January 2008

V.com weekend vote: Whom would you choose to win the Grammy?

January 26, 2008 00:44

The 50th Annual Grammy Awards are Feb. 10, and I'm happy to say that some wonderful young violinists are in the running.

For all you recording buffs out there, it's time for you to chime in! I'd like to look at the Grammy category that has two violinists as nominees, James Ehnes and Anastasia Khitruk: the Best Instrumental Soloist(s) Performance (with Orchestra) category. Here are links to all the recordings that are nominated:

Rózsa: Violin Concerto, Op. 24
Anastasia Khitruk, violin; Dmitry Yablonsky, conductor; (Russian Philharmonic Orchestra) Track from: Rózsa: Violin Concerto, Sinfonia Concertante [Naxos]

Barber/Korngold/Walton: Violin Concertos
James Ehnes, violin; Bramwell Tovey, conductor; (Vancouver Symphony Orchestra) [CBC Records]

Beethoven: Piano Concertos Nos. 1 & 4
Lang Lang, piano; Christoph Eschenbach, conductor; (Orchestre De Paris) [Deutsche Grammophon]

Nielsen: Clarinet & Flute Concertos
Sabine Meyer & Emmanuel Pahud; Simon Rattle, conductor; (Berliner Philharmoniker) [EMI Classics]

Tchaikovsky/Saint-Saëns/Ginastera
Sol Gabetta, cello; Ari Rasilainen, conductor; (Münchner Rundfunkorchester) [RCA Red Seal]

Whom would you choose to win the Grammy? And what are your thoughts on these recordings?

more at twiigs.com...

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V.com weekend vote: Have you ever played on a Strad?

January 18, 2008 11:41

This week I was amused by a Cincinnati Enquirer story in which the reporter (and editor) didn't catch that if a violin is valued at $3,000, it ain't a Stradivarius.

Here's another basic test: if you found it in your Grandma's attic, it's a FAKE Stradivarius. If you bought it for $5 million from J and A Beare, it's probably real. If someone had to take it from a glass case from a museum, and allowed you to play it only under the gaze of a stern guardsman, it's probably a real Strad. If you are studying violin at a major conservatory or university and the head of the string department comes to you and says, "We are lending you the school's Strad for a year, but one little nick and YOU DIE," it's probably real. If Joshua Bell or Gil Shaham hands you his fiddle and says, "Would you like to take it for a spin?" then you've been awarded a fine opportunity indeed.

The largely unrivalled sound of Stradivari's violins has inspired both poetry and scientific research. (And recently, a good book.) The best ones go by the names of their most famous owners or by other names: the Viotti, the Soil, the Joachim; Gibson-ex-Huberman. Many feel that the ghosts of previous players' music resides within each instrument. (Here's a really fun list of who plays what.)

Though every Strad has incredible antique value and has a certain quality of sound, not all are created equal. About 15 years ago I did have the opportunity to play a Strad, which was at a luthier friend's shop for some restoration. It was one of the lesser Strads, but I still understood it to be something apart from my own very mediocre instrument at the time. In fact I didn't know what to make of it, so rich was the sound. My main thought was: if I played regularly on an instrument like this, I think I'd know perfect pitch; I could hear the unique quality of each note in the tone of this fiddle.

The fake ones are absolutely ubiquitous; you can assume a that nearly any fiddle with a Stradivari label is a fake. This is the case with the German factory violin I played for my childhood and young adulthood. It had been in the family for some time; it came on the boat from Germany with my grandmother's parents. They died shortly after reaching America -- the violin remained with my grandmother, an orphan at age three. I've played so much on it; I'm guessing more than anyone did before. It has its musical limitations, but I've coaxed a nice voice out of it, over the years. Now that I have an old Italian violin, my German "fake Strad" is my friend in the classroom, not to mention my link to the past.

So we have a two-part poll this week: Have you ever played on a REAL Strad? Have you ever played on a FAKE Strad? Tell us about it!

more at twiigs.com...

If you ever get a chance to play a real STRAD, don't be shy. DO it, for sure!

23 replies | Archive link

V.com weekend vote: Where have you had your best practice?

January 11, 2008 12:05

About a year ago, I was right in the middle of some Bach and Paganini breakthroughs when the holiday season interrupted. We were to spend the season in Orlando, Fla., with Robert's family, and Robert, the two kids and I would be staying at a hotel.

How on Earth was I going to practice? I took my violin on faith: faith that I'd somehow get my fiddle there without some airline bureaucrat insisting it be thrown into the belly of the plane, faith that it wouldn't get stolen or hurt while in a hotel room, faith that I'd find a place to practice.

After arriving, I realized pretty quickly that my deep probing into Bach (one measure, 20 times, then the next...), my exploration of 10ths runs in Paganini...this music wasn't meeting with a lot of audience acclaim in our tiny hotel room, particularly with the two cute but squirrelly kiddos.

So when the kids finally snoozed off at about 10 p.m., I grabbed my violin and went looking. I found a little exercise room on the first floor, with windows overlooking the dark lake, and not a soul in sight. I unlocked the door with my hotel card, and went inside. I turned off the T.V., and it was quiet. I eyed an interesting exercise contraption -- hmmm, an excellent music stand. I took out my fiddle and delved in. No one actually knew where I was, and I had no noise, no people, no phone calls, no computer, no dishes over there in the sink, no ears at the practice room door. Before I knew it, I was deep inside myself and the music, and more than an hour went by before I surfaced and remembered where I was.

Good practice!

Anyone who realizes the importance of practice tries to set up a good routine, to pick a place that works well for practicing, to find a time with few interruptions, to make a habit.

When I spoke to Ruggiero Ricci last month, one topic that came up was how he practiced during the peak of his solo career. His wife, Julia, said, "Sometimes he would play on the road, and almost every day we were in a different place. There was very little time for practicing, between getting the plane, getting to the hotel, getting to the rehearsal. Sometimes a kid would come backstage after the performance and ask, 'When do you practice?' and he would say, 'You just heard me practice!'”

Ricci added, "One minute on the stage is worth one hour off the stage."

Now, not all of us practice by putting ourselves in front of a huge audience every day to play at the pinnacle of our ability -- few of us do! But I'm interested in knowing, where was the place where you had your very best practice, and what's the story behind it?

more at twiigs.com...

16 replies | Archive link

More entries: February 2008 • December 2007