October 2012

V.com weekend vote: Who wrote your favorite Brahms Violin Concerto cadenza?

October 26, 2012 12:50

In the course of writing up our interview with the French violinist Renaud Capuçon, I discovered something about the beloved Brahms Violin Concerto: people have written a cajillon cadenzas to this piece! I knew that there were a number of them, beyond the original cadenza by the concerto's dedicatee, Joseph Joachim. But I didn't realized there were more than 20!

I compiled a list: Leopold Auer, Joshua Bell, Adolf Busch, Ferruccio Busoni, George Enescu, Hugo Heermann, Jascha Heifetz, Nigel Kennedy, Franz Kneisel, Fritz Kreisler, Jan Kubelik, Henri Marteau, Nathan Milstein, Franz Ondricek, Rachel Barton Pine, Max Reger, Ruggiero Ricci, Edmund Singer, Donald Francis Tovey, Eugène Ysaÿe. Add to this Raphael Klayman...

This week I'd like to explore these cadenzas by asking you to vote on a few of them, and I've provided more links here, so you can explore more. Tell us your thoughts! Also, please let us know if I have left anyone off this long list! Surely I have, so please add to it, if you know more of these cadenzas to the Brahms. Under the vote are some examples to help you decide:

Joseph Joachim cadenza, played by Hilary Hahn

Fritz Kreisler cadenza, played by Christian Ferras:

Leopold Auer cadenza, played by Jascha Heifetz (cadenza begins at 16:10):

Rachel Barton Pine cadenza, played by Rachel Barton Pine: Listen here.

Sixteen cadenzas, all played by Ruggiero Ricci! Underneath is a list with where you can find each one:

18:03 Cadenza by Ferruccio BUSONI (1'46")
19:49 Cadenza by Joseph JOACHIM (2'50")
22:47 Cadenza by Edmund SINGER (2'40")
25:34 Cadenza by Hugo HEERMANN (1'38")
27:20 Cadenza by Leopold AUER (3'07")
30:35 Cadenza by Eugène YSAŸE (3'02")
33:44 Cadenza by Franz ONDRICEK (2'41")
36:33 Cadenza by Franz KNEISEL (2'12")
38:53 Cadenza by Henri MARTEAU (2'10")
41:08 Cadenza by Fritz KREISLER (2'42")
43:59 Cadenza by Donald Francis TOVEY (2'44")
46:51 Cadenza by Jan KUBELIK (2'20")
49:17 Cadenza by Adolf BUSCH (1'48")
51:13 Cadenza by Jascha HEIFETZ (2'46")
54:06 Cadenza by Nathan MILSTEIN (2'15")
56:28 Cadenza by Ruggiero RICCI (1'50")

6 replies

V.com Weekend Vote: What is your theory on what makes a Strad a Strad?

October 19, 2012 10:14

The theories about what makes a Strad a Strad continue to pour in, as well as theories on how one could make a Strad-quality instrument today.

Some of the theories include the idea that the wood used by luthiers of that period was of a special density -- due to the Little Ice Age -- that just so happened to make for superior violins. Another theory that was especially widely accepted in the 20th century: Stradivari had a secret formula for his varnish, and that made all the difference. A few have surmised that perhaps the guy was just a great violin maker. Or, perhaps he made a good number of duds, which have fallen to the wayside as his best fiddles became valued. Another theory is simply that violins improve with age, and so that is a primary reason why Strads sound great: they are all some 300 years old.

And then based on these theories, there are other theories for how to reproduced this excellence today. For example, if you believe that wood density is the primary key to the sweet sound of a Strad, this might resonate for you: Swiss wood researcher Professor Francis W. M. R. Schwarze claims that treating a fiddle with two kinds of special fungi can make it sound, as an article in Science Daily said, "indistinguishably similar to a Stradivarius."

Really, though?

What is your theory? What makes a Strad a Strad? And I've intentionally left out "all of the above" so we can each pick what we fell is the primary reason. Feel free to discuss your thoughts and theories below.

35 replies

V.com weekend vote: What is the worst thing you've broken, when it comes to your fiddle??

October 12, 2012 09:14

We're all human, and so it happens: we break something on our valuable violin. Sometimes it's pure physics, like the bridge snaps on its own or the tip simply snaps off while you are playing. Other times, it's clearly your fault: you fumble the rosin onto the cement floor and it shatters like glass; you sit on your violin; your luthier accidentally lights your bow on fire…sometimes the stories can be quite interesting!

For me, I had two major mishaps as a teenager, both ending in broken bows. In one case, I was walking up steps at a concert and clumsily got my feet tangled in my dangling bow. I tripped over it and snapped it clear in half. The other case, I'd argue, wasn't my fault! I was playing with a cheap bow from my grandmother's attic, and as I was playing, the tip simply snapped off! I think it was 100 years old, made of cheap wood, and ready to go.

What are your stories? Please vote and then share your mishaps!

15 replies

V.com weekend vote: Is an audition worth taking, if you don't get the gig?

October 7, 2012 15:48

There's nothing like practicing for three hours a day for several months, polishing Mendelssohn's "Midsummer Night's Dream," Strauss's "Don Juan," etc. etc. to a shine, then being dismissed after seven minutes of playing at an orchestra audition.

I daresay that nearly everyone who has played a successful audition, though, has also had his or her share of experiences like this. Once I asked a section leader -- one I respected very much -- how long it took him to land his orchestra job, and he said, "Twelve years and a lot of failed auditions." I was astounded that a musician of such high caliber had ever been rejected -- not to mention for that long!

The audition process reminds me of a diagram I keep seeing on Facebook, showing success not as a straight line, but as knotted mess that curves around, doubles back on itself, doesn't seem to have any direction, yet at some point lands at "success." You have to take your chances and risk the wrong turns along the way.

Sometimes an audition is a great experience, whether you win it or not, because it forces you to practice and to push yourself. If you can play well and keep your cool while negotiating this rather cruel process of putting yourself up against 100 other well-prepared musicians, you have certainly accomplished something that can help you in the future.

However, there's another side to it. Too many auditions can wear a person down. It's possible to reach the point where "one more audition" might just be a physical and emotional drain. Sometimes you just need to stop, to re-focus, to play some music that you love -- and give those same 10 orchestral excerpts a rest!

What are your current thoughts on the matter? Is an audition worth taking, even if you don't get the job?

9 replies

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