A musical reading with works by Bach, Beethoven, Moszkowski and others.
James Rhodes is different from other concert pianists. Even in a world where classical musicians are increasingly morphing into extroverted global stars because they don't sit down at the piano in tails and bow ties and supposedly become "punk" with a few wild hairstyles, the Brit is exceptional. Yes, he too comes on stage in a T-shirt and sneakers. He has Sergei Rachmaninov's name tattooed in Cyrillic letters on his right forearm. He wears a three-day beard and hipster glasses and even smokes cigarettes in public.
Really shocking, though, is his story, which he made public in his autobiography, The Sound of Rage, which Bayerischer Rundfunk considers "without a doubt the craziest book about the blessings of classical music ever written." In it, he describes how he was raped by his gym teacher as a seven-year-old and in later years, how he felt shame, how he crashed in later years, attempted suicide and was sedated in a psychiatric ward. But also how classical music saved his life.
It was a piece by Johann Sebastian Bach, the Concerto No. 3 in D minor BWV 974: "If something so strong, so beautiful, can exist," Rhodes says, "then it can't be all bad. So I said to myself, OK, I'll keep going a little bit."
Today James Rhodes plays Beethoven, Chopin, Prokofjev and, above all, Bach to an enthusiastic audience that otherwise rarely shows up at the great music halls. And he talks about what he's playing in a snotty tone, unvarnished and full of sincerity. It also talks about his life. And about the beauty of music, which for a long time was his only friend. James Rhodes is truly unlike anyone else, he has something to talk about. And to play.
