Stephanie Elkins on revisiting a banjo player’s classical recording

One of my favorite albums is not orchestral or choral or piano — it’s an older classical crossover recording (2001) called “Perpetual Motion.”

As someone who’s both a classical and folk musician, the soundscape is deeply appealing, featuring little classical gems arranged for interesting combinations of instruments, like marimba, cello, violin and mandolin. The common denominator is a banjo.

I play folk guitar pretty well but haven’t been able to master mandolin or banjo — mostly for lack of practice. Those two instruments hang on a wall in our home, out of sight, just waiting for some action. 

Virtuoso banjo player Béla Fleck put together the Grammy-winning “Perpetual Motion” with some of the greatest performers in the world, including percussionist Evelyn Glennie, violinist Joshua Bell, bassist Edgar Meyer and mandolinist Chris Thile. They tackle everything from Bach and Tchaikovsky to Chopin and Debussy.

Two highlights for me are Brahms on banjo and marimba and Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” on banjo, cello and bass.

The recording overflows with depth and nuance, excitement, pathos and all of the range and breadth of emotion that classical music can offer. Each piece is an exquisite miniature, rendered in unexpected arrangements that catch the ears. The music is familiar, but in this recording I hear it in fresh, new ways.

If only it was inspirational enough to get me back to practicing banjo and mandolin. Maybe after I finish the afghan I’m knitting and the sunflower painting that’s been on the easel for months.