Mischa Elman on Daily Practice

Written by Daniel Broniatowski
Published: February 6, 2015 at 6:50 PM [UTC]

My guess is that a man this successful could have easily retired into a life of rest and relaxation, perhaps reminiscing about his past successes on the concert stage. He could have easily succumbed to old age and said "I have done enough, I am finished".

Yet, Mr. Elman would have none of that. In Mischa Elman's obituary from the Gettysburg Times, published April 7, 1967, he states to an interviewer at or around the age of 74 that "I don't have the right to let my admirers down. And so I practice every day. It is the duty of every artist to do so." Further inspired and interested, I started thinking about how this man, who performed over 5,000 concerts in his lifetime, could teach us musicians about our roles as performers.

Surely, a man who felt this passionately about the ritual of daily practice would have been incredibly interesting to interview today! Taking the above quote, one sees that Elman believed that practicing was his duty. He believed very strongly that his music mattered and since he did not wish to "let [his] admirers down", he practiced daily.

This brings us to an interesting question. Does the artist define him or herself in relation to the expectations of the audience, or does the artist define him or herself in spite of the audience? Any business person knows that in order to be successful, you have to have a product that sells. Whether it's music, books, or television sets, if there is no dialogue between the audience and the "producer", there is no success. Furthermore, continued success is dependent upon the income stream that the audience provides.

While I do not know what Mr. Elman's financial situation was in his seventies, I will, however, assume that he did not need to keep playing to make ends meet. So, I hypothesize that there was a voice deep inside Mr. Elman that really wished to connect with the audience, irrespective of money. He had clearly established a decades-old following and was a musical-hero. This was likely what inspired him in his daily violin practice.

In short, Mr. Elman's music meant something larger to his community of followers - It was a sharing of his soul with all of us through the medium of sound. Perhaps this is what inspired him to practice until the day he died. To be able to share and connect with others through sound is one of the most beautiful gifts one can be blessed with. You may hear a recording of Mischa Elman below:

Daniel Broniatowski, D.M.A.
Music to Warm the Heart
Maestro Musicians, LLC
Greater Boston and New England

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