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 December 2007Happy New Year, Everyone!December 30, 2007 22:11
As a v.commie, I am a member of a virtual network of people all over the world who share a love for the violin. I can’t say “thank you” enough to Laurie Niles, who created and maintains this site. I wish all of you a very happy and successful new year.
See Joshua Bell on New Year's EveDecember 30, 2007 00:17Joshua Bell will perform with the New York Philharmonic on New Year’s Eve, and you can watch and listen in your home. The concert will be broadcast on Monday night on “Live from Lincoln Center” from 8-10 PM EST. Joshua Bell will play an impressive repertoire of romantic violin showcase pieces: Kreisler’s “Liebesleid” and “Liebesfreud,” Saint-Saen’s “Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso,” Maurice Ravel’s “Tzigane,” Manuel Ponce’s “Estrellita,” and Franz Schubert’s “Ave Maria.” The outgoing Philharmonic conductor, Lorin Maazel, will lead the orchestra in Paul Dukas The Sorcerer's Apprentice" and Maurice Ravel's "Bolero." What a good start for violinists in 2008!
My Holiday WishDecember 25, 2007 01:46
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Christmas concert review: Kathleen Battle at the Kennedy CenterDecember 23, 2007 23:32
The first surprise was the group of people waiting outside the the door to the building. They were young to middle aged, white, and healthy looking. They were sitting on camp chairs, drinking from thermos jugs, and chatting, and I saw warm sleeping bags piled up nearby. They were obviously not street people or protesters, so why were they there? Another concertgoer answered my question. Later this month the Kennedy Center was going to put on a free Messiah sing along performance, but tickets were required. Tickets would be available the next morning, and these people were going to camp out overnight to be at the head of the line for the free tickets. The next surprise was in the entrance hall inside, where one side of the hall was cordoned off. On the other side of the rope was a long line of young girls in ballet costumes -- tutus, tights, and ballet shoes. I asked someone about them and was told that they were trying out for bit parts in a performance of The Nutcracker. As I walked through the lobby, into the concert hall, and then to my seat, I noticed something unusual about the crowd. Normally, the concertgoers are almost all white, including middle aged to senior Americans and Europeans of all ages. This time, there were many African American women, all dressed beautifully. A few of them spoke English with accents, suggesting that they were born in another country, probably somewhere in the Caribbean or West Africa. They all carried themselves very proudly, as if they had come to root for the home team. When I took my seat, I read the program and saw many Christmas related songs, some that I liked, some that I didn't like, and some that I had never heard of. I read the program a second time and saw "The program will include selections from the following." Kathleen Battle decided what she would sing as she went along and told the pianist before she started each piece. (I've seen Itzhak Perlman do something similar, but he makes it a real comedy. He has a large stack of papers in his lap. He goes through them one by one and tosses them everywhere on the stage. By the time he finds what he wants to play, the audience and the musicians on stage (a pianist or Pinchas Zukerman) are laughing heartily.) The first two songs Kathleen Battle sang were classical -- Rejoice Greatly (from Handel's Messiah) and the Schubert Ave Maria -- and she sang them beautifully. She is 59 years old, and her voice isn't what it used to be, but her musicianship and artistry were as good, if not better, as ever. Her singing was very moving, and she still has a remarkable ability to engage the audience. The next surprise came when the Gospel Choir sang their first song, "O Come O come Emmanuel," a song that makes me think of old cathedrals lit by tapers with a choir singing slowly and sweetly. The Gospel Choir, led by Stanley J. Thurston, artistic director, sang a very different version arranged by Mr. Thurston himself. It was sung in the African American gospel style. It was very lively, to say the least. The audience got excited and clapped along during the whole piece. It was a bit of culture shock for me, but I loved it. I also loved the African American gospel style of "Go Tell It on the Mountain" as sung by the choir. Yet another surprise was in store for me. During the next segment of the concert I felt as if we had been transported into a jazz club. Each piece began with a long, jazz solo introduction played magnificently by the pianist who had played in other styles earlier in the concert. He always sounded very good, but when he played jazz, his music was dazzling. Kathleen Battle seemed to have been transported to the jazz club with the pianist. She sang Christmas carols and other happy songs in the style of a torch singer. She sounded wonderful in this genre, too. She sang "My Favorite Things" and "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas," two songs that I don't like, but when she sang them like a torch singer, I loved them. One sign of a very good musician is that he or she can make you love something you previously disliked. Of course, after the program there were encores. The last encore was "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot," sung by Kathleen Battle. I've heard it sung slowly, sadly, yet with a touch of relief. Kathleen Battle sang it as a happy song. I've been told that in some parts of this country, gospel songs about death and dying are sung as happy songs because of the joy of going to heaven. Overall, the songs in this concert were beautifully performed, often in styles which were surprising to me. I left feeling that my spirit had been strengthened.
A funny thing happened on my way to the luthierDecember 23, 2007 01:21My bow was overdue for rehairing, so I put it in an empty violin case and started off for the luthier. I walked to the Metro station with my purse over one shoulder, my violin case over the other shoulder, and a small backpack containing a book to read on the train and bus plus a small snack. When I got close to the Metro station, a saw a huge batch of fresh flowers on the sidewalk next to a telephone pole. It looked like they had rolled downhill and were stopped by the telephone pole. I love flowers, and these didn't seem to belong to anyone, so I took a lot of them, concentrating on those with long stems and those that I know will keep well indoors. It was raining lightly, and my gloves and the flowers were wet. I suppose I looked like Ophelia from Hamlet. When I got to the luthier, I told the staff there to take as many of the flowers as they liked and asked them to wrap the remainder in something good to carry them in for me. They were delighted to have the flowers. They told me that they are always looking for things to put in the store window, and these would be just right. I gave them the bow to rehair and started walking to the bus stop. I passed a store with a sign that said "Antiques," so I went in. I would describe the place as a flea market.  I found a "creation" in bright orange, about 3 feet tall, of an outline of a violin and bow. I bought it for the princely sum of $3.20, thinking that the staff at the luthier's shop might like it for their window. When I got home, I put most of my flowers  in a large vase  and a few small, cheery looking ones in a small vase on my desk. The next day, I walked to the Metro station again, and the flowers were still there. I found that most of them were in potted floral arrangements. The first one I picked up was too big and heavy to carry, but I found  a smaller one in a white basket which I picked up and carried home. About a week later I went to the luthier to pick up my bow, carrying the orange violin, a gift of gourmet chocolates, and a hand written note of thanks to the staff. (The flowers were gone from the sidewalk this time.) First, I showed them the orange violin, and they were delighted. They believed that it would look great in their store window. They saw the pins sticking out of it where pegs should be, and one of the staff said that she had an idea for reconstructing the missing pegs. Then I pulled out the chocolates, and the whole staff gathered around the gift, all extremely happy with it. I enjoyed the whole experience very much. I love making people happy.
Happy Beethoven's BirthdayDecember 16, 2007 21:09
 Here is just a little sampling of some of Beethoven’s music to help you celebrate his birthday, December 16.
Daniel Barenboim playing Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 20 Joshua Bell playing Beethoven's Violin Concerto Joshua Bell’s remarks on playing Beethoven’s Violin Concerto: “It is as though I must succumb to this world that Beethoven has created, and I suppose I almost treat it in a religious sort of way. In the world of his music, Beethoven is God. I’d never thought of it that way before, but it is as though I begin to warm up to what religious people refer to as a loving God within that musical world. I feel as though I surrender to this. I feel that there is somebody who knows this world so much better than I do – and it is Beethoven himself, who created it – and there is something very comforting about that. Somehow that gets me feeling very relaxed. I think what a privilege it is to be a part of this great, beautiful piece of music. And this helps me get rid of my nerves and stops my extraneous thoughts about technical issues and what I did or didn’t do in the practice room.” I know that v.commies can argue endlessly about the best players and the best performances, but keep this in mind: None of these great performances would be possible without Beethoven himself. Happy Beethoven's birthday, everyone.
Ice StormDecember 13, 2007 00:42
The Plains and Midwest of the U.S. were hit hard by an ice storm earlier this week. The storm left a glaze of ice up to 1 ½ inches (approximately 3.8 cm) thick. Many trees and power lines were downed by the ice. Streets were impassable and power outages were widespread. At worst part of the storm, approximately one million (1,000,000) homes and businesses were without power. Fortunately, warmer weather has come and the ice is melting.  Photo courtesy of CBS To those of you who have been hit by the storm, I hope that you get your power back and that the downed trees and tree limbs will be removed soon. For others, be thankful that the ice storm didn’t affect you. For everyone, have a warm and bright holiday season.
Toyota Unveils Violin-Playing RobotDecember 9, 2007 01:08
Toyota is expanding its R&D in robots. (See http://news.thomasnet.com/IMT/archives/2007/12/light_friday_norad_tracks_santa_battle_robots_toyota_plays_violin.html?t=recent .) The company is building a new research facility and hiring more engineers to work on robots. The giant auto-maker recently unveiled a violin-playing robot which stands 5 ft. tall and features 17 flexible joints and mechanical fingers.  Unfortunately, no sound samples have been made public. Toyota did not say when this robot would be commercially available. Too bad – it might make an interesting Christmas present. It could also be helpful for reluctant violin students. They could set the robot up to play and then sneak out and have fun doing something else.
Words of Wisdom on MusicDecember 2, 2007 22:28I recently came across some words of wisdom on music that I would like to share. The writing is by Dan Haerle on his retirement from the University of North Texas, College of Music, Jazz Studies Division in May, 2002. The emphasis in bold is my own.
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