In Search of Lost Time's "Love's Delusion"

"There's nothing more exciting in classical music than seeing energy and talent channelled into innovation.
Taking the bull by the horns and going for it is almost always going to be commercially risky in the classical arena but, thankfully, there are those who can still measure success outside of the box office. It helps, of course, if you are young and have the broad horizons of an already-established career beckoning.
Gwendolyn Masin fits the role nicely. She is 26 years old, has an impeccable musical pedigree, has glided over the pitfalls of child prodigy status, and progressed at such a pace that concertos are being dedicated to her.
Masin made her debut recital at the National Concert Hall when she was 11 and the Late Late Show soon afterwards introduced her to the nation.
Masin could be about her business around the world's concert halls, but for the past year has been immersed in an ambitious project that melds great music compositions to literary masterpieces and then presents them in a drama format.
The first of these productions, Love's Delusion, will be staged for five nights, including performances as part of the Dublin Fringe Festival later this month.
The two-act show, the first in a series to be adapted and staged, will juxtapose Cesar Franck's Sonata for Violin and Piano against Marcel Proust's classic telling, from his work In Search of Lost Time, of Swann's misplaced love for Odette.
The second piece uses Beethoven's Kreutzer sonata against a Tolstoy monologue. Actors will present the scenes and Masin and pianist Julia Bartha will stitch the format together with the silk thread of music.
Masin said she hoped to attract young audiences through a totally novel approach to classical music and the arts, with each making the other more interesting and relevant.
"There's no intention whatsoever to overwhelm, the very opposite; this will be challenging, but hugely entertaining and informative. I believe the format is breaking new ground in Ireland, because all the arts will be equal partners and enhance each other, allowing for new perspectives and insights."" -Dick O'Riordan, The Sunday Business Post, September 2004

"Mark Gwendolyn Masin down as a daring and exciting young performer who ventures courageously into unknown territory with relish. Last year, her production of Love's Delusion, a fascinating music-drama inspired by excerpts from the works of Proust, was premiered at the Dublin Fringe Festival. In my opinion, the format devised by Masin has huge potential for the presentation of classical music in a literary context. As well as this, her impressive playing of Franck and Beethoven sonatas revealed a mature and formidable talent that demands attention." -Dick O'Riordan, The Sunday Business Post, January 2005

"A thrilling violinist, Masin is also an adventurous talent, as her project In Search of Lost Time in 2004 proved. This impressive music drama, titled Love's Delusion, linked literature and music as equals in excerpts from Proust's Remembrance of Things Past." -Dick O'Riordan, The Sunday Business Post, July 2008