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September 2008

Yvonne Smeulers (violin), Sander Sittig (piano) Cesar Franck, Sonate in A

September 30, 2008 11:40

Yvonne Smeulers (violin) asked me if I could upload this recording of her on Youtube of the well known Cesar Franck Sonate in A movements 3 and 4. It is on a sundaymorning 21 september in the canteen of the Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, at 10 o'clock. More unknown musicians play there before the morningconcert in the Big Hall of the Concertgebouw which is from 1.00-12.00 o'clock. Later that week she played as I wrote before in the small Hall of the Concertgebouw. I had no idea how to do that, but a computerfreakcollegae helped me. Yvonne had a cold, but she said that she did not had to sing.

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Yvonne Smeulers (violin), Sander Sittig (piano) + big names + unknown names and youngsters play Novacek Perpetuum mobile

September 27, 2008 01:12

The most popular piece of the Czech composer Ottokar Novacek (1866-1900), who became only 34, is perpetuum mobile. There are no photo's of this composer on internet.
Here a recording of the Dutch violinist YVONNE SMEULERS
with SANDER SITTIG of the double-cd with Czech composers.

After a lot of concerts in little churches in little villages they will play tonight in the small concerthall of the Concertgebouw in the capital of the Netherlands Amsterdam

Their interpretation differs from big names in the past and some youngsters by playing it not so fast. So they did not win the speedcompetition, but now you can hear more of the music harmonics and differences between forte and piano.
HERE a concert of sonate in A of Cesar Franck of both players:
Sonate in Cesar Franck LIVE

To compare this piece here some big names from the past
Michael Rabin plays Novacek (WITH ORCHESTRA) Perpetuo Mobile
(2.22 minutes, recordholder till now)
Jascha Heifetz Plays Novacek (WITH ORCHESTRA)

NATHAN MILSTEIN - Novacek's 'Perpetuum Mobile:

HENRYK SZERYNG- Novacek's 'Perpetuum Mobile:

Youngsters and unknown violinists:
Emerson Millar plays Novacek Perpetuo Mobile
a violinist plays Novacek Perpetuo Mobile
Danny Chen (2.31 minutes)
Laszlo Farkas
Yigit Karakas
Cazacu Iulia
ANI BUKUJIAN

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Vieuxtempsbeerlids near Vieuxtemps statue in Verviers + Hilary Hahn at the drums

September 21, 2008 13:11

With some friends we had a bachelorweekend in Maastricht, the lowest city down under in the Netherlands. Before that weekend I realised that my big can with Vieux Temps beerlids was a bit full:

So I thought it was a good idea to drop them in the neighboorhood of Maastricht Verviers in Belgium, the birthplace of Henri Vieuxtemps. Here is also his statue.

Someone on a Dutch classical radioforum found, in discussing Hilary Hahn and her Schoenberg video's, a funny video of Hilary, hoelahoepping and playing drums and piano at the end thus composing a modern (serious??) work. She also plays with dolls at the end.
Ok I am a bit strange with my drunken song for Ysaye 150th birtday and this Vieux Temps action, but do you still think that Hilary Hahn is a typical normal violin girl, although she withdraw for some reason her 134 singing happy birthday for Schoenberg video and her 134 candle burning video for Schoenberg??
Hilary Hahn - Danish TV show Backstage Video

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Ysaye 150th !! birthday at 16-7-2008 exhibition in Brussel, Belgium, Europe

September 15, 2008 13:46

In the last week I have been to the Ysaye-exhibition with a violinfriend. It is a pity that only 70 people every week visit the exhibition. Apart from the family of Ysaye no well known violinists visit the exhibition. But I was glad I saw this exhibition of my idol in Brussel, Belgium, just under the Netherlands.

During the exhibition you could hear Ysaye playing Rondino of Vieuxtemps

In a book of the exhibition there was a cd of this piece played by Ysaye. Someone has uploaded that Rondino of Vieuxtemps played by Ysaye on Youtube:

The violinbox of Ysaye was there:

And his hand grabbing the fingerboard:

Also some very big pictures of Ysaye:

Afterwards we visit his grave in Brussel in the neighboorhood. I hate funerals and graveyards and I have not been to a funeral for 17 years (perhaps only very direct family) and I even was not on the funeral of an aunt and my great-mother (the second one, because my biological grand-mother died before my existence) but for Ysaye (and earlier Vieuxtemps) I made an exception.

Ok a lot of composers are easily forgotten after their dead, but perhaps a Youtube video with fragments can keep them a little bit alive:

As I wrote before the first fragment I hear every time when I get an email at my work. The 2th fragment I hear every day when starting up and closing down my computer at my work. So even colleagues who has nothing with classical music or Ysaye now know his music.
You can still see the digital exhibition in Brussel on internet: YSAYE EXHIBITION BRUSSEL
Ysaye wrote a opera which was performed just before he died. It was a story about a mineworker Pierre the mineworker. In the end of his life Ysaye conducted teh orchestra of Cincenatti, USA
Do you think Schoenberg deserve an exihibition after 16 year when he will be 150 years or do you think Ysaye is more important?? Comments please.

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Hilary Hahn, the fastest violinist in the world

September 14, 2008 07:01

I heard Hilary Hahn, the big Schoenberg promotor, 2 years ago in Rotterdam playing the Elgar violinconcerto.
I got an autograph on her Barber/Meyer violinconcerto cd.

The last 20 seconds of the 3th part of her Barber violinconcerto are so fast you can hardly can count the notes. In this video I try to express that with a lot of pictures in the end in a short time.

Here Hilary in a different role in a band. Rachel Barton the 2th:
Trail of Dead w/ Hillary Hahn in Moscow

She is also a professional singer, actress, professional violinist, comic, Marilyn Monroe imitator, Schoenbergpromotor, moviemaker. She is versatile and many-sided I think:

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Holidayviolinphoto's of North Europe

September 13, 2008 04:27

This summer I was with a friend in Northern Europe on holiday in Denmark (Kopenhagen), Norway (Oslo), Sweden (Stockholm, Malmo, Uppsala), Finland (Helsinki) and Estonia (Tallinn), Germany (Rostock)
In Oslo, Norway I saw 2 Chinese ehru's in a museum