Classical Twist!

Last wednesday night, all of the music students went to the National Concert Hall in Dublin for a "Classical Twist" with Vladimir Jablokov. By the looks of the flyer for the event, we were all sure the show was going to be a bore.

(source: vladimirmusic.com)

Vladimir looks a lot older than he actually is and the picture gives you the idea that you're in for a night of typical classical music, which is not exactly what a group of college students would look forward to going to see. However, we were all pleasantly surprised once the show began.

Before the show, Caroline got us an opportunity to meet Vladimir, hear his story, and ask any questions we might have. Vladimir is actually from Slovakia and came to Dublin on a whim to come live with a cousin of his. He ran out of money after a few short weeks and could not find a job for he did not speak a word of english. Vladimir did the only thing he knew how to do to earn some money, play the violin. He started playing the violin everyday on Grafton Street to earn whatever he could to get by. Soon after this he formed a quartet with a few friends and they took off from there. Now Vladimir's orchestra plays at big venues all across Europe and is well known in the Dublin area. It is really impressive that he is now playing shows at the National Concert Hall.

After the meet and greet with Vladimir, we all grabbed some drinks and went in to enjoy the show, still expecting a somewhat uninteresting performance. But we soon learned what the classical twist was. Vladimir's orchestra consisted of 4 violins including himself, a piano, a cello, and the drums. The first half of the show consisted of a number of classic rock songs with a classical twist. Some of the songs he played were 'Eleanor Rigby' by the Beatles, 'Free Bird' by Lynyrd Skynyrd, and many other popular classic rock songs. It struck us all by surprise but it was really enjoyable to hear these songs we all know so well but in a different way than we had ever heard before. In the second half of the show, they played mostly their own music but it was still just as surprisingly enjoyable. I never thought I would enjoy a classical orchestra so much! After leaving the show I was happy I got to experience a concert different than any others I have been to before. I hope to hear more like it in the future.