JAMES STRECKER: If you were asked for 50 words for an encyclopedia to summarize what you do, or have done, in the arts, what would you say?
JONATHAN CROW: I would hope that my contribution to the arts inspires young musicians to find happiness in music; I’m lucky to have an incredible amount of variety in my career- solo performances, chamber music, orchestra, teaching, curating – and I’m happy to say that nothing has ever felt old or commonplace. How many words was that?
JS: What important beliefs do you express in or through your work?
JC: Music is a very difficult mix between striving for perfection and accepting human weakness; in music, we are constantly striving to get better, but need to accept that nothing is ever perfect. If it were, there would be no need for any more performances! I think this is true about many things in life.
JS: Name two people, living or dead, whom you admire a great deal and tell us why for each one.
JC: Yehudi Menuhin – he was such an inspiration both as a violinist and musician, but later in his life as a pedagogue and supporter of young talent. Yo-Yo Ma – his work in bringing classical music to a wider audience and making it “cool” to play the cello has inspired many generations of young artists to make and love music.
JS: How have you changed since you began to do creative work?
JC: That’s hard to say – I started playing the violin at age 6, so it has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember!
JS: What are your biggest challenges as a creative person?
JC: Finding the mix between creativity and perfection- it’s easy to lose the spontaneity in music by wanting to have everything perfectly worked out in advance, rather than accepting that live music by its very nature can never be the same twice.
JS: Please describe at least one major turning point in your life.
JC: Having kids! Practice time was suddenly more valuable and precious. And hopefully more efficient!
JS: What are the hardest things for an outsider to understand about what you do?
JC: I think it’s hard for non-musicians to understand the mix or love and hard work that goes into the profession; we all love music or we wouldn’t be doing it, but anyone that has had young kids play the violin will realize how difficult it is to get from picking up a violin to making a single beautiful sound. It takes years!
JS: How and why did you begin to do creative work in the first place?
JC: I started the violin in the Suzuki program, which is a great music program that encourages the social aspects of playing an instrument. I didn’t like practicing, but I loved quartet, orchestra and group classes with my friends!
JS: What haven’t you attempted as yet that you would like to do and please tell us why?
JC: Improvisation! I’m too nervous to do it in public…
JS: What are your most meaningful achievements?
JC: Besides my awesome family? I would say the success of my former students who have gone on to do wonderful things. And remain great people – I can’t take credit for that though…
JS: What advice would you give a young person who would like to do what you do?
JC: Make sure you love it! And then find your own path- careers are very flexible things, and jobs that exist right now might not be there in 20 years! Again- this holds true for all fields.
JS: Of what value are critics?
JC: Critics provide a valuable service for the music scene- the idea of having discussion points gives us a new way to think about music. The concept of good and bad is a little silly, but the idea of being able to have a discussion with your local critic over the morning papers is a wonderful thing- whether or not you might agree with the critic’s views is somewhat irrelevant.
JS: What do you ask of your audience?
JC: Be open minded to what is going on during every performance, and be willing to learn and hear new things. Also- be supportive of all of your fellow audience members as everyone in the audience is at a different point in his or her musical life. If someone wants to clap between movements, don’t make him feel bad!
JS: What specifically would you change about what goes on in the world and the arts?
JC: I would take away the labeling of genres of music. Calling one form “Pop” and another “Classical” creates needless distinctions that give people pre-conceived notions about what they like or dislike.
JS: If you could relive one experience from your creative life, what would it be and why would you do so?
JC: I think the life of a performing artist means that we never relive a concert- for better or for worse every concert is a new moment, and a chance to do something better!
JS: Tell us what it feels like to be a figure who is presented somehow in the media. What effect does this presence have on you?
JC: It’s nice that my kids can Google my name and see pictures of me- they’re pretty proud…
JS: Name two places you would like to visit, one you haven’t been to and one to experience again and briefly tell us why
JC: I’ve never been to the Canadian North- I would love to go there and experience the culture and landscape before they are both lost. Last summer I went to Italy and had two days in Rome- I’d like to go back for a month! Even that probably wouldn’t be enough to feel like I’d seen it all…
JS: Please tell us about one or more projects that you have been working on, are preparing, or have recently completed. Why do they matter to you and why should they matter to us?
JC: I just recently finished a recording of three modern Canadian works with the New Orford String Quartet. We are passionate about presenting new Canadian music- not because we feel we have an obligation or because we are trying to “help” Canadian composers, but because we feel that there is amazing music out there that deserves to be heard and can stand alongside works of the old masters.
JS: Let’s talk about the state of the arts in today’s society, including the forms in which you work. What specifically gives you hope and what specifically do you find depressing?
JC: It’s hard to be depressed about the state of the arts when you live in a city like Toronto! Every day there are dozens of presentations of music and visual art- opera, ballet, chamber music, symphonic music- and thousands of people come out to hear/see it! Art and culture is an integral part of our city, and seeing so many young people at concerts and exhibitions makes me realize that it isn’t going away anytime soon!
JS: 20 Finally, what do you yourself find to be the most intriguing and/or surprising thing about you?
JC: That I’m really not good at basketball, and never played it in school…