I was given the daunting task to pick, out of all of the speakers, one to analyze on Ted Talks. After many videos and jaw-dropping facts later, I chose Benjamin Zander. He is a Beethoven and Mahler interpreter, as well as a conductor. Zander has been doing this for over twenty years, and his pure passion for classical music oozes from his speech. Not only is the audience intrigued by what he’s saying, but astonished with how he’s saying it.
Benjamin’s intention was to prove that all people have a love for classical music. He initially said that a small fraction of the room probably loved classical music, and many others who can either tolerate it, or hate it; pointing out that by the end of his speech almost everyone will love it. He then says he’s going to demonstrate what is like for a seven year old to play the piano. Sitting down at the grand piano on stage, he plays a brief passage exactly as how a seven year old would play it; followed by him playing how it would sound at 8, 9, and 10, growing better with each time. He points out that what is making it sound better, are the inflections he’s putting on each note and points out that everyone in the room can notice the difference in each example. Then, he plays an excerpt of a Chopin piece. As he breaks down the song itself, he proves that the audience knows where the music is going when it comes to the natural resolve of a chord. Finally, he tells the audience to imagine a loved one they’ve lost and to imagine them and what they would say as he plays the full Chopin piece. He moves the crowd beautifully and closes saying that everyone would love classical music, if only they were shown in the right way.
What moves me, as well as the audience, is his execution. He comes out of the gate bursting with life and enthusiasm and makes me believe how committed he his to music. The greatest part was the piano. He catches you with beautiful playing and perfect inflection. The audience is captivated and silent. Zander even points out that he knows he’s got everyone by the sparkle in their eyes; and most of the eyes were glistening. Not only was I entertained, but I was actually truly inspired. As he completes his speech I found myself wanting to clap with the audience, but I luckily held back. It’s speakers like this who make me love the power of public speaking, as well as music. To see someone expose their passion so vividly should be inspiring to all.
