What have you discovered about the connection between species?
It's a huge question, but a good example is Mozart's Starling. I wanted to find out what their relationship was and to what extent it influenced his music.
AND?
I studied the scientific literature on them and all the academic articles on Mozart, I even went to Vienna to see his house to see how he lived with that bird, but something was missing.
Live yourself with one of them.
In the US they are considered an invasive species, we are invited to destroy their nests, so it was not difficult for me to get hold of one, a fluffy chick I named Carmen.
How was it?
Sociable, intelligent, very active, capable of imitating any sound, from that of other birds, the sound of the car, the melody of the telephone, our voices...
Mozart noticed that bird capable of singing the chorus of his Piano Concerto No. 17 in G major.
He heard it down the street and followed the sound to a bird shop, and took it with him. The mystery is that this concert had not yet been performed in public.
How did you learn it?
There are several theories, I like the one that sustains that Mozart was listened to while composing with the windows open.
Did you show that piece to your starling?
I played it over and over again on the piano, but nothing; however, when my daughter Claire would play some Bach on the cello, Carmen would sing with her. She had her own individual mind and her own musical tastes.
The starling came to New York in a very romantic way.
They were brought in the 19th century by an eccentric pharmacist who decided to release in Central Park all the birds mentioned in Shakespeare's works and that he bought in England.
Tell me about your life with Carmen.
It took over my life for seven years. The depth to which she integrated into our family life was amazing.
He made himself loved.
A lot, he looked into your eyes, he typed on my computer while I wrote; It was a revolution and she always wanted to be above us, her attitude was super friendly and how she responded to us was surprising to me. She was lovely.
Did he imitate the sounds of home?
Everyone, when she saw me pour the coffee into the grinder, Carmen made the sound of the grinder, anticipating what was going to happen. And the most extraordinary and novel thing is that she said "hello" to us and to the cat, with whom she got along very well, "meow."
And how was the relationship between Mozart and his starling?
Mozart composed an elegy on his death after three years of living together: "Here lies a little madman whom I appreciated (...) He was mischievous, cheerful and happy, and despite all his boasts an endearing joker."
I knew him well.
Yes, it shows that they had a close relationship. She lived with Mozart during a very difficult time in her life, she lost a son, her father and was in poor health, and the friendly, cheerful and attentive presence of the starling enchanted her.
Did the starling influence your music?
There are a couple of compositions. One is the character of Papageno from The Magic Flute, mischievous and very talkative. Another, that curious sextet, A musical joke.
Composition that academics do not like.
They say that Mozart lost his mind, it is a very playful composition, with unexpectedly high notes just like the song of starlings. Both were composed during the time that he lived with the starling.
He gave the starling a funeral.
It was something that appealed to Mozart's sense of humor: organizing a formal funeral for a starling; but without a doubt there was a real affection and a feeling of loss of a being whose capacity for coexistence is extreme.
Carmen died too.
Two years ago. It broke my heart, it took me over a year to get used to him not chatting with us at any time and his presence on my shoulder.
What has your relationship taught you?
It allowed me to understand the uniqueness of their way of relating, something unique to starlings, and I can't stop thinking about the infinite types of unique intelligences that are constantly around us.
Do animals talk?
They have forms of language that are beyond our understanding. If we stopped to open our ears, our eyes, our skin, our hearts, to begin to capture the intelligence that surrounds us, our lives would change for the better.
We go back to the beginning: the connection between humans and the wild world.
Animals listen to us and know us. And they speak in different and beautiful ways that we will never fully understand.
