On 3rd April, 2020, our community’s extremely talented musician, Er. Frazan Adil Kotwal, currently based in Germany, was invited to the Robert Bosch Hospital to sing for patients enduring the Coronavirus. Handled with care, in keeping with the need for Social Distancing, he sang from outside the hospital premise, while the patients watched from their rooms and windows! It was indeed a proud moment for Frazan, as concerts and operas stand cancelled the world over due to the pandemic. Frazan said he considered himself one of the lucky few in the world to perform an entire solo concert during these rough times, for a great cause!
In Frazan’s words… ‘The Show Must Go On…’
“On a balmy Friday afternoon, my Pianist, Yu Tashiro and myself, got into a bus and made our way to the Robert Bosch Hospital, where we were to perform our concert at 14:30, organised by the wonderful Yehudi Menuhin Live Music Now Scholarship – which has given me a lot of beautiful memories like singing in a Jail in JVA, Kinder Hospices, old age homes etc.
From the very beginning, I knew this was going to be a special memory too! When the whole world has cancelled concerts and almost every artist is out of work, Yu Tashiro and myself had been given the honour of performing a full solo recital! It was difficult because we hadn’t rehearsed for months, so Yu and I started to practise and discuss our tempo and dynamics in the bus itself!
Once we reached there, the atmosphere was very different. People were taking a lot of care and it was extremely professional. A lady from the hospital guided us towards the open air area where we supposed to sing! It was an innenhof (German for a patio) and an L-shaped building. Yu and I were very nervous, because we both knew that this was something very different. Even the Chairman of the Live Music Now Foundation – Dr. Bretthauer, was there to support us!
We started performing and it was beautiful to see the patients peeping out of their windows slowly, the smiles on their faces gave me more energy! The more I sang, the more people kept peeping out! Some were shy, some were filming us and some just sat there, awestruck! The moment I started singing famous songs, like ‘My Way’ or those from ‘Im Weissen Rössl’, the patients’ smiles widened and I could feel their happiness.
For me, what was really beautiful, was that it was not just patients who were enjoying, but that also all the doctors and nurses, who were behind closed doors, were dancing and swaying to some of the familiar tunes that I sang. One of them even mentioned about how she looks forward to listening to this music and how it bought her so much joy!
This would have not been possible without the phenomenal Yehudi Menuhin Live Music Now foundation, which gives artist like us such beautiful moments. I truly hold them very dear to my heart! A big than you to Heike Ellwanger and the Yehudi Menuhin Live Music now foundation for organising. The Foundation is also extremely supportive and helping their Stipiendats (German for fellowships) through this difficult time! I truly thank them from the bottom of my heart!
As musicians, to perform in such a difficult time, was extremely challenging, but this is why I do music, to bring happiness to people who need it the most, and to spread the joy, because at the end of the day, the show must go on!”
Covered and brought into the spotlight by PT since June 2016, Er. Frazan Kotwal hails from Pune, and is an ordained Dastur who has received global accolades for his talent as an Opera singer (baritone). A BMM graduate from Mumbai’s Jaihind College, Frazan has performed all over Europe and participated in Music Festivals. In August 2018, he secured the second place and was adjudged the ‘Top Audience Choice’ award in the first of its kind, Western Classical National Singing Competition – ‘Voices of India’ held at the NCPA. After being accepted into prestigious music universities in New York, Vienna and Germany, Frazan chose to study under Ulrike Sonntag at the renowned State Music University in Stuttgart. So far, Frazan has performed in a lot of solo concerts, with numerous scholarships and awards to his credit. Parsi Times yet again congratulates our superstar for his achievements, as a passionate and compassionate musician, and for continuing to make our community proud, across the world!
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