Violinist.com

Adventures in Online Teaching Part I - Setting Up Your Studio Space

April 3, 2020, 7:07 PM · Like many of you, I’ve pivoted to online teaching for individual and group lessons as a way to stay connected with the families who normally come to my home studio on a weekly basis. With the camera and sound equipment I already had in storage, this is how I set up my teaching studio to run online lessons. I thought I'd share what is working for me, in case it can provide ideas for other teachers and students about how to set up your own studio or practice space for online interaction. Keep reading...

For the Record, Op. 115: cellist Alisa Weilerstein; Zachary Carrettín; Brooklyn Rider; Andrew Haveron; Alana Youssefian

Laurie Niles

April 3, 2020, 5:15 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!

Complete Bach Cello Suites
Alisa Weilerstein, cello

Though individual Bach cello suites have long been a feature of Weilerstein’s programming, she deliberately waited until a few seasons ago to begin the daunting task of performing them as a complete set, and then spent another few years honing them in live performance before venturing into the studio. "The Bach cello suites present the player with infinite possibilities," she said. "Each note, each phrase, carries abundant varieties of expression and musical nuance. The suites are too rich with ideas, too full of subtleties, and too dense with the burden of history for any particular interpretation to be exhaustive, any particular choice definitive. All great pieces of music carry with them this sense of contradiction—they must be played, yet they can’t be played. Every expressive gesture both realizes and limits the intentions of the composer." BELOW: Bach's G major prelude has captivated cellists and music lovers for years. Cellist Alisa Weilerstein deconstructs it:

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Fiddler's Favorite Recipes Episode 6: Michael Salm's Chili con Carne

Desirée Ruhstrat

April 3, 2020, 12:54 PM · For this next “Fiddler’s Favorite’s” Episode we are going all the way to Zurich Switzerland to my friend Michael Salm, who graciously agreed to prepare his favorite comfort "Chili con Carne” recipe. His chili recipe is quick, easy and delicious - ENJOY!

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Online Concert Saturday with Rachel Barton Pine and Others Will Benefit Artist Relief Tree Fund

Laurie Niles

April 2, 2020, 6:58 PM · Violinist Rachel Barton Pine and other musicians including Emanuel Ax will hold a Virtual Benefit Concert at 8 p.m. ET (7 p.m. CT, 5 p.m. PT) on Saturday (April 4) to benefit the Artist Relief Tree, a relief fund created for classical musicians affected by cancellations due to COVID-19.

"The whole purpose is to raise money for artists -- orchestra members whose entire livelihood has been put on hold, free-lance musicians, everyone struggling to keep going and make it during this unprecedented time," Pine said. "Like many people, I've been wanting to find a way to help, and this a is a great opportunity to both help people in need and also to share my music with the public, which I've missed doing for the last few weeks."

Besides Pine, other performers will include pianists Emanuel Ax and Jon Kimura Parker, singer J’Nai Bridges, clarinetist Anthony McGill, harpist Bridget Kibbey, and others, who are all donating their time to benefit their colleagues. They will be performing live from their homes.

For the concert, Pine will play a piece that she arranged last summer, a "A Day at the Ball Park," in which she created a piece out of snippets of music you might hear from the organ at a baseball game. She'll also play a version of Brahms' Lullaby by Albert Spalding. "There's nothing more comforting than a beloved lullaby," she said.

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