Week in Review: Inspiring Performances and Videos, Op. 3: Noah Bendix-Balgley, TwoSet Violin, Nathan Meltzer
This week brought inspiration from the Jewish observation of Yom Kippur, with cellist Alan Stepansky and 15 Peabody Institute cellists posting an arrangement of Max Bruch’s Kol Nidrei, as well as Heifetz Institute cellist Manou Magdalena Chakravorty performing selections from Ernest Bloch's "From Jewish Life." George Gershwin's birthday inspired violinist Noah Bendix-Balgley to post an excerpt from "Porgy and Bess," and violinist Nathan Meltzer was joined by his singing puppy to promote his upcoming Dreamstage concert. The TwoSet Violin guys expressed their ongoing astonishment over the accomplishments of the very young South Korean prodigy YoEun Seol. And finally, some words from the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Kennedy Center interview last year with Joyce DiDonato -- about women in music, justice and hope during difficult times.
Think Carefully, Play Quickly - Reading and Retaining Fast Notes
No matter how familiar violinists become with reading music, sometimes it feels like there are too many fast notes with not enough long notes to give the mind a chance to reset. The time necessary to shift your concentration to the next group of notes never seems to be enough. A musical “rest stop” is something you can’t always count on. There is a method, though, to transition seamlessly from one part of the phrase to the next part. I call it “Framing the Mind”, and it works best if the notes are organized by musical ideas than by barlines.
As is often the case, things that happen more easily in other areas find difficulty in music. Maybe if we didn’t have to concern ourselves with intonation, sound, rhythm, articulation, and last but not least, musicality, it would be easier to read and retain long passages. I’d like to discuss how to hone in on the reading so that retention and continuity become easier. It’s all about concentration, which makes you alert and careful. Music teaches you that thoughts and actions happen in an orderly fashion. Keep reading...
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V.com weekend vote: What do you use to tune your instrument?
What are you doing to keep your fiddle on-pitch, during these COVID times? Or are you bothering? Do you check things every time you play, or not so much? Has this been different for you, in the last months? Do you have lessons or other playing opportunities these days that help keep you accountable? Please share what you use as a pitch source, when you tune, and then share your thoughts in the comments below.
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For the Record, Op. 133: New Beethoven Recordings: Daniel Lozakovich; Jerilyn Jorgensen
Welcome to "For the Record," Violinist.com's weekly roundup of new releases of recordings by violinists, violists, cellists and other classical musicians. We hope it helps you keep track of your favorite artists, as well as find some new ones to add to your listening!
Beethoven: Violin Concerto
Daniel Lozakovich, violin
Munich Philharmonic, Valery Gergiev conducting
Another tribute to Beethoven in this 250th anniversary year: the fantastically talented young violinist Daniel Lozakovich has recorded Beethoven's Violin Concerto. The new recording was filmed live in Munich’s Gasteig Philharmonie in December 2019 -- just months before live performance became difficult and rare, with venues shut down and orchestras silenced due to the global pandemic. "There’s a particular magic about a live concert," Lozakovich said. "The audience creates a unique atmosphere, without which, in my opinion, it’s almost impossible to produce a performance that will stand the test of time." This is Lozakovich's third recording for DG, the others being None But the Lonely Heart in 2019 and Bach Concertos 1 and 2 in 2018. BELOW: Daniel Lozakovich performs the second-movement "Larghetto" from the Beethoven Violin Concerto with the Munich Philharmonic, Valery Gergiev conducting:
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