Alexandre DaCosta | A maestro in the subway

Alexandre Da Costa takes off his black coat, opens his violin case and takes out a priceless 1701 Stradivarius.

Thus resounds chaconneby Italian Baroque composer Vitali.

The 43-year-old musician is used to playing at Place des Arts, which houses the Maison symphonique. But on this Tuesday in mid-December, 4:45 p.m., he plays for the first time in the depths of the cultural complex. Under the lyre – an instrument that marks the places authorized for metro musicians – at Place-des-Arts station, more precisely.

15 years ago, the washington post orchestrated a coup in the metro of the American capital by inviting the famous violinist Joshua Bell to play incognito during rush hour. In 2009, our colleague Nathalie Petrowski repeated the experience with Alexandre Da Costa at the Berri-UQAM station.

More than a decade later, in the whirlwind of the holidays, The Press wanted to invite the violinist, now conductor of the Orchester symphonique de Longueuil, to reconnect with public transit users.

Bring back memories

The most rock of Quebec maestros hates conventions. True to its reputation, it deviates slightly from the lyre assigned to it to anchor itself in the middle of the canopy. The history of music in Montreal, by Frederic Back. Everything is in everything…

From the first notes, as if he had been paid to pay, a hunched, limping old man rushes towards Da Costa and knocks over a few coins. Don’t laugh: the author of these lines fails to catch up with the eldest to collect the “how and why”.

Very quickly, it is Emma-Rose, ten years old, who notices the violinist and frantically pats her mother, Mélanie, on the shoulder. She, at this moment, walks with a confident step, chatting on the phone.

The young girl, whose locks of hair do honor to her middle name, ends up winning the duel. His mother gives him some money.

Alexander DaCosta? Don’t know…

“It’s very good, but we would have given, it doesn’t matter,” admitted Mélanie, caught up near the payment terminal. She emphasizes that it is her daughter who, every time, identifies the soloists of the metro and wishes to reward them. “I just gave my water bottle to another musician,” says the little one.

“When I was little, I did the same thing with my mother, explained Alexandre Da Costa after his performance. Children are pure souls. They don’t see the need, the poverty, the difference. They hear the music. »

During our discussion with Emma-Rose, a passer-by recognizes Da Costa, whom he has already met at an opera gala. He stops to greet him. “I saw in his eyes that he was like, ‘What are you doing here? “, will tell us later the violinist.

As if playing in the subway inspired a certain pathos, an idea to which the main interested party does not adhere, even if the prejudices, including his own, are tenacious.

During the experience, Da Costa relives distant images of himself, a young adult fresh out of the Conservatoire de musique de Québec, who fiddles in front of Christ Church Cathedral, rue Sainte-Catherine, for two weeks.

The goal at the time? “Pay me a four-week summer music camp with the best teachers. The conductor is the embodiment of this: music can serve as a springboard for music. “I have a career that is going well, I am not to be pitied, but I come from a background difficult, he says. My mother, a painter, invested everything in me to make music. »

children at heart

This new underground “uncovering” was just as distressing as the first, assures Da Costa, who has multiplied albums and media appearances for 13 years. “You impose your music, you impose art. As an artist, you want to be loved. There is a little love [dans le métro], but it’s not the same as when you walk on stage and people have bought a ticket. »

Love, here is precisely Myriam, hypnotized by the bow strokes of the musician who send summer by Vivaldi. “I have chills,” says the lady after tinkling the crate. If I had time, I would stay. It’s wonderful, overwhelming. »

She continues on her way, then turns back to share an observation with us: “You notice, the children are not mistaken about it”, she says.

It’s true: the majority of people go their way. Not Emma-Rose. Not the children.

Over there, a procession of about thirty excited students emerges from the long corridor of Place des Arts. In front of the musician, he slows down and dissipates, to the great displeasure of the teachers. One of the tweens steps out of the row to rain down his pocket money at the feet of the maestro.

Here are two children trying to attract the attention of their father, iPhone screwed on the ear. In vain. When the gentleman finally turns around, he finds that one of the boys, bewitched, has frozen about fifteen meters behind.

The scenario repeats itself with two mothers and three children: one of them stops for a few seconds before joining his clan in the race, neither seen nor known.

“The experience reminds me of a book by Dany Laferrière, The almost lost art of doing nothing », emphasizes Éric Hanigan, a doctoral candidate in psychology who is interested in musical emotions. “These are perfect examples of the Western adult caught in his thoughts, moving from point A to point B. He won’t notice a virtuoso playing with his Stradivarius right next to him, when he would be ready to pay large sums to see him on stage. »

Hanigan notes that children’s brains, which are still developing, are “like a sponge.” The young passers-by not only absorb the music, “but also a language and an emotion,” he says. “For adults, the categorisations, which we call schemas, are already formed. They’ve no doubt already been exposed to musicians on the subway, so they already have a representation based on their experiences. Consequence: “They pay less attention. »

Winter conditions

Alexandre Da Costa had warned us: the icy corridor wind will make the performance difficult, far from the hushed heat of modern halls. The 5 or 10 degrees and the gusts of wind are tough enemies for a musician whose prowess rests on his bare hands.

There was no question of backing down: only, his surprise appearance will be slightly shortened, from 25 to 15-20 minutes. Echo to the cold, it is Winterextracted from Four Seasons by Vivaldi, which seals the performance.

Result of the races: about 400 passers-by, about fifteen ephemeral spectators, 9 donors and… $13.80 in the cardboard box, an amount that will be increased and donated to the shelter for homeless women Chez Doris.

The children generated a third of the donations, in addition to having attended the brief concert in the front row. “I invite readers to try the art of children enjoying the present moment,” says Mr. Hanigan, doctoral student in psychology. The next time you pass a musician on the subway, try to push the thoughts out of your mind and take a short break to just listen. You may see the effect of music on your well-being. »