John Tavener and the Taxi Driver

John Tavener died yesterday, after a long illness.  Read his last interview (with Ivan Hewett) HERE.  As regular readers know, I don't do impersonal obits, so instead, an anecdote.

It was early 1993. I caught a taxi outside Harrods. The Taxi Driver wanted to talk about music. "The Protecting Veil, that's perfect!" he said, "The most beautiful thing I've ever heard! "  A bit embarrassed I said that it didn't do anything for me."Then you don't know music" said the taxi driver, annoyed.

I still don't get The Protecting Veil, .but I'm glad it gave so much joy to someone else. If music can reach people that's a good thing. A bit more karma and goodness in the world.

 A few years ago at a London Sinfonietta concert I saw a man I'll swear was Tavener, or his double. "Cannot possibly be!" said everyone."He doesn't go out". Maybe it was the one time he did go out. Maybe it was an apparition. It doesn't matter. As Tavener himself would have understood, there are many things in this world we aren't meant to logic out, but serve a mysterious purpose.

Photo : Devlin Crow 2013