takes a seat onstage in the concert hall of Museo del Violino in
Cremona, Italy, and carefully tucks a Stradivarius under his
chin. The violin, crafted in 1727 and called Vesuvio, gleams red
in the soft light of the auditorium. Through an earpiece, the
soloist hears a metronomic beat as a voice says, “Go.”
De Lorenzi draws his bow across the lowest string and plays G
for half a beat. He pauses, then follows with A-flat. Then A. He
moves up the scale, never changing his pace as he works through
all four strings. Once he finishes, he repeats the exercise, this
time sounding each tone just a bit faster.
Clearly, this is no ordinary concert—or a typical practice.
Outside, police have cordoned off the street to traffic. Inside,
workers have shut down the heater despite the January chill,
dimmed the lights, and unscrewed any buzzing bulbs. As each
solitary note reverberates, an audience of 32 microphones
dotted throughout the auditorium silently listens. PREVIOUSSPREADANDTHIS^PAGE:^ ISABELLADE^ MADDALENAFOR^ THENEWYORKTIMES^ /REDUX^ PICTURES^WINTER 2019 • POPSCI.COM ~ PG 58