polo tráxico padecemento dunha esquizofrenia paranoide.
00:58
Nathaniel dropped out of Juilliard, he suffered a complete breakdown,
16
43000
2000
Nathaniel abandonou a Escola Julliard, sufriu unha profunda crise
01:00
and 30 years later he was living homeless
17
45000
2000
e 30 anos máis tarde vivía sen un teito
01:02
on the streets of Skid Row in downtown Los Angeles.
18
47000
4000
nas rúas de Skid Row en Los Angeles
01:06
I encourage all of you to read Steve's book or to watch the movie
19
51000
3000
Anímovos a que leades o libro de Steve ou miredes a película
01:09
to understand not only the beautiful bond
20
54000
3000
para entenderen non só o fermoso vínculo
01:12
that formed between these two men,
21
57000
2000
creado entre estes dous homes,
01:14
but how music helped shape that bond,
22
59000
3000
senón tamén para comprenderen como a música axudou a crear esa unión,
01:17
and ultimately was instrumental -- if you'll pardon the pun --
23
62000
3000
e no final foi o instrumento -- se me desculpan o xogo de palabras--
01:20
in helping Nathaniel get off the streets.
24
65000
4000
quen axudou a tirar a Nathaniel das rúas.
01:24
I met Mr. Ayers in 2008,
25
69000
2000
Coñecín a Mr. Ayers en 2008,
01:26
two years ago, at Walt Disney Concert Hall.
26
71000
2000
hai dous anos, no Auditorio Walt Disney.
01:28
He had just heard a performance of Beethoven's First and Fourth symphonies,
27
73000
3000
Acababa de ouvir a interpretación da primeira e cuarta Sinfonías de Beethoven,
01:31
and came backstage and introduced himself.
28
76000
2000
achegouse ao escenario e presentouse.
01:33
He was speaking in a very jovial and gregarious way
29
78000
3000
Falaba dun xeito moi xovial e sociábel
01:36
about Yo-Yo Ma and Hillary Clinton
30
81000
3000
sobre Yo-Yo Ma e Hillary Clinton
01:39
and how the Dodgers were never going to make the World Series,
31
84000
2000
e de que os Dodgers nunha chegarían ás Word Series,
01:41
all because of the treacherous first violin passage work
32
86000
3000
pola pouco fiel interpretación que o primeiro violín fixo
01:44
in the last movement of Beethoven's Fourth Symphony.
33
89000
4000
no último movemento da Cuarta Sinfonía de Beethoven.
01:48
And we got talking about music, and I got an email from Steve a few days later
34
93000
4000
E enleámonos a falar de música, e recibín un email de Steve uns poucos días máis tarde
01:52
saying that Nathaniel was interested in a violin lesson with me.
35
97000
4000
dicindo que Nathaniel estaba interesado en estudar violín comigo.
01:56
Now, I should mention that Nathaniel refuses treatment
36
101000
3000
Agora, deberían mencionar que Nathaniel rexeita recibir tratamento
01:59
because when he was treated it was with shock therapy
37
104000
3000
porque cando o trataron foi con terapia de choque,
02:02
and Thorazine and handcuffs,
38
107000
2000
antipsicóticos e esposas;
02:04
and that scar has stayed with him for his entire life.
39
109000
4000
e ese trauma ficou nel durante toda a súa vida.
02:08
But as a result now, he is prone to
40
113000
2000
Mais agora en consecuencia el tende a ter
02:10
these schizophrenic episodes,
41
115000
2000
esas crises esquizofrénicas,
02:12
the worst of which can manifest themselves as
42
117000
2000
as peores das cales se manifestan como
02:14
him exploding
43
119000
2000
se estourase
02:16
and then disappearing for days,
44
121000
2000
e entón desaparece durante días,
02:18
wandering the streets of Skid Row,
45
123000
2000
vagando polas rúas de Skid Row,
02:20
exposed to its horrors, with the torment of his own mind
46
125000
4000
exposto aos seus terrores, co tormento da súa mente
02:24
unleashed upon him.
47
129000
2000
fóra de control.
02:26
And Nathaniel was in such a state of agitation
48
131000
3000
E Nathaniel estaba nun estado de axitación tal
02:29
when we started our first lesson at Walt Disney Concert Hall --
49
134000
3000
cando empezamos coa nosa primeira lección no Concert Hall Walt Disney--
02:32
he had a kind of manic glint in his eyes,
50
137000
3000
tiña nos seus ollos un brillo maníaco,
02:35
he was lost.
51
140000
2000
estaba ido.
02:37
And he was talking about
52
142000
2000
E falaba sobre
02:39
invisible demons and smoke,
53
144000
2000
diaños invisíbeis e fume,
02:41
and how someone was poisoning him in his sleep.
54
146000
4000
e de cómo alguén o estaba a envelenar durante o sono.
02:45
And I was afraid,
55
150000
2000
Eu tiña medo,
02:47
not for myself, but I was afraid
56
152000
3000
non por min senón que tiña medo
02:50
that I was going to lose him,
57
155000
2000
de perdelo,
02:52
that he was going to sink into one of his states,
58
157000
2000
de que se sumise noutra das súas crises,
02:54
and that I would ruin his relationship with the violin
59
159000
3000
e de arruinar a súa relación co violín
02:57
if I started talking about scales
60
162000
2000
se empezaba a falarlle de escalas,
02:59
and arpeggios and other exciting forms of
61
164000
2000
arpexios e outros aspectos apaixonante da
03:01
didactic violin pedagogy.
62
166000
2000
pedagoxía do violín.
03:03
(Laughter)
63
168000
1000
(risas)
03:04
So, I just started playing.
64
169000
3000
Así que, simplemente empecei a tocar,
03:07
And I played the first movement of the Beethoven Violin Concerto.
65
172000
4000
E toquei o primeiro movemento do Concerto para Violín de Beethoven.
03:11
And as I played,
66
176000
2000
E mentres tocaba,
03:13
I understood that there was a profound change
67
178000
3000
comprendín que había un cambio profundo
03:16
occurring in Nathaniel's eyes.
68
181000
2000
nos ollos de Nathaniel.
03:18
It was as if he was in the grip of some invisible pharmaceutical,
69
183000
3000
Era como se estivese baixo a influencia dalgún fármaco invisíbel,
03:21
a chemical reaction, for which my playing the music
70
186000
4000
unha reacción química, da que o meu tocar
03:25
was its catalyst.
71
190000
3000
era o seu catalizacor.
03:28
And Nathaniel's manic rage
72
193000
4000
E a furia maníaca de Nathaniel
03:32
was transformed into understanding,
73
197000
4000
foi transformada en comprensión,
03:36
a quiet curiosity and grace.
74
201000
5000
unha tranquila curiosidade e un estado de graza.
03:41
And in a miracle, he lifted his own violin
75
206000
3000
E de xeito milagroso, alzou o seu violín
03:44
and he started playing, by ear,
76
209000
3000
e empezou a tocar de ouvido,
03:47
certain snippets of violin concertos
77
212000
2000
algúns retrincos de concertos para violín
03:49
which he then asked me to complete -- Mendelssohn,
78
214000
2000
que despois me pediu que completase-- Mendelssohn,
03:51
Tchaikovsky, Sibelius.
79
216000
2000
Tchaikovsky, Sibelius.
03:53
And we started talking about music, from Bach
80
218000
2000
E demos en falar sobre música, desde Bach
03:55
to Beethoven and Brahms,
81
220000
2000
Até Beethoven e Brahms,
03:57
Bruckner, all the B's,
82
222000
2000
Bruckner, todos os B,
03:59
from Bartók, all the way up to Esa-Pekka Salonen.
83
224000
2000
desde Bartók até Esa-Pekka Salonen.
04:01
And I understood that he not only
84
226000
2000
E comprendín que el non só
04:03
had an encyclopedic knowledge of music,
85
228000
2000
tiña un coñecemento musical enciclopédico,
04:05
but he related to this music at a personal level.
86
230000
4000
senón que tiña con esta músia unha relación persoal.
04:09
He spoke about it with the kind of passion
87
234000
2000
Falaba sobre ela coa mesma paixón
04:11
and understanding that I share with my colleagues
88
236000
2000
e entendemento como a que eu comparto cos meus colegas
04:13
in the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
89
238000
3000
da "Los Angeles Philharmonic".
04:16
And through playing music and talking about music,
90
241000
3000
E tocando e falando sobre música,
04:19
this man had transformed
91
244000
2000
este home transformárase
04:21
from the paranoid, disturbed man
92
246000
3000
do home paranoico, perturbado
04:24
that had just come from walking the streets
93
249000
2000
que camiñaba polas rúas
04:26
of downtown Los Angeles
94
251000
2000
da cidade de Los Angeles
04:28
to the charming, erudite,
95
253000
2000
no engaiolante, erudito,
04:30
brilliant, Juilliard-trained musician.
96
255000
4000
brillante, músico formado na Escola Juilliard.
04:34
Music is medicine. Music changes us.
97
259000
5000
A música é medicina. A música cambianos.
04:39
And for Nathaniel, music is sanity.
98
264000
4000
E para Nathaniel, a música é cordura.
04:43
Because music allows him to take his thoughts
99
268000
2000
Porque a música permítelle transformar
04:45
and delusions and shape them
100
270000
3000
os seus pensamentos e delirios
04:48
through his imagination and his creativity,
101
273000
2000
en realidades, grazas á súa imaxinación
04:50
into reality.
102
275000
2000
e creatividade.
04:52
And that is an escape
103
277000
2000
E isto é unha vía de escape
04:54
from his tormented state.
104
279000
2000
da súa mente atormentada.
04:56
And I understood that this was the very essence of art.
105
281000
3000
E comprendín que esta era a verdadeira esencia da arte.
04:59
This was the very reason why we made music,
106
284000
2000
Esta era a verdadeira razón pola que facemos música,
05:01
that we take something that exists within all of us
107
286000
2000
collemos algo que existen dentro de nós
05:03
at our very fundamental core,
108
288000
2000
no noso máis íntimo cerne,
05:05
our emotions,
109
290000
2000
as nosas emocións,
05:07
and through our artistic lens,
110
292000
2000
e a través das nosas lentes artísticas,
05:09
through our creativity, we're able to shape those emotions into reality.
111
294000
5000
a través da nosa creatividade, somos quen de dar forma real a esas emocións.
05:14
And the reality of that expression
112
299000
2000
E a realidade desa expresión
05:16
reaches all of us
113
301000
2000
chega a todos nós
05:18
and moves us, inspires and unites us.
114
303000
5000
e conmóvenos, inspíranos e únenos.
05:23
And for Nathaniel,
115
308000
2000
E para Nathaniel,
05:25
music brought him back into a fold of friends.
116
310000
3000
a música tróuxoo até un grupo de amigos.
05:28
The redemptive power of music brought him back
117
313000
2000
O poder redentor da músico tróuxoo de regreso
05:30
into a family of musicians
118
315000
2000
cunha unha familia de músicos
05:32
that understood him,
119
317000
2000
que o entendían,
05:34
that recognized his talents
120
319000
2000
que recoñecían os seus talentos
05:36
and respected him.
121
321000
3000
e respectábano.
05:39
And I will always make music with Nathaniel,
122
324000
3000
E eu farei sempre música con Nathaniel,
05:42
whether we're at Walt Disney Concert Hall
123
327000
2000
esteamos no Concert Hall Walt Disney
05:44
or on Skid Row, because he reminds me
124
329000
2000
ou en Skid Row, porque me lembra
05:46
why I became a musician.
125
331000
3000
porqué me fixen músico.
05:49
Thank you.
126
334000
2000
Grazas.
05:51
(Applause)
127
336000
7000
(Aplausos)
05:58
Bruno Giussani: Thank you. Thanks.
128
343000
3000
Bruno Giussani: Grazas, graciñas.
06:01
Robert Gupta.
129
346000
2000
Robert Gupta.
06:03
(Applause)
130
348000
3000
(Aplausos)
06:22
Robert Gupta: I'm going to play something that I shamelessly stole from cellists.
131
367000
3000
Robert: vou tocar algo que con moito papo roubei aos chelistas.
06:25
So, please forgive me.
132
370000
2000
Así que, por favor, descúlpenme.
06:27
(Laughter)
133
372000
1000
(Risos)
06:28
(Music)
134
373000
3000
(Música)
09:13
(Applause)
135
538000
8000
(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