School Music II

June 7, 2007 at 3:35 AM

Well Texas does it again. The all state audition etudes for violins for 2007 are Kreutzer #32 and deBeriot Op 123 No 20. I posted previously on Texas's choices for All-State etudes

How many of you can reach into your library for the deBeriot? When they announced the etude choice Schirmer had exactly 7 copies in print. After an executive decision Schirmer decided to send it back to the printer.

The Schirmer edition was edited by Harold Berkley who noted in an introduction that they come after Dont Opus 35. Based on my eyeballing it I would say that some of the etudes are definitely post-Dont but many are similar or easier.

I think that Dont (or higher) level etudes for all state auditions are a conceit. But this is an improvement on last year where Paganini Op 1 No 16 was one of the selected studies.

Perhaps all-state level players can do this well enough but the same etude are used for region orchestra auditions and many high school teachers require them for chair auditions for all of their first violins.

From Stephen Brivati
Posted on June 7, 2007 at 3:51 AM

Greetings,
funny thing is, Heifetz in `The Way They play` it is not necessary to hear more than a scale to judge a players ability.
Maybe he ha d shares in the scale companies?
Cheers,
Buri

From Jim W. Miller
Posted on June 7, 2007 at 4:14 AM

I had a teacher who said she could tell how someone played by how they got their violin out of the case. Little did I know at the time she was even sharper than Heifetz.

From Stephen Brivati
Posted on June 7, 2007 at 6:26 AM

Greetings,
Jim, there is probably a hell of a lot in what she said. I have been a victim of and witnessed the same thing over an d over in Alexander lessons with all manner of teachers: the violinist rushes over to the case with an increase in breating rate, bends to open it while dropping the head back and compressing the spine, takes no time to make contact with the wood of the neck and so on. Having been shown to watch for these things I know it is true that the more calmly a violinst gets the instrument out, retains good us eof the body and establishes contact with the isntruemnt the bette rplayer they will be.
Best not to mention farting as you bend over. Wonder if that ever happened to anyone in a lesson...
Cheers,
Buri

From Laurie Niles
Posted on June 7, 2007 at 1:36 PM

I've heard much about Texas's decisions here. I talked to a number of teachers who were really distressed last year over the Paganini. That they had to interrupt a student's progress to teach the student something he/she will barely be able to play, certainly not master.

This lecturer I wrote about today, Bob Duke, is from Texas. He complained about the general trend, too. He really wanted to see kids performing pieces that they can do well, not constantly trapped in "stretch pieces."

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