Violinist.com

Three Years with a Mezzo Violin

Mon, 20 May 2013 20:11:35 GMT

By Allan Lewis: Violinmaker Bob Spear has said that playing a mezzo violin will make a better violin player out of you. In my case, he is right. I don�t know if I would have practiced as much and kept playing on my good German trade fiddle from the twenties. My Chinese mezzo designed by Bob is only a high grade instrument. But this is an instrument that responds easily and allows one to realize the art of violin playing. Like a really good hand made violin it demands better technique than the basic high grade trade fiddle. My old violin has a nice little dark tone but not the easily produced projection of the mezzo. Both are on the same basic quality level. I am one who picked the violin up again in retirement. In many ways I am better now but the vibrato still isn�t working. Maybe it is in the chin-rest shoulder-rest collar-rest setup that I don�t have right quite yet. Until the beginning of this year I stayed in first position in order to work on intonation. But slipping into third was beginning to come more frequently where a phrase worked better in third. But shifting just came back and was just right there naturally most of the time. When I was a kid, I didn�t think that practicing Flesch scales had done me that much good. The instrument has continued to bloom in fullness of sound quality. It�s sound quality is in the middle of what one expects a violin to be. Neither dark nor shrill. It is equally strong on the G string and E string with only the expected note to note variations that all string instruments have by the laws of physics. An anomaly happened this year. About three of four months after installing new strings (two sets of Pro-Arte and one of Karneol) the open A string would develop something like a loud wolf tone. And the first and second fingers on A would sound strange harmonics. At last, I noticed that when the G was plucked violently, it had a rattle. Of course I looked in all the usual places to no avail. Soon, I noticed the silk wrapping on the G string. It was half way up in it�s radiused groove of the nut. The thickness of the silk was lifting the aluminum winding just a few thousandths above the groove at the edge of the nut. That was the G rattle. When the G string resonated sympathetically while the open A was being played vibration in this minute gap caused those strange sounds. The resolution was simple, I carefully cut the silk back about ?th of an inch being careful not to nick the aluminum. The reason is that on my mezzo the nut to bridge length is 16 mm longer than on a normal violin. Since the G string peg is closest to the nut, there isn�t very much allowance to give the string makers any extra length to shorten the G string silk. At this time, there aren�t enough mezzos in the world for the string makers to create a special G string for the mezzo but using a small viola G might work. In the future, I will just trim the silk back. It is reassuring to read the trials, tribulations and solutions from you string players who share your experiences on V.com. I know now that I am not alone when I have a problem here or there. I thank you for your sharing and also to Laurie and Robert for keeping this site on the net. If you are shopping for a strong violin at a modest price trying out a mezzo made or designed by a student of Carleen Hutchins is well worth your time. Possibly you want to leave your valuable instrument home when you play on a cruse ship. An imported mezzo might fill in. ABL (aka the Mezzofiddler)

Special Awards and Final Gala Concert for the 2013 Montreal International Musical Competition

Mon, 20 May 2013 04:24:36 GMT

By Laurie Niles: How heartening to see such a big turnout on Friday night for the final Gala Concert of the 2013 Montreal International Musical Competition! The three laureates -- Marc Bouchkov (first prize), Stephen Waarts (second prize) and Zeyu Victor Li (third prize) -- and three remaining finalists -- F�dor Roudine, Ji Young Lim and Chi Li -- played to a nearly-full house at the Maison Symphonique de Montr�al. Above, I have linked the performers' names to their semi-final performances, because I do believe the semi-finals truly showcased their emerging artistry, and in many cases they gave truly stunning performances.

Left to right, Maxim Vengerov, Stephen Waarts, Chi Li, Zeyu Victor Li, Ji Young Lim and Marc Bouchkov. Photo: Gunther Gamper

This final concert -- well, it was a bit more like those final Olympic figure skating exhibition galas, when the competition is over, the athletes are exhausted, and nobody is making their triple-lutz jumps any more. Maxim Vengerov finally did get to conduct something besides the Tchaikovsky Concerto, with Chi Li playing the last movement of the Mendelssohn, Ji Young Lim playing Saint-Saens "Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso," Zeyu Victor Li playing Ravel's Tzigane and Marc Bouchkov playing Sibelius Concerto. Fedor Roudine reprised his last movement of the Tchaikovsky and Stephen Waarts, the first movement of the Brahms. Winners of the special awards were announced in an awards ceremony that preceded the performance. They included: Best performance of the Compulsory Canadian Work ("Rhapsodie pour violin et piano" by Jean Lesage) Prize: $5,000 Luke Hsu, 22, of the United States Radio-Canada People's Choice Award Prize: $5,000 Stephen Waarts, 16, of the United States Wilder and Davis Award for the Best Semi-Final Recital Prize: $2,500 Marc Bouchkov, 22, of Belgium (Hear that performance, with Victor Kissine "Caprice" (beginning); Brahms D minor Sonata (10:29); and Ernst "Last Rose of Summer" (33:35), here) MIMC Grants for the Unranked Finalists Prize: $2,000 each Chi Li, 19, of Taiwan Ji Young Lim, 18, of South Korea Fedor Roudine, 20, of France

Week 2 Without a You-Know-What

Sun, 19 May 2013 23:50:06 GMT

By Mendy Smith: I'm on my second week without a You-Know-What. Collarbones were made for holding the viola. The biggest thing I have to watch out for is not raising my shoulder and going into "clamp the darned thing between my jaw & shoulder" mode. I probably used to do this all the time with a You-Know-What, but without one it is much more noticeable when I do that dreaded act. I have discovered that the thumb is a movable object. Sometimes it is high, sometimes it is low, sometimes behind the first finger and sometimes between the 1st and 2nd finger. But by all means it shouldn't stay completely stationary. A stationary thumb tends to lead to tension. My bowing straightened itself out over the past week. I now have that nice squared stance that has eluded me for years. I also discovered that I can reach the very tip of the bow without having to do odd right-arm stretches. But best of all is that my vibrato is starting to finally loosen up and has become less spastic and more continuous. Now if I can break through this muscular speed limit before tensing up, I'll be golden.

Stage fright

Sun, 19 May 2013 16:37:08 GMT

By Nairobi Young: In 2 hours I will be at my outside of school orchestra trying out for one of their ensembles I' Solisti. My mom received the email encouraging me to trying out, but told me very late, so I learned the music late and now here I am with a mostly memorized piece nervous that I'll screw up. Screams are itching their way out of my throat and I have the urgent sense to go and hide and not do the audition. But then what would that accomplish? I don't know if I'll make it in or not, but this audition experience is important. There is college next year and that will be even more nerve racking. It doesn't matter if I make it in or not( well it does a little bit), but I need to get over this fear of being judged. Of course I am being judged, but why fear it? The worst they can say is that you did make it in. There is already a 50 percent chance of Not making it in. What makes people so nervous about auditioning? The fear of messing up? Playing in front of people you don't know or better yet you do know? Not being able to impress? If there is one thing that people outside of the music world don't seem to think about it that not only is it hard to play the instruments, but it's hard to perform it in front of others for people. Music is so hard in every sense, but I'm willing to go through the fear and fire to make it my life...it's just going to be a little flight getting there. Off to my audition I go

V.com weekend vote: What do you use to tune your violin?

Sat, 18 May 2013 05:09:24 GMT

By The Weekend Vote: What do you use to tune your fiddle, when you have no orchestral oboist around?

2013 Montreal International Musical Competition: Finals, Day 2 + Final Thoughts

Thu, 16 May 2013 19:45:16 GMT

By Laurie Niles: To reiterate, the winners of the 2013 Montreal International Musical Competition were named on Wednesday night, and they are: Marc Bouchkov, 22, of Belgium, first prize of $30,000 CAD, and a "Sartory" model bow by Sandrine Raffin, valued at $3,700 CAD. Stephen Waarts, 16, of the United States, second prize of $15,000 CAD Zeyu Victor Li, 16, of China, third prize of $10,000 CAD You can listen to performances from both nights of finals on the CBC website. A Gala Performance will take place Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET, featuring the winners playing with the Orchestre symphonique de Montr�al and guest conductor Maxim Vengerov. Winners of the special awards will be announced at the official awards ceremony, preceding the gala concert. * * * Here are a few highlights Wednesday's performances, as well as some thoughts to follow. Wednesday's performances featured Zeyu Victor Li; F�dor Roudine, 20, of France; and Stephen Waarts. Zeyu Victor Li played the Tchaikovsky Concerto with tidy technique, and a nice buoyant quality to his sound. He took some very fast turns with the tempo, which is the soloist's prerogative; yet, one must be aware of how fast a large organism such an orchestra can respond, even under the best circumstances. Music takes place in real time and requires give-and-take -- not-together is not-together, whatever one's ideals. That said, this was a very fine performance, with uncomplicated sound, good projection and great technique in the cadenza. In a concerto that can be an avalanche of notes, every note was clear, even in the fastest and most technical passages.

Photo: Gunther Gamper

* * * The Tchaikovsky concerto remains that infamous piece whose dedicatee pronounced it "unplayable," and on Wednesday, F�dor Roudine didn't quite have the kind of control over intonation and consistency of tone quality that puts an audience at ease. He does have a nice deep sound and some incredible chops, taking the third movement at quite a fast clip.

Photo: Gunther Gamper

* * * Stephen Waarts had a beautiful grace in his playing from the first note of the Brahms Concerto -- and then he warmed up and got even better! His impeccable intonation soothed the soul, and his concept of the piece was a cohesive whole -- he made it look easy. I stopped worrying, relaxed and enjoyed the beauty that is Brahms: the soaring melodies, the quirky rhythms that pop out of a cluster of notes well-played, the warmth of emotion.

Photo: Gunther Gamper

FINAL THOUGHTS + scroll down for COMPETITION ART! I will confess to you a certain kind of wariness, when I learned that I'd be listening to four Tchaik concertos and two Brahms during this final round of the Montreal competition, but I found all the performances so very individual. Isn't that the complaint, that high-level music schools stamp out musicians who all play the same? That there's nothing new left to do with the classics? It's not a legitimate complaint. I saw very distinct personalities and enjoyed their musical revelations. Hats off to Maxim Vengerov, who had the task of conducting the Tchaikovsky four different times, with four different sets of tempi, four different personalities and all the possible pitfalls that come with accompanying pre-professional soloists. He impressed me as a solid and steady leader, displaying an attitude of support toward each soloist. For me, Stephen Waarts was a very close second in this competition, with his mature and refined Brahms, and I fully expect to see him winning a major competition in the next few years. That said, Bouchkov seems so clearly ready for the concert stage; he has that special kind of charisma and awareness of both orchestra and audience that draws a listener in, makes one want more. I enjoyed listening to all six of these fine young musicians and only regret I was not here to hear the other rounds! Fortunately we can all listen to them, and here is the website for that. I love that music inspires people in different ways. It inspires some people simply to look at the world in different way, but it can also fan our creative urges, inspiring some to make more music, or to write. Last night inspired my friend, Los Angeles artist Lark Larisa Pilinsky, to draw! Here are her sketches of the evening's three performers; I feel like she really captured something of their playing.

Left to right: Stephen Waarts, F�dor Roudine and Zeyu Victor Li.

Augustin Hadelich: Brilliant and Triumphant Artist

Thu, 16 May 2013 17:21:04 GMT

By Terez Mertes: An extended version of this article can be found at The Classical Girl Call me sentimental, but when I hear a story about a talented performer in the arts world who suffers adversity and triumphs against tremendous odds, well, it steals my heart. It gets me rallying around that person. That I should be won over by the performer�s talent, musicality, peerless technique, before learning his backstory, well, that makes it all the more sweeter. One performance by German violinist Augustin Hadelich (live Internet streaming of the finals of the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis in 2006) and I was smitten. Flashback to 1999. At age fifteen, child prodigy violinist Augustin Hadelich was badly burned in an accident at the family farm in Tuscany. He was hospitalized with extensive burns to his upper body, face and right hand, putting his career, not to mention his life, at risk. The next two years included months in the hospital, twenty surgeries, slow rehabilitation, pushing past pain, doubt, skepticism that he�d ever play the violin again, much less perform professionally. But he persevered, made his way back, and in 2006 he won first place in the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis. This season Augustin Hadelich made his debut with the San Francisco Symphony, with the Beethoven Violin Concerto, a replacement for originally scheduled Julia Fischer, an already acclaimed violinist with an ever-growing reputation. It was a thrill to go to the concert and watch the sublime be replaced by the equally sublime. The first movement, all twenty-five minutes of it, is wonderful, ever a treat to listen to, but what makes this concerto so powerful to me is its second movement. Its majesty stirs me, transports me. It�s so much more about interpretation than flash. Here the violin part is so exposed, like a solitaire diamond. No hiding a flaw. From my first tier corner seat (read: economically distant) I could almost feel Hadelich�s concentration, his intention. He is a thoughtful musician whose intelligence and reverence for the piece shine through. The audience was utterly engrossed, almost leaning in so as to catch every nuance. One of my favorite moments is when a talented soloist pauses, allows for a split second of silence, and here you are in this 2000 seat concert hall, all of you, listening. That night you could hear a pin drop as the last of the violin�s silvery tones, the sympathetic vibrations from Hadelich�s 1723 Stradivarius, rose into the air and dissipated. In the jaunty third movement, Hadelich switched moods, producing a blazingly fast, sharply articulated cadenza midway that seemed infectious, propelling the orchestra behind him to redouble their energy as well. The momentum built so high that the instant Hadelich and the orchestra played the last note, the audience was on their feet, roaring with approval. What a glorious coup for Hadelich and Beethoven alike. And yet Beethoven likely went to his grave thinking he�d gotten it wrong. Composed in 1806, a violin concerto ahead of its time, the premiere was not deemed a success, and the concerto was dropped from performance repertoire for nearly forty years, revived only after his death, by twelve-year old prodigy Joseph Joachim with Felix Mendelssohn conducting. That Beethoven never received the acclaim he deserved for this masterpiece is heartbreaking. It�s as heartbreaking as what might have been, had Augustin Hadelich believed the doctors who told him his chances of playing the violin again, performing again, were slim. You know, there�s something rather Zen and philosophical about that all. Into the fire. Amid the ashes of what you�d been, in Hadelich�s case, a child prodigy, and the truth is, a lot of child prodigies don�t make it over that hurdle into adulthood. But this, a two year period, regenerating, rebuilding, quite literally, letting go of what you�d been, what you�d once achieved. Breaking your psyche down to its core�what can you not live without? What one thing will you fight with your life for? The answer for Augustin Hadelich was this: to play the violin. He didn�t want a life compromised by its absence. He therefore struggled, fought, persevered in his goal to get back to what he�d been. Twenty surgeries later, having surely suffered setbacks, limitations, relearning, re-doing, he returned to the stage, brilliant and triumphant, fiery in his artistry. Well done, Augustin Hadelich. May this be first of many performances with the San Francisco Symphony for you. I couldn�t find him playing the Beethoven, but here�s Augustin Hadelich playing Schumann, the Sonata for Piano and Violin no. 1, in a gorgeous, equally impressive black-and-white filming. Hadelich plays Schumann And here�s a link to Laurie Niles� October 2012 interview with him. www.violinist.com/blog/laurie/201210/14052/

How I came to play the violin.

Thu, 16 May 2013 15:34:07 GMT

By Cheyne Winterthieme: In March last year, I was laying in a hospital bed listening to the steady sound of the IV. I'd caught a cold, but it turned into pneumonia. With 50% breathing capacity and severe asthma, it hadn't taken long to land me in the hospital. But this was the third day of my stay and I was feeling better. Of course, I was sure longing to get a-hold of my violin to play but IV's don't lend very well to bowing. I was starting to feel impatient, but then I realized that this was the whole reason I play violin instead of something else. I'd been playing piano for as long as I could remember; my mom plays piano very well and she gave lessons to all of us children. But piano wasn't really my "thing". My mom started me on the glockenspiel which I played for a few years and I really enjoyed participating in our church's youth orchestra. At the time, I wanted an instrument that didn't stand out so pronounced as the glockenspiel; if I happened to make a mistake, there was no way to cover it up...everyone heard it! I was interested in flute because my older sister played it, but after a few weeks of lessons, I came to realize I wouldn't be able to play a wind instrument. That dropped my idea of trying saxophone. My mom was worried about my playing a string instrument because at the time I had no idea of pitch. I couldn't even sing. But there seemed like nothing else left to try. When it came to strings, I had no doubt what I'd want to play - the violin was the superior choice in my mind! When my first violin came in the mail, I was 11 yrs. Many times I've wished I started when I was 6 or younger, and that I'd had a good teacher to start with, but I didn't. In the first few years, I had four different teachers and then we moved. I wasn't really interested in finding another teacher and my parents didn't push it. I still played on and off, but didn't make any real progress. When I turned 18, I started working through the Suzuki books by myself. I worked through books 2 & 3, and most of the way through 4. Then I started encountering things I didn't understand and was being entirely too hard on myself. We had another move and I decided I'd to find another teacher. I looked around for over a year and had no success. When I inquired at the local music store for a teacher, they (instead!) offered me a job of teaching beginning violin lessons at their studio as they didn't have anyone to do so. I turned it down as I didn't feel ready for it. I was starting to get discouraged when someone gave me the phone number of one of the directors of the local symphony orchestra. He plays viola, but gives violin lessons because there isn't anyone else teaching. After a little bit, I started giving private beginning violin lessons because I kept getting requests to do so. And that is how I came to play and teach the violin. Anyone else choose the violin for health reasons?

Carl Reinecke (1824-1910) violin concerto opus 141

Thu, 16 May 2013 08:50:38 GMT

By Bram Heemskerk: A lot composers wrote a violin concerto. Here the one of the German composer Carl Reinecke(1824-1910) who also wrote a harp concerto:

2013 Montreal International Musical Competition: And the laureates are...

Thu, 16 May 2013 03:46:13 GMT

By Laurie Niles: MONTREAL -- Winners of the 2013 Montreal International Musical Competition were just announced! 1st: Marc Bouchkov of Belgium, 2nd Stephen Waarts of US and 3rd Zeyu Victor Li of China

Photo: Gunther Gamper

More to come in the morning.