why the Russian violin school is largely misunderstood?
talking of Russian violin pedagogy(or any other systems) of course it means more than just the way of holding your bow.
i ask this question because everywhere i look there are 2 groups of musicians(violinists) that some of them are completely against the Russian way of violin playing or they have some criticisms about it and the other half are completely loyal to Russian school and defend it 100%.
when we say (misunderstandings) it means we have disagreements or a slight quarrel.
but in case of the Russian school of Violin playing the interesting thing is most of the criticisms are same! so should we call them misunderstandings? or they're just personal opinions?
even on Violinist.com as i see on different topics most of the times if someone say something as a negative point of view against Russian school i can definitely say that you gonna see one of these responds:
1)you completely misunderstood the Russian school.
2)that's from the old Russian school not the modern Russian school.
so why this teaching system that produced great violinists is commonly misunderstood?
and why one of the great schools of violin playing that emphasizes on freedom of movements and body has too many seriously injured violinist on it's report card?
thank you/
Replies (19)
Yankelevich's writings point out that despite the rigor of the teaching, each student will require an individual approach to achieve his aim: fine music..
dear Mr.Cole first of all thank you for your response.
secondly about what you asked about my personal anecdotal.no i never do that.
about 2 years ago i met an orthopedic surgeon from eastern Europe on a vacation.she explained to me that one of her university students were worked in a music school in Bulgaria as a physiotherapist and during of our conversation i asked her about injuries and how to avoid them as an instrumentalist to get some tips and information.it was then that she explained to me about musculoskeletal disorders in musicians and it's increasing percentage. she also explained that string players and specially violinists and violists have the highest prevalence of musculoskeletal problems.she showed me some research of her students who studied on music students in different countries.it was a really big project and includes about hundreds of students specially string players from 17 to 25 years old in different conservatories and music schools).Russia_Hungary and Czech republic if i remember correctly were on top of her list.
however ones research can't be a 100% accurate and accepted evidence.
other than that i absolutely didn't mean to be disrespectful against any tradition or instructor.
about your last statement i'm completely agree with you.one of my teacher once told me that countries won't help you.persons will so choose carefully.
dear Adrian is it from the book the legacy of Yuri Yankelevich?
My son and I currently study with a Russian teacher -- raised and trained in Russia. I have no idea what the differences are between different teaching methods, but I will say that the students of this teacher are phenomenal. And she seems to know exactly what to prescribe to produce amazing results. Is it that she is just a great teacher, or is it the Russian teaching method that is producing the results -- hard to say.
I have seen some really great progress in my own playing since I started taking lessons with her about a year ago. I think the biggest downside is going to student recitals and seeing 3rd and 4th graders who can play circles around me. To give you an idea, they are performing pieces like Ravel Tzigane and Bazzini Dance of the Goblins.
Mohammad, yes!
Mohammad,
Sorry, It's unclear from your original post whether it is Russian teachers causing injury, or those from other schools.
If anyone can encapsulate what exactly "Russian school" means I'd appreciate it.
Hi Scott,
Mohammad's post seems clear to me. I think he is saying that the Russian school has a strong emphasis on relaxing and freedom and yet there are a lot of injured players from that school.
My teacher is Russian. He teaches a standard Franco-Belgian bow. He also teaches a high scroll. I've been told that's stereotypically Russian, but I see a lot of non-Russians with high scrolls too.
Mr.Hsu 4th grade and Tzigane? wish you and your son the best.it's a good feeling to trust your instructor and know that you're in good hands.in my hometown there weren't too many great teachers and those who were great teachers,they didn't accept students who were not from music universities.regardless of how hard you're working and age limit has become a great deal.your instructor must be a rare person.
Mr.Cole sorry if i wasn't clear but Mr.Hsu is right.by the way you said
( After all, wasn't it Vengerov who had an injury?) my topic wasn't just about well known soloists of a special school.
One could ask: Why Russia and Russians are generally misunderstood?
... but that is altogether a different topics.
I think that specific teachers teaching in the same conservatory in Moscow or St. Petersburg may have been transmitting much of their personal approach to the violin, and that while there are probably many commonalities among students of different lineages, that the "Russian" appellation may be a bit of a distractor. I imagine that a healthy diet of scales and etudes, and having a teacher with a discerning ear to giude the student is where it's at. Kids growing up in Soviet Russia were under a lot of pressure to perfect their skills, and they worked really hard. Yankelevich's book is really interesting, but my teacher, who was a Yankelevich student, doesn't always agree with all of his methods.
My basic question is:
IS the Russian violin school misunderstood to begin with? If so, by whom?
I would ask even whether there is such a thing as the Russian violin school or whether that was a term invented by Westerners who wanted to marginalize their Soviet counterparts as exotic or obsessive or secretive, or whether it was a term invented by Russian ex-pats to distinguish themselves stateside. The term "Russian School" is also used quite frequently in chess, with the same general connotations. There are plenty of Armenians who have excelled at chess but you don't hear "Armenian Chess School," even though it's the only country where chess instruction is required in public school.
Well, I do know of an Armenian rug store. Seems like it's perpetually "going out of business--big sale!"
now we are talking, comrade Paul!
The "Russian Violin School: The Legacy of" by Yankelevich has been translated into English by Masha Lankovsky. It is a very detailed discussion of all aspects of violin playing under that pedagogy. I'm finding it quite fascinating to see how much freedom students are allowed to fit their playing to their personal physiques. In addition to soft- and hard-cover editions, it is also available for Kindlle readers for just under $10.
Another recent book, Lost Secrets of Master Musicians - A Window Into Genius" by David Jacobson, a San Francisco teacher and coach has recently been advertised in STRAD magazine and is also available on Kindle. Our conductor-less chamber orchestra hired Jacobson as a one-time coach a couple of years ago (all of our coaches were one-time, and none at all more recently) because one of our cello/bass players (also a violist/violinist) is one of Jacobson's violin students. He tells me Jacobson is especially partial to the "Russian School."
thank you Mr.Victor
i ordered both of them from Amazon.
Scott:
IS the Russian violin school misunderstood to begin with? If so, by whom?
sorry,should i answer this question with some names?
i take the name of the topic from this article and just put a why before it:
http://www.thestrad.com/russian-violin-school-largely-misunderstood/
by the way as i said before my goal wasn't to waste anyone's time by writing my personal anecdotal!
i was just curious and i asked some questions.
This discussion has been archived and is no longer accepting responses.
Violinist.com is made possible by...
Violinist.com Holiday Gift Guide
Dimitri Musafia, Master Maker of Violin and Viola Cases
International Violin Competition of Indianapolis
Johnson String Instrument/Carriage House Violins
Subscribe
Laurie's Books
Discover the best of Violinist.com in these collections of editor Laurie Niles' exclusive interviews.
Violinist.com Interviews Volume 1, with introduction by Hilary Hahn
Violinist.com Interviews Volume 2, with introduction by Rachel Barton Pine
December 13, 2016 at 04:15 PM · Probably the majority of American violinists were taught in the Galamian school (many of us studied with students of Galamian). Galamian's method and ideas are clearly laid out in his book. Frankly, I'm not sure what the "Russian" school is except for maybe a bow hold.
So it would be more helpful to either describe the main differences in the methods, or towards a specific written source. I don't have an opinion either way, but I'm not sure what your last statement concerning injury is aimed at. If you're advocating a "Russian" method due to a lack of injury among its practitioners, I'd say you're on thin ice factually. I'm not sure what "report card" you're referring to except, possibly, your own anecdotal one. After all, wasn't it Vengerov who had an injury?
What I find annoying is students who claim to want to study with a "Russian" teacher and try to seek them out at music schools, as if this is some kind of guarantee of fine teaching.