Violinist: The making of a top talent and the future of classical music

Violinist Michal Buczkowski plays a violin at his home in Loresho during an interview on January 8, 2025.

Photo credit: Wilfred Nyangaresi | Nation Media Group

Michal Buczkowski talks with the geniality of a happy visitor. We are sitting on the verandah of a house on Mukabi Road in Nairobi that is pinned between Loresho and Kangemi.

He is a classical violinist with more than 30 years of playing under his chin and fiddle. On his second visit to Kenya, he is here to teach the violin to the children of the Ghetto Classics.

He is also here to monitor one of his students, Steve Otieno, a child prodigy that he has been giving online violin lessons for the past year and a half.

He talks to the BDLife on the inanities of playing and teaching the violin and on what life looks like for a man that dreamt of living on a plane.

When Michal Buczkowski was younger, he recollects being very involved in music and recalls telling his family that he wanted to be an artist because they live on the plane.

“I was also singing and dancing before I started school and I remember my aunt telling my mother that I should be tested to see whether I had the ability to learn music. I was tested for rhythm and musicality and was accepted into a school. Every child that I was tested with wanted to play the piano as was I. I was however a fat child and so had short fat fingers. The art teacher took one look at my fingers and said that I had no chance with them on a piano, she suggested that I take the violin.”

The rest he says is history.

He describes his first visit, which he didn’t know would create a connection between him and Kenya.

“I was here one and a half years ago to play in a concert for the Polish Embassy for the National day of Poland. I had also come to give violin masterclasses to a group of children from Korogocho Slums under Ghetto Classics. That day changed my life because I met Steve Otieno. He had only been playing the viola for four months when we met but wanted to play the violin.

"The organisers of the masterclass asked whether I thought anyone from my classes was gifted and I narrowed down to Steve. He was the only one in his class who reacted when I asked them a question on what finger should be used when playing the melody on a violin,” he says.

He agreed to take Steve under his wing for violin and classical music classes.

“I have seen Steve only twice in person but I have been giving him online violin classes for more than one and a half years. His life is not easy but he is so dedicated to the music that I eventually decided to dedicate myself to him and his music. I get told that I changed his life, but Steve also changed my life.”

Steve been accepted in Europe for violin masterclasses by a famous violinist and will begin classes when Michal feels he is ready.

For Michal, the violin isn’t an easy instrument to learn.

“If you love it, you can say that it is easy but you have to be dedicated because the beginnings are the hardest part of learning. Compared to other instruments, the violin is the hardest to start because one has to be very patient to adjust and to control 7 or 8 things at the same time.”

Does he have a life outside classical music?

“I am a musician but I also love other things in life like reading books, watching movies or just going for walks, I think everything is important especially if you are playing music because if you are only obsessed with your music, it is not healthy for your health. I prefer speaking to people who have something else to talk about other than music because I strongly feel that if you don’t develop yourself in other aspects of life apart from music, then you cannot be a good musician. You will be close minded,” he says.

His visit to Kenya has been an insightful experience in terms of exposure to what the children he is here to teach the violin are doing.

“I come from Europe which has a rich history and background in classical music but coming to Kenya it has been amazing to watch how the children have a rich understanding of theory especially the ones at the Ghetto Classics. In Europe I spent a lot of time focusing on theory but I don’t have to do the same in Kenya, it gives me more time to focus on the instrument because the children know just about everything in theory.”

What makes a good violinist from the eyes of a teacher and a full-time professional player?

“It is a lot of factors. Sometimes children can at the beginning be very gifted and talented musicians but it doesn’t mean that they will be good musicians because there are many factors that have to come together. You can be the most gifted child but if you don’t practice, you will not achieve much. There can be less talented children at the very beginning but if they practice, they can become even better than the ones that are natural talents. For one to be a good violinist, there is work that needs to be done in terms of practice, there is the mix of talent and luck is also important. There are also other factors like mental preparation that are crucial because if you are stressed, you will play worse than someone that is less gifted but mentally prepared.”

Stage work is a key part for any performing musician in Michals world because it’s the most fundamental part of performance.

“Being on a stage is a different thing as compared to learning and practicing. I have to teach my students how to behave on stage and I think that the teacher who performs has more to teach because being in a classroom and being on stage are different things especially for beginner students.”

What about the notion that classical music is a dying genre?

“Classical music is not dying. It is one of the oldest genres of music but that is where its power is. There are pieces that are 300-400 years old that are still being played and admired. A good example is Steve who lives in Nairobi but admires Mozart and Beethoven pieces. I appreciate the timelessness of classical music especially when I play outside Europe because to still find people who don’t have a rich classical history listening and appreciating it, is a pure joy.”

How does the future of classical music look like?

“I think it is in good hands because there are a lot of newcomers that are still playing the music. I also think that it will survive because it has survived for nearly 500 years. I am more worried about the music that is being produced now as compared to classical music because in 10 years, a lot of people won’t be able to remember it.”

Why is it so?

“When I speak about, say, pop music, if you compare the pop music that was released in the 80s and 90s, the quality is much better than what is being produced now and I have a feeling that a lot of people are still listening to the old songs compared to the ones that are being produced now. Most of the times I get the notion that the music that is being made for now is for this moment, people want to make as much money as they can in a song for a month or two then move on to another.

"Good musicianship is a question of whether one wants to dedicate themselves more or wants to work more for something that will stay alive for years or they just want quick money and fame for a few months. It is why I say that when I see children wanting to learn classical music, I am not afraid of the future of classical music. I am actually be more afraid of the future of the current music.”

Michal who started playing the violin when he was seven years old and has been playing for over 30 years, looks at his longevity from the perspective of appreciating the journey more than the goal.

Does it ever get boring?

“No. The older I get the more I appreciate the process of practicing, just staying at home and learning. Before I wanted to perform as much as I can and I still like it but the older I am the more I want to stay at home in a room and practice and make music, it is what makes me happy. I am not bored with it because it is my profession and it is a very beautiful profession and also because music is medicine in itself whenever I feel lonely or stressed.”

How does he keep the balance between travelling and his personal life?

“I don’t have a family of my own at the moment because it is maybe part of my story and part of my profession. I am a very busy person and very dedicated to my job. I spend my time on the plane a lot but on the other hand if I stay too long at home, I then end up feeling like everything is not okay. This profession gives me the opportunity to meet amazing people and I can make friendships across the world which makes me very rich because I develop myself.”

What are the disadvantages of being a full-time violinist?

“I have to be on my own practicing for long periods and it can get lonely. You can have an amazing concert with loud applauses and meetings and dinners afterwards but then end up alone in your hotel room, this part can be difficult but it is a part of the profession. Nobody cares if you are feeling sick or tired or stressed or whatever.

"When you go to perform you cannot show people that you are not okay. My teacher taught me that whenever you are playing in a concert you have to understand that people are paying for the tickets, they don’t care if you are feeling sad. You have to go and play, and if you are feeling sad or bad, just cancel the concert because it is not fair to the audience to get a half performance. I always try to remember that people come to concerts to have joy and this has always helped recalibrate me whenever I am feeling sad or low.”

He is good for this profession because he is not demanding as to need people around him.

“Being a concert violinist or a violinist soloist is not a big deal for me, I am okay with it and I like to give people joy and pleasure of listening to music. It is my choice because I could also be part of an orchestra or play with different people which I enjoy doing but I don’t have a problem with the understanding that this profession can be also lonely. You pay for that and if you are not okay with that you can find something else to do.”

Does the hours one practices account for how good one can get with playing the violin?

“The question of how much one should practice isn’t a good question but I understand you. You can practice 8-9 hours and not do anything because if you practice stupidly, you cannot make anything but if you practice for an hour you can make much more than 9 hours. It is much more essential and sufficient to practice less but smartly,” he says.

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