A State of Wonder - Daria van den Bercken at TEDxAmsterdam

Pianist Daria van den Bercken one day discovered a great musical passion for the music of George Frideric Händel. She decided not just to play Händel, but also to share her love in a number of new and innovative ways.

Ladies and gentlemen,
I'm here today on this stage

because I've done some things
a musician normally wouldn't do.

I flew 30 meters high over a crowd
of thousands of people in Brazil,

playing the piano,
playing music by Handel.

I also drove, here in Amsterdam,
over cobblestones,

playing on a piano towed by a car
and also playing Handel.

Let's watch some clips.

(Video) (Music)

All this was really fun to do.
It was an amazing experience.

Magical for hundreds
of different reasons.

But the big question,
I logically started to ask myself, was --

Why on Earth
would I do such a thing?

Why would I kind of risk my life
dangling on a bungee cord

and why would I go over
cobblestones in Amsterdam?

And actually the moment we hit a bridge
I lost all control over the keyboard.

Well, my answer is -- that I really very badly
want to share this music.

I want to share it with everybody
who's willing to hear it.

And that is because
I fell in love with this music.

It happened two years ago.
I was sitting in my couch

here in Amsterdam,
and I had the flu.

And I was browsing on
the internet a little.

Handel caught my eye
and I was looking him up.

And I found out
that he had written pieces

for the keyboard
I had never heard before.

And this is quite odd.
I had never heard it on CD before,

or on the radio,
or heard it live.

So I downloaded the sheet music,

put it on my piano stand,
and started playing it through.

And what happened next was something
I can only describe as my --

personal state of wonder.

It hit a really deep chord within me.

And let me illustrate. The first piece
I played through was this --

(Music)

And it went on.
And I could describe this --

For me it felt like
it was a beautiful melancholy,

really beautiful melancholy,
without dwelling into total sorrow.

I finished the piece,
I flipped the page

and the next thing
I played was this.

(Piano Music)

Well, that's completely different, isn't it?
A total contrast. (Applause)

Thank you.

It was an absolute contrast
in piece to the first.

So what happened there,
in my room, here in Amsterdam

was that within 3 minutes
I experienced what I would say

are two vital human expressions:
melancholy and pure vibrant energy.

So, that's how I got addicted
to this music.

I give a lot of children concerts
in Holland.

And sometimes I get classes
of 7 and 8 year-olds.

And anything I put in front of them,
whether it is Bach, Beethoven,

Schumann or some jazz,
they are really open to it.

They always listen
and I feel I can reach them.

It is as if they are
in a constant state of wonder.

And sometimes I get classes
where they are just a few years older.

And I don't know exactly
what has happened,

and I'm not sure if I reached them
actually, because --

Is it peer pressure? You know, friends
telling you what you should like?

Or is it the media telling you
what you're supposed to like?

But sometimes I already get a critical glance
and I'm not sure if they really liked it.

And I remember it,
from my own youth.

It's such a shame that growing up
that seems to kind of vanish.

I also remember when I was 8
I listened wholeheartedly

to music that I'd never heard before,

and I would run to my mom and dad,
saying, "you have to listen to this."

So, I experience now
that the positive thing of growing up

is that I don't have to run to my mom
and dad, saying "listen to this."

But I create the possibility to share it
with a wider audience.

And I think that's how
I ended up 30 meters high.

All these realizations that I seemingly had lost,
this "state of wonder," for a while --

until I heard Hendel, made me
really curious about other people,

and, specially for this TEDx event today,
I went with my friends outside here,

in front of the building, 2 weeks ago
and tried a little experiment.

Let's look at it.

(Video)

DB: Ready?
Man: Yeah.

(Music)

Man: OK. Honest opinion?
DB: Honest.

Man: Ok. I'm going to give you an image.
The first thing I thought about was of horses.

DB: Horses?

Man: Yeah, I had an image of horses and
well trained horses as well.

Lady: It's a bit too cold for the music right now.
It should be a little warmer,

with sunshine and a glass of white wine.
Things like that.

Lady: I'd like to be at home
and doing things.

DB: Doing things?
Lady: Yeah, during this music.

DB: Why doing things?

Lady: Because it brings you into
a rhythm where you can see

and do more than you would do
without the music.

Man: I think it's a very serene type
of music and the type of music

you really need to
sit down to listen to.

And it's maybe not even the type
of music you would listen to at work,

because it requires actual attention.

BD:You're working out with it?
Woman: Yeah, I love it.

DB: Seriously?

Woman: Yeah, with a loud classical music
it's really, really nice.

DB: Great!
Woman: I always do that. Nice!

Man: I don't like classical music,
I don't have a feeling about it, nothing.

BD: No feeling, none whatsoever?

Man: It's very nice, it's optimistic, happy.
It reminded me of my father

because my father also played the "klave."
How do you say "klave" in English?

That instrument is like a piano
but for church.

DB: Harpsichord.

Man: Harpsichord, yeah, in English.
It's very, very nice.

It made me feel like I want to hear
it played by him.

DB: Great ! Thank you so much.
Man: Thank you.

(Applause)

Well the funny part is that I was hoping
for any reaction at all.

It was actually
quite scary to do this.

And I ended up with so
many different reactions.

So many diverse reactions,
and it really made me happy

because if you get to one, and well,
so many different responses

to one and the same piece, to me that feels like --
Ok, then it's really great music.

I cannot tell these people's minds,
of course, but I really started,

stretching my boundaries as a musician,
to see if I can get to people unexpectedly.

Because, for me, the most
beautiful moment in performance art

is when I can convey my state of wonder
at exactly the same moment

that you are open to hear it,
when you are listening without prejudice.

So, I thought about it.
Let's make a deal.

You'll pretend to be 7 for a while,
while I'll conclude this talk by playing.

And of course
it's going to be Handel.

(Piano Music)

(Applause)