The orchestra’s rendition of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No. 1 in G Minor coordinated beautifully with the gentle breeze that was blowing through the pavilion. And renowned violinist Augustin Hadelich’s presentation of Sibelius’s Concerto for Violin in D Minor was an extra special treat. So much for the music itself.

Sibelius had synesthesia, a neurological condition whereby information meant to stimulate one of your senses instead stimulates several of your senses, in his case, sound to color synesthesia.

According to the program, Sibelius experienced the tonal center for this concerto as yellow, although it didn’t sound yellow to me. I tried to envision Hadelich standing on the stage and, instead of making his 1744 Giuseppe Guarneri del Gesu purr like a cat getting its belly scratched, splashing plumbonacrite-infused yellow earth from a Northern Italy quarry on a large canvas with an animal-hair paint brush constructed by a Rembrandt apprentice. Still didn’t sound yellow to me.

If Sibelius were in outer space, and couldn’t hear the music, would he still see yellow? You might not hear the screams from the cast of Alien, but there is enough interstellar gas and dust that sound waves can move through space. We just aren’t able to listen to them because the particles are so spread out, and the resulting sound waves are of such a low frequency, that they’re beyond the capabilities of human hearing. But does that also make them beyond the capabilities of human sight, like ultraviolet light, for those with synesthesia? Should someone with synesthesia wear sunscreen, even at night, when listening to music?

I was troubled, but still able to enjoy the concert.