_
/ ` INTERNET CELLO SOCIETY ©
| www.cello.org
-|-
|
\ _/ 'TUTTI CELLI' Newsletter, July/August 1997
TUTTI CELLI CONTENTS -- volume 3, issue 4
ICS Forum/ Cello Chat Board
Cello related movies
Prokofiev Symphony-Concerto
Jazz on Strings
Professional hints
Cello Penpals
Music Festival Watch
ICS Library and Reference
Activities and Announcements Opera gig in Germany
Other Internet Music Resources Posture Peg for
Cellists
Welcome Puerto Rico, Slovenia, Uruguay and Zimbabwe to our list of countries,
making 58. Countries represented by our membership include Argentina, Australia,
Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Columbia, Costa Rica, Croatia,
Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Finland , France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala,
Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica,
Japan, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway,
Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Solvenia,
Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan,
Thailand, Turkey, United Kingdom, Ukraine, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela
and Zimbabwe.
http://cello.org/The_Society/stats.htm
The latest update on the boycott of Burger King:
ASTA President Edward Adelson reports, "One visible activity for ASTA
this past winter was the ASTA-led boycott of Burger King. This was in response
to a negative portrayal of strings in Burger King's advertising, and was
meant to send a strong message about the responsibility corporate America
has to accurately portray arts opportunites in messages to the public. I
am proud to report that Burger King has produced and aired a commercial
which shows string playing in a positive light, and which delivers the message
that playing strings is a "cool" activity. As a result of this
new, positive commercial, ASTA is no longer encouraging its members to boycott
Burger King. Some in the media criticized ASTA's boycott of Burger King
as an over-reaction to a harmless (and fun) commercial, but it is important
for these critics to understand that, for too many children in our country,
the sole exposure to many arts opportunites is found in the commercials
they see on TV."
**I am pleased hear of Burger King's latest action. The Internet Cello Society
was quick to support the ASTA boycott, and now encourages its members to
boycott Burger King no longer. If you would like to express your appreciation
of Burger King's latest action, please contact them through their website
at http://www.burgerking.com I
truly believe your support and email were important in getting the attention
of this large corporation! Thank you.
John Michel
**ICS could still use volunteers to serve as ICS
Fundraisers, Reporters,
Writers, Reviewers, Editors and Forum/ Cello Chat Hosts
JOHN'S JABBER
On May 5th our webmaster Marshall St. John found it necessary to step down
as the ICS webmaster because of his increasingly busy schedule. Marshall
contributed greatly to the expansion of our online resources especially
in the area of organizing pages of related website links. He authored hundreds
of pages on cello related topics, and for a long time he offered to cellists
free personal web pages. Marshall founded the "Internet Cello Societys"
website and helped integrate its strengths into the enhanced mega-cello
site that you enjoy today. I will miss his ever changing web graphics and
daring webpage designs and our excellent working relationship. Together
we have worked hard on the ICS website and consoled each other many times
after endless days and nights of webpage development.
Fortunately, Marshall recommended another excellent webmaster to take over
this high maintenance site. Webmaster, current webmaster of W. W. Norton
and Company and beginning cellist, has volunteered to be our webmaster.
Please welcome him and if you have any suggestions or requests be sure to
state them as clearly as possible (dsaffer@wwnorton.com).
Be sure to include the webpage URL and a valid return address.
Roberta Morton has resigned as ICS Host Coordinator and Tutti Celli Editor
due to an overloaded work and study schedule. Her services will be much
missed. I would like to invite anyone who might be interested in filling
either of these two positions. As the ICS director I really depend on the
efforts of all our volunteers including these two. In the interim, please
redirect Tutti Celli materials to me.
The distribution of this newsletter was delayed because of resignations
and an extraordinary event. Two weeks ago, while my family and I were at
the Shenandoah Bach Festival, some painters left some varnish rags in a
box in our house that was being remodeled. The rags spontaneously combusted
and burned a whole in our floor before some heroic neighbor kids put it
out. Though there is significant smoke damage, I am thankful that noone
was hurt and that my dog and Kennedy cello were not in the house. Counting
blessings...
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
***If you would like to respond to something you have read in 'Tutti Celli',
write to director@cello.org and type "Letter
to Editor" in subject field. (Letters may be edited.)***
I was looking over the information on your cello website. I was thrilled
to find this site, as my daughter is going to take up cello again. She is
12 years old and has played the piano for over 7 years. She started cello
when she was 10, but we had to give the instrument up for financial reasons.
We are now in a position to begin again, and I am thrilled for her. She
is a very talented child. Now, my first question. I could not understand
your website very clearly. You stated that you had listed some pieces of
music, but I couldn't find them listed. Also, would you happen to know of
a good mail order music company where I could find a good beginner instrument
at a reasonable price. I have already contacted Shar Music Company. If you
have time to answer me I would greatly appreciate it.
Thanks,
Sherell
**I am glad to hear that she is again interested in playing the cello! The
repertoire list is at http://cello.org/Libraries/references/syllabus.html
and the stores are listed at http://cello.org/cnc/world.htm
.**
Good luck!
John Michel
I love the cello repertoire syllabus which you have compiled! it's a great
teaching reference and a great list for choosing new personal performance
repertoire when I'm stumped for choices.
THANKS!!!!
Dawn
Kent,OH
NEW AND OLD MEMBER LETTERS
I have played the cello for 12 years. I quit last year because I thought
It was my mothers choice not mine. Not a week went by when I began to miss
the Cello so much that I would listen to old recordings of my playing and
cry at the memory. I began playing again last January and I have found a
new part of me; a new emotion that I never felt before when I was playing.
I love the cello and now I am sure it is my choice to play.
Inguza
I have only discovered the ICS in the last couple of days, and have wasted
hours today trying to find other sites like it. Well there aren't. Thank
you so much for ICS, I have been talking to Tim [Finholt] who seems to me
to be a very fine human being and an excellent teacher. He has been most
generous to me and has spent precious time talking to me about nerves. His
students are very lucky, I reckon. You see, I am an adult beginner, and
playing the cello is the one and only thing I want to do. I spend all my
spare time practicing because it does make a difference, and I figure that
if one spends the time it takes to learn then one gets what I can imagine
must be the whole "reason why" --to sit down with the most beautiful
of all instruments, all by yourself and just create beauty at will. I must
forget this when I get nervy, because even simple pieces are beautiful -
the instrument itself has a say in it...
Anyway, thanks for the service you guys are providing, I'll be waiting for
the next TUTTI CELLI - I've already learned a lot from the issues on the
Net. Tim and his simple and good advice again!
A Presto
Ralph Kirshbaum's career encompasses solo performance, recitals, chamber
music, teaching, and recording. He has appeared as soloist with major orchestras
in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Each summer, he performs
in chamber music festivals throughout the world. Mr. Kirshbaum is founder
and artistic director of the RNCM Manchester International Cello Festival
held every two years at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester,
England, where he also teaches.
[excerpt of attached article]
TF: You once said that "cello technique has become freer due to technical
demands of contemporary music." How has it become "freer?"
RK: Contemporary music requires that one be able to make huge changes in
sound and character in a split second. You must be able to leap around the
cello at a very rapid pace, quickly change coloration with vibrato and bowing,
and vary left and right hand articulation instantaneously. One's reflexes
have to be very sharp, and, like anything, the more you refine it, the more
you are a master of a wide spectrum of technical issues, and hence the freer
you are. This leads us to the only important consideration -- the musical
statement that you're trying to make. If you are a prisoner of the limitations
of your technique, you aren't really free to enunciate what you want to
say musically. The demands that cellists meet in contemporary pieces have
helped us all to become greater masters of our instrument. Then when we
go back to playing Bach or Beethoven, we are that much more in control of
the instrument and are more able to make our musical statement.
TF: You said something interesting in a recent master class. A student played
the slow movement of the Haydn D major concerto, and indicated that she
was trying to bring out the lines of the music, thinking in terms of musical
arches with crescendi and diminuendi. You told her that she could certainly
play like that, but that her approach was "very nineteenth century."
Do you think that playing Haydn in a more Romantic manner is wrong?
RK: I wouldn't say that it is wrong, though I think it's inappropriate.
If a great performer played it very convincingly like that, then I would
accept it as his or her point of view and would probably say that the performance
was very impressive. But I would still say that it's inappropriate.
TF: What makes it inappropriate?
RK: That approach wasn't a part of the musical language of Haydn and his
times, which was more about purity of melody and clarity of harmony and
rhythm. These things get obscured when one plays with a more Romantic approach,
which uses more rhythmic license. In the classical style there is still
breathing, phrasing, and shaping, but the kind of indulgence that one finds
in the nineteenth century was not present in Haydn's day.
TF: Do you think that Haydn would object if he heard somebody play his music
in a nineteenth century style?
RK: I didn't know Haydn well enough to answer that question! But I doubt
that he, or any composer, would object to a beautiful and intelligent interpretation
of his work. Similarly, I doubt that Bach or Haydn would object if they
heard their music played on modern instruments. I think it is better to
try to stay within the musical vocabulary of the time when a piece was written,
as best we understand it.
**The complete transcript includes photo**
Superstar cellist and designer Julie Messervy plot a garden, based on the
music of J. S. Bach, for Toronto's waterfront. Yo-Yo Ma is the first to
admit that, in his search for the truth, he has been led down the garden
path. Fortunately, this garden path runs through the Music Garden, the result
of a unique collaboration between the superstar cellist and American author/designer
Julie Messervy.
The scheme was originally intended for Boston, but that fell through last
year and the pair settled on a 3.2-acre site on Toronto's waterfront. If
all goes according to the new plan, the plot will be transformed into a
garden based on the music of J. S. Bach. The site is a roughly triangular
parcel of land that stretches along Lake Ontario west from Spadina Ave.
almost to Bathurst St.
Though the $1.5-million project has plenty of supporters, there's likely
to be a film about it before it gets into the ground. That may sound strange,
but in fact the Music Garden began as a TV special, a Rhombus Media special
to be precise. Experience tells us to expect the unexpected when the Toronto
TV production company is involved and this is no exception. Not even the
director of the one-hour program, Kevin McMahon, knows how the episode will
end. Neither does Ma nor Messervy. No one does. And the deadline is September
to meet a fall broadcast date.
On the other hand, there's no doubt about how the project started. The beginning
came five years ago when Ma approached Rhombus with the idea of doing a
series of TV specials inspired by Bach's six unaccompanied cello suites.
The twist was that in each episode, Ma would join forces with an artist
from a different discipline to reinterpret the music. In addition to Messervy,
the collaborators include filmmaker Atom Egoyan, Torval and Dean, the Mark
Morris Dance Group and Japan's leading kabuki actor, Tamasaburo Bando.
``I've been struggling all my life to define what a piece of music is,''
says Ma. ``Though it's abstract, music is about something. But in code,
like DNA. ``The first suite, which Julie and I worked on together, has always
reminded me of nature, something to do with trees and water as opposed to
something that's human.'' to full article
[The excerpt above is part of an article that appeared in the Toronto Star
and is reprinted by permission, courtesy of the Toronto Star]
July/August Award Website:
featuring information and painting of cellist Vedran Smailovic
**Please notify John Michel of interesting websites that you would like
to be considered for this recognition in the future. Websites will be selected
regularly based on their content, cello relevance, creativity and presentation
style!
ICS FORUM/CELLO
CHAT
*** If you would like to ask a question, discuss an issue or get some
expert advice, post a message to the official ICS message board called CELLO
CHAT . ICS forum hosts have been asked to check your posts regularly.
In this way not only do the forum hosts see your message but the entire
membership and Internet community! You are still welcome to contact the
forum hosts directly***
RE: Cello/cello-related movies
<<Delicatessen, Barry Lyndon, The Witches of Eastwick, Ninochtka,
Meeting Venus, Idaho Potato, Take the money and run... could you help me
to find any film in which there is at least one [real] cellist?>>
**"The Hunger," "Deception," a gamba movie -- "Tous
les Matins du Monde" -- are some. There's that Woody Allen movie where
he is in a marching band with a cello, but I don't know the title.
Also:
Micki & Maude (B. Edwards, USA, 1984)
The Living Daylights (Bond movie, UK 1987)
Jeremy (A. Barron, USA, 1973)
Truly Madly Deeply (A. Minghella, UK, 1991)
Love in the Afternoon (B. Wilder, USA, 1957)
Sticky Fingers (C. Adams, USA, 1988)
Short Cuts (R. Altman, USA, 1993)
Source: somewhere on the net...**
Orlando
**That Woody Allen's film you mentioned in your follow-up is "Take
the money and run". I've heard of "Toutes les matins du monde",
but not about "The hunger" and "Deception". Could you
tell me anything more about them (casting, year of filming, story...)?**
**"The Hunger" is a sensual and at times bloody vampire movie
(Rated R at least), probably made in the 70's. The actors are all famous,
but the only one I can remember is the cellist in the movie, David Bowie.
You hear the Bach G Major Prelude, the slow movement from Schubert's B-flat
piano trio, and some others that I don't recall. "Deception" is
an old movie with Claude Raines and Bette Davis. It is about a concert cellist.
The actual cellist in the soundtrack is the late great Eleanor Aller, who
plays the Korngold and the Haydn D concerti.**
RE: Prokofiev Symphony-Concerto
**I think that one of the most important parts to cello playing is listening,
and unfortunately many cellists are not able or just simply do not do it
enough. I would like to recommend one of my absolute favorite pieces for
you all to listen to if you have not already. The piece, Symphony Concertante,
is by the Russian Composer Sergi Prokofiev and the piece was written for
Mstislav Rostropovich. The piece is basically a cello concerto with a "fancy"
name. There are two great recordings of the piece available at your local
record store one with Rostropovich and one with Yo Yo Ma. There are other
performers of the piece as well, but these should be the easiest to find.::
I agree with Doug! This is a landmark in the cello repertoire. It is as
important a piece as the Dvorak Concerto. One word of note. Its true name
is Symphony-Concerto. Prokofiev never called it Sinfonia-Concertante. This
name is not proper though it is widely used for Prokofiev's op. 125. All
of Prokofiev's writings on this masterpiece has him referring to it as Symphony-Concerto.
It's a great piece!**
Paul Tseng, ICS cello chat moderator
RE: Jazz on strings
<<HI! Me and my friends would like to play some jazz on our strings.(
1 cello and 2-3 violins) Do you know where to go or what to play or what
to do? Please, write to me and tell me! We need it. THANKS>>
Karin
**I've been looking for ways to play jazz (and generally improvisational
music) on the cello for a while. So far I've only come up with stuff like
the Kellaway Cello Quartet and some of Mark Summer's stuff (see the Mark
Summer article at this site - excellent stuff). I'd try transcribing some
turtle island stuff, or some old Stephane Grapelli/Django stuff as a first
cut. Also, the "Appalachian Waltz" CD w/Yo-Yo, O'Connor and Meyer
has some very interesting stuff, though not blues-based like traditional
jazz. I'd love to know if anybody has other good source material.**
Steve
RE: I need some professional hints
<<I'm having a lot of trouble getting a pure sound high up on the
'a' string......HELP!!!! ...am I missing something...is it just a lot of
practice that makes the pure tonal sound when playing high on the finger
board....the shifts aren't bad but its hard not to sound like a constipated
cat...do I need to change my bow position on the string, change my bow arm...pressure
and tension...or am I never going to get it? Its the hardest place to improve!
>>
Mark
**I have found that it is important to keep the bow at right angles to the
bridge and close enough to the bridge to find the sounding point. The weight
into the string with the bow arm should not be too much. The closer to the
bridge you are the narrower the sounding point gets. Hence, the degree of
"play" you have to work with is diminished. Use a mirror and watch
that the bow makes a 90 degree angle to the string while you draw it back
and forth and it will tend to "track" straight across the string.**
Owen Carman, ICS Host
RE: 14/m searching for cello penpal!!! **Hello Ben, I'm a Spanish girl of
16, and I'd like to be your penpal if you want to. I've played cello for
about three and a half years; I play the piano as well, I'm in 7th grade;
and yesterday!!! I started french horn lessons (I am a music fanatic, as
you can see). I like ICS very much because it helps you meeting other cellist
to exchange opinions with.**
Eva M
- MUSIC FESTIVAL WATCH
***If you have announcements, comments or reviews of music festivals,
please contact Roberta Rominger at roberta@rominger.demon.co.uk***
17-26 July: Leonard Rose International Cello Competition and Festival, College
Park, Maryland. Email intlcomp@umdacc.umd.edu.
16-19 Oct: Cello-Festival 3, Kronberg, Germany (in honour of Rostropovich's
70th birthday). Concerts and master classes featuring M. Rostropovich, Young-Chang
Cho, K. Georgian, D. Geringas, N. Gutman, G. Hoffman, M. Kliegel, N. Shakhovskaya,
m. Tchaikovskaja, W. Warner, and the Cellissimo Ensemble Frankfurt. Cello
and bow makers exhibition. Brochure now available. Email IKACello@aol.com.
Roberta Rominger
If you know of cello society newsletters, bibliographies of music, teaching
materials, references, indices, lists or articles that should be added to
ICS Library, please send data to director@cello.org.
(Library contents will be available to all Internet users; please include
author and written statement of release for unlimited or limited reproduction.)
ACTIVITIES AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
I am looking to hire musicians for a concert with the German tenor Rene
Kollo.
Program: Light Opera (Lehar etc. plus some Overtures)
Location: Emmendingen, Germany (near Freiburg southern Germany)
Time : July 23rd - 25th
Payment: 280.00 Marks plus Hotel ( 4-5 services)
All instruments.
Stilley/Steiner/Thomas <kaata@sirius.com>
The Midsummer Musical Retreat is an orchestral, choral, and piano program
rich in musical experience and expressions. Participants enjoy a full, intense,
yet light hearted five days of musical immersion. The program, tailored
for adults, offers a noncompetitive stretch and challenge away from normal
daily life. The location of the retreat is held annually at Fort Worden
Conference, Port Townsend, Washington. The 1997 retreat dates are from Wed.
July 30 to Sun. August 3, 1997. For general and music related information
see http://home1.gte.net/morven/retreat.html
"22 Years From Now", the latest CD by jazz cellist Hank Roberts,
is now available. "22 Years From Now" contains fourteen pieces
of music for solo cello (all but four selections are improvised).
"Elegant from cover to content, this is a lovingly conceived piece
of work. Hank Roberts is always rewarding to listen to, but there's something
extra special this time, a purity and pleasure that is unmistakable. He
uses the word 'passion' to describe certain moments in his playing, and
that is the most accurate term." Jeff Westerman / THE ITHACA TIMES
/ May 15, 1997
"It went beyond anything I thought could happen. For me it's a milestone,
because it's my first solo (cello) CD. It shows unabashedly different parts
of what I do. A really strong element of the improvisational side of me,
which for me really validates it as a form that's as strong as classical
or jazz." Hank Roberts / THE ITHACA TIMES / May 15, 1997
"22 Years From Now" (Level Green CD 22001)
For more information see http://www.levelgreen.com
***All members are welcome to post announcements or news that are pertinent
to our global cello society. Send information to director@cello.org***
Posture Peg for Cellists
http://www.globaldirectory.com/posturepeg/
Full Moon Home Page for Cello Players Resource for beginners esp. adults
and info. on Greenhouse videos
http://www.EthanWiner.com/cello.html
Douglas Harvey's Cello Page RealAudio clips and bios of some cellists
http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/3570/
Thurmond Knight, Luthier
http://www.virtualvermont.com/music/knight
Yoko Hasegawa's Home Page versions in English and Japanese
http://plaza10.mbn.or.jp/~cellist/E-index.html
Gagliano Recordings
http://www.sirius.com/~arts/gagliano.html
Suggest other interesting cello related websites to our ICS
NET Surfers
