They also asked me to play again for one minute after the President and before the Pope. I chose to play Prelude No.8 by Claude Debussy. Of course, we'd like to believe that a professional musician would serve the cause of music regardless of whether the audience totals five or 50,000, and whether that audience is comprised of high schoolers, other symphony members or Isaac Stern. Yes, I have performed many times as soloist in ceremonies here and in other parts of the world but nothing matched the significance of this performance. For me, a Protestant from Ohio, making music on the ancient instrument of the Bible to bridge a dialogue between the President of the State of Israel and the Pope of the Catholic Church was a humbling honor.
Silence speaks when there are no adequate words.