Violinist.com

V.com weekend vote: Are you willing to pay for a livestream performance?

July 10, 2020, 4:49 PM · I’m not saying streaming should replace in-person attendance. But it does have some upsides. What do you think? Please choose whatever answer corresponds best to your current thinking, then share your thoughts in the comments. It would be great if you would also comment on your livestream experiences to date.

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Note Neutrality - Taking the Guesswork Out of the Fingerboard

Paul Stein

July 9, 2020, 10:55 PM · In Texas, sports are everything, so I figured I had found an escape from it when I started the violin in my Dallas elementary school. I experienced a little bit of dread when our teacher, Ms. Cook, asked us to draw a straight bow. I breathed easier when I realized she meant straight-ish. Even though I had zero athletic ability, I was heartened by the violin primer that tried to make me think that the violin was easy. By the time it dawned on me that my bow was scratching, flopping around, and off-target much of the time, I couldn’t back out. My parents had rented the violin for one year. Keep reading...

For the Record, Op. 124: Pacifica Quartet's Contemporary Voices

Laurie Niles

July 9, 2020, 2:26 PM · 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!

Contemporary Voices
Pacifica Quartet

The Grammy Award-winning Pacifica Quartet performs works by three Pulitzer Prize-winning contemporary composers: Shulamit Ran, Jennifer Higdon, and Ellen Taaffe Zwilich. Written for the Pacifica and receiving its world-premiere recording, Ran’s Glitter, Doom, Shards, Memory — String Quartet No. 3 is a moving tribute to painter Felix Nussbaum, who perished in Auschwitz in 1944. Higdon’s Voices, dedicated to the Pacifica, evokes explosive energy, otherworldly calm, and spiritual serenity. In Zwilich’s Quintet for Alto Saxophone and String Quartet, a saxophone shares the spotlight with virtuosic string playing. The Pacifica, quartet in-residence at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, partner with their IU colleague, classical saxophonist Otis Murphy. BELOW: The Pacific Quartet performs I. That which happened. from Shulamit Ran's "Glitter, Doom, Shards, Memory," Quartet No. 3 for Strings, at the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.

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Miró Quartet to Perform All 16 Beethoven String Quartets Live

Diana Skinner

July 9, 2020, 1:40 PM · Like most musicians, the four members of the Miró Quartet have been in isolation with their families since mid-March. They are soon coming together — following strict protocols — to perform all 16 Beethoven string quartets in a 12-concert subscription cycle. The live performances will be streamed from a stunning private venue within the quartet’s home city of Austin (TX) as part of the Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival. Keep reading...