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\_/ TUTTI CELLI' Bi-Monthly Newsletter, March/April 1996
TUTTI CELLI CONTENTS
WELCOME to the Internet Cello Society! We are currently 1500 members strong and represent 28 different countries around the world! Countries represented include Argentina, Austria, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Costa Rica, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Israel, Italy, South Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Japan, Portugal, Russian Federation, Singapore, Switzerland, Sweden, South Africa, Taiwan, United Kingdom and the United States.
'TUTTI CELLI' is the Internet Cello Society's bi-monthly newsletter and serves several purposes: 1.) to make announcements of what is new at the ICS World Wide Web site, within the Internet music world, and throughout the real music world. 2.) to feature a distinguished cellist, an ICS member, and interesting articles. 3.) and to summarize activities in ICS cello forums and departments.
The WORLD WIDE WEB houses the Internet Cello Society at this address:
http://tahoma.cwu.edu:2000/~michelj/
The WWW allows for the quick transfer of information in the form of text, graphics, movies, and sounds to anywhere in the world. If you have direct Internet access, all you need is a World Wide Web browser like Mosaic, Netscape, MacWeb, or the text only Lynx application (Netscape is highly recommended!). After opening your browser application, simply open the URL address of the Internet Cello Society WWW site:
http://tahoma.cwu.edu:2000/~michelj/
ICS ONLINE SERVICES include the following:
*A Cello Introduction, an interactive multimedia presentation
*'Tutti Celli', an online copy and back issues
*Young Cellists, Professional Performers, Teachers, Cellist-By-Night Forums
*Library archives including various cello society newsletters, articles, etc....
*Membership register (optional) searchable by various criteria
*Classifieds and advertisements via The Web Classical Music Store
*Links to other Internet music resources
ICS MEMBERSHIP affords benefits as well as responsibility. As a virtual community of cellists, ICS relies on its membership to write articles, volunteer time, share expertise, and submit archive materials. If you have any documents that you would like to share with the global society of users, send them directly to CelloTalk@aol.com or on disk via snail mail. For a truly global perspective of the music world, the Internet Cello Society needs the active cooperation and contribution of each of its members.
Members are requested to fill out the online REGISTRATION FORM to be added to our ICS online directory. The Netscape browser is recommended for form submission. As more ICS members voluntarily register in our online directory, members can search for other cellists by name, address, schools attended, teachers, city, country and more!!! Check out this incredible database of cellists from around the world.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!ICS ONLINE CHATTING SCHEDULE VIA IRC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ICS holds open multi-user online real time chatting over the Internet via IRC (Internet Relay Chat). Thanks to the efforts of our IRC host Nicoletta Pintor, ICS maintains its own chat channel: #ICS
Everyone can open the channel at any time, and our IRC host will be online:
EVERY SATURDAY AT 1:00PM PST OR 4:00PM EST
Please join us to celebrate the Internet Cello Society's first anniversary! We need a good showing to make this worthwhile. Detailed instructions. If you have any further questions, please direct them to Nicoletta Pintor at cellos@icom.icom.it
In the effort to provide more comprehensive and timely responses to commonly asked questions, the Internet Cello Society will develop an ICS/Cello FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) document. Though ICS is not a usenet newsgroup, a FAQ made available on the Web or via email will hopefully answer many questions and reduce the large number of email that certain ICS staff receive.
The ICS Bulletin Board is not a real electronic BBS and has caused more confusion than benefit. Therefore, the ICS Bulletin Board will be converted into the ICS/Cello FAQ. Internet Cello Society members and others are encouraged to direct general inquires, ads and miscellaneous announcements to the appropriate, existing newsgroups, listserves and email lists (see list of these sources in the section of this newsletter). Of course, specific questions related to the cello should be directed to ICS forum directors.
Maybe someone will start a newsgroup or listserve just for string players or cellists :-)
CELLO, A WEB BROWSER?
More than a year ago, I took my first look at the Internet World Wide Web. I was amazed by this technology's ability to connect the world's computers in a completely user-friendly, interactive way. This was better than TV! Within minutes I was surfing the Web in search of information on the cello. I was disappointed. At that time in the cyberworld, Cello was not described as a string instrument of the violin family. The first question in the Cello FAQ was "What is a Cello?" The answer, "Cello is a WWW browser that works under Microsoft Windows." WHAT?! This meant war! or at least an all-out campaign to promote the splendor of the violoncello with the cyber community.
The amount of information available on the Web continues to grow, some of it trivial but more of it useful. Unfortunately the tendency of the Web is to become a confusing, strangling net of chaos. A goal of ICS was to gather, generate and organize information on the cello in an attractive, interactive manner in the hope of generating interest in the cello, its repertoire, its teachers and performers. I quickly realized that I could not and did not want to do this alone.
The strength of the Internet Cello Society lies in the combined efforts of its members. Members contribute to forum discussions, to our archives and newsletter, and to spreading the word of ICS to other cellists. More than a dozen members have stepped forward to volunteer their talents and time as ICS staff members. Recently one new member has been particularly busy augmenting the cello resources on the Web. ICS welcomes new staff member Marshall St. John who created and will maintain Sour links to cello internet resources. The comprehensive web page is called "Internet Cello Societys". It is an exciting addition to the Internet Cello Society Web, a must see!
"Internet Cello Societys"
"Internet Cello Societys" also includes links to professional, amateur cellists, and cellists of the past. He is the author of the ongoing serial of Pablo Casals that will be attached to TUTTI CELLI newsletters. Marshall is generously offering to set-up free web pages for cellists!
Free Web Page for Cellists!
The Internet Cello Society continues to evolve and lead a life of its own. In our first months we numbered fifty, now we are 1500 with accelerated growth! 1000 cellists have registered in our online directory. Soon we will have a huge family (student/teacher) tree! To maintain our small niche in today's music world, we need to band together, promote our art, and take advantage of every means to interest new, future audiences.
***If you would like to respond to something you have read in 'Tutti Celli', write to CelloTalk@aol.com and type "Letter to Editor" in subject field. (Letters may be edited.)***
Kudos to Tim Finholt who has contributed three articles to this newsletter issue. Many members have praised his work and leadership in ICS and the Cellists-By-Night forum. Thank you, Tim!
John Michel!
CONVERSATION WITH RON LEONARD
***An Internet Cello Society Exclusive***
by TimFinholt
Ronald Leonard is well known as a soloist, chamber musician, and teacher. He has been Principal Cellist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic since 1975, and is the Gregor Piatigorsky Professor of Cello at the University of Southern California. In his teaching Mr. Leonard emphasizes the significance of sound production, the use of the metronome in practice and the ability to create ones own interpretation. He also shares the teaching ideas of his former teachers Leonard Rose and Orlando Cole. Mr. Leonard gives his perspective on orchestra playing, auditions and the state of classical music. He believes that chamber musicians tend to make good orchestral players.
BRAHMS F MAJOR SONATA AND ITS GENESIS>
by Tim Finholt
Scholars believe that the slow movement of the Opus 99 F Major Cello Sonata may have been originally written for the Opus 39 E Minor Sonata. Brahms' handwritten entries in his personal inventory of works indicate that he had completed three movements of the E Minor Sonata in 1862 and a fourth movement in June 1865. Yet, in 1866, when the E Minor Sonata was published, it only contained three movements, with two Allegros surrounding an Allegretto quasi Menuetto. It has been speculated that the discarded slow movement may have reappeared in 1886, more than 20 years later, as the Adagio Affettuoso of the F Major Sonata. It is believed that the Adagio Affettuoso may have originally been in the key of F Major instead of F# Major.
Max Kalbeck, an early biographer and contemporary of Brahms, wrote that the "heavenly Adagio [of Opus 99] arouses the feeling that it is the soul of the work, which now had to fashion for itself its body." This proposition suggests that perhaps Brahms may have composed the outer movements to fit around the pre-existing Adagio, and that the Adagio may have influenced the shape of these movements.
There is much evidence to back up this theory. The compositional techniques used in the Adagio match those used by the younger Brahms in the E Minor Sonata, though the movement seems to have been revised to suit the older Brahms' evolved ideas.
There is also physical evidence. Brahms was in the habit of keeping and re-using unpublished compositions. No manuscript of the "lost" slow movement of the E Minor Sonata has been found. Also, he rarely separated the movements of a piece in his manuscripts, i.e.. starting a fresh new page to begin the next movement. He had the habit of beginning a new movement on the same page as the end of the previous movement, with no staff in between. And yet the Adagio Affettuoso of the F Major Sonata is self-contained in its own package; the previous and following movements end and begin on separate pages respectively.
** This is a summary of "Brahms's Cello Sonata in F Major and Its Genesis: A Study in Half-Step Relations," by Margaret Notley. It was originally published in the 1994 "Brahms Studies," a publication of the American Brahms Society. For further information about the American Brahms Society and a sample newsletter, write to: The American Brahms Society, School of Music, Box 353450, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-3450***
SUSANNAH KELLY--CELLISTIC MEDITATIONS
"There was one reason why I wanted to play a stringed instrument. If you wanted to be anybody in the first grade, at least in my school, you did one of two things: 1) You could write cursive already or 2) You played an instrument. Because I wasn't extremely talented at cursive writing, I needed that cello or violin. But then I was faced with the problem of which to take. I should thank my older brother for that one. He had played the violin when he was in first grade, for about 6 weeks, and I decided to rebel and choose the other instrument offered to me. Those are really my two reasons. Sometimes I lie to people and tell them that I liked the sound of it or I was subconsciously drawn to it, but I made all that up to just impress people. My classical training started out with the wish to fit in and the sweet thought of defying my brother."
NATHANIEL ROSEN
On February 24, 1996, Nathaniel Rosen conducted a cello master class at the University of Puget Sound, in Tacoma, Washington. Mr. Rosen is a renowned soloist and recording artist. He is also known for being only the second American to win the Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow in 1978, this while the West was still in the heat of the Cold War with the Soviet Union. The following items were discussed:
1. Play with confidence. Missing a note is better than playing meekly.
2. When doing audible slides around a change in bow direction, do them after
the bow change, not before.
3. Keep thumb down in thumb position. This will lessen the tension in the
other fingers and will allow a faster vibrato.
4. Mr. Rosen practices scales and arpeggios regularly.
5. Everybody tends to play out of tune in exactly the same way. For example, in thumb position with the thumb on the D harmonic on the D string, everybody plays the E (first finger) high, the F# low, and the G high. The A should be a perfect fourth with the A above, the F# should be a minor third with the A above, and the G should be a perfect two octaves above the open G string.
6. For a more intense vibrato, pull the fingers closer together.
7. The left hand is the expression of our thoughts; the right hand is our voice.
8. The fingers should be thought of as lying on top of the stick of the bow
and wrapping around the frog. This usually results in playing with more of
the hair on the strings, which creates a better sound.
9. The bow should pivot between the thumb and second finger to create a
straight bow.
10. Good bowing exercise to create an even sound throughout the entire bow:
Play slow scales (one note to a whole bow) and crescendo from piano to
fortissimo on down bows, and diminish from fortissimo to piano on up bows.
11. Pluck the strings closer to the bridge when playing pizzicato. This
will create more sound.
12. In chamber music, Mr. Rosen looks at the bow and fingers of the other
players, not necessarily their faces or their cues.
13. We all become "emotionally attached" to the difficulties in a piece. Keep an open mind for new fingerings and bowings that can make life easier.
14. Though the printed editions of the Shostakovich Sonata don't indicate
it, Mr. Rosen suggests playing the last eight bars of the first movement
somewhat faster, closer to the tempo at the beginning of the movement. This
was done by Rostropovich and Shostakovich.
15. The more memory slips you have, the less you will fear them :)
Tim Finholt
PABLO CASALS: HIS YOUTH
"The continuing story of Pablo Casals, the most influential cellist of the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries!"
***This newsletter section will draw from correspondence and discussion in the following on-line departments. All members are encouraged to join a specific forum mailing list. Send any pertinent discussion, questions & answers, articles or other correspondence to the appropriate department. ***
- THE YOUNG CELLIST
***Stacy Cowley, forum director at: Isoma@aol.com***
INTRO: The Young Cellists Forum is a meeting and correspondence place for all cellists under 21. Whether you plan a professional career or your playing is strictly for fun, this is the forum for you!
- THE CELLO TEACHER (K-12, College & Private)
***Bret Smith, forum director at BPSmith@aol.com***
INTRO: Welcome to the ICS Cello Teacher forum. We discuss the highs, lows, potentials, problems, and all other interesting aspects of the cello teaching process. Please join us to post ideas about literature, teaching metaphors, anecdotes, or just a greeting. Your host is BPSmith, a cellist and teacher.
- THE PROFESSIONAL PERFORMER (Orchestral, Chamber Music & Solo)
***Paul Critser, forum director can be contacted at CelloPaul@aol.com***
INTRO: What does it take to make a living on the cello?
- To: Cello Paul
I've been prompted to write to you after reading a letter on the ICS about
flying with a 'cello. I am a British Grad student at Northern Illinois
University, studying with Marc Johnson of the Vermeer quartet, and over the
next two years of my study here I may be looking at making three or four
trans-atlantic return trips with my 'cello. While I appreciate what the
writer of the article said about booking seats, etc., there is one major
problem for me and, I suspect, most other 'cello students who have to fly: I
simply cannot afford to purchase an extra seat for my 'cello. What I would
like to ask you, or any other ICS member, is if anyone knows a sure-fire
method of getting a 'cello into the cabin of an aircraft without paying for
an extra seat? I have sometimes managed this in the past, but I have also
spent many a fretful flight wondering if my 'cello would survive the hold.
If anyone does have any suggestions on this I would be very grateful for any
advice. Thanks for taking the time to read this and I'd just like to say keep up the
good work at the ICS!
- Sincerely,
- Jeremy Cook.
- THE CELLIST-BY-NIGHT
***Tim Finholt, interim forum director can be contacted at editor@cello.org***
INTRO: The Cellist by Night Forum is for those who play the cello purely for the love of it, and want to learn more about our wonderful instrument. If you need help with certain passages in your music, choosing repertoire, thoughts on stage fright, finding good books and articles, or you need to talk about anything musical, then write to Tim Finholt at editor@cello.org.
- SEngle1013 did some more digging on the rumored other Dvorak Concerto. Below is what he found out: According to Elizabeth Cowling's book, 'The Cello,' "Dvorak wrote an earlier cello concerto in A Major in 1865, which he had written out with only a sketchy piano accompaniment and never did orchestrate. It was rediscovered in 1925. Clapham, commenting on Gunter Raphael's attempt to complete the work, which was then published, says, in view of his extended alterations...'it would be more accurate to describe it as reshaped and newly composed."
- Thank you, SEngle1013!!!
- Tim Finholt
- MUSIC FESTIVAL WATCH
***If you have announcements, comments or reviews of music festivals, please contact Roberta Rominger at roberta@rominger.demon.co.uk***
- 1. 1-5 May, 1996 Manchester (England) International Cello Festival. Concerts, master classes, workshops, films. Artists include Blondal Bengtsson, Anner Bylsma, Lluis Claret, Christophe Coln, Patrick & Thomas Demenga, Eugene Friesen, Karine Georgian, David Geringas, Bernard Greenhouse, Natalia Gutman, Frans Helmerson, Tim Hugh, Steven Isserlis, Ralph Kirschbaum, Truls Mork, Miklos Perenyi, Heinrich Schiff, Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi, and Raphael Wallfisch. Full brochure available from Festival Office, The Grange, Clay Lane, Handforth, Cheshire SK9 3NR, U.K. FAX 44-1625-530140.
- 2. 28 May - 1 June, 1996 Fifth American Cello Congress, Tempe, Arizona Details from the American Cello Council, 340 West 55th St 5D, New York, NY 10019.
- CELLO MUSIC LIBRARIAN
***Sarah Dorsey, official ICS librarian at SBDORSEY@steffi.uncg.edu (Please do not abuse this valuable service; check local libraries and resources before contacting Sarah.)***
- INSTRUMENTS & EQUIPMENT--Maintenance, Purchasing & Selling
***If you have any questions on this topic, contact Keith R. Bilyeu at KBilyeu@aol.com.***
- NETWORK LIAISONS
- CompuServe
Claudio Jaffe has volunteered to inform CompuServe users of the Internet Cello Society and regularly post the 'Tutti Celli' Newsletter. He can be contacted at 74024.3001@compuserve.com
- America Online
Chris works for AOL and can be reached at Laphroaig@aol.com or AFA Chris@aol.com
- OTHER
***If you would like to contribute an article about other topics, write CelloTalk@aol.com***
ICS CELLO FAQ
This document will address some of the frequently asked questions (FAQ) of the Internet Cello Society (ICS) and its forums about the violoncello. The FAQ is in the making.
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 CelloTalk@aol.com or send disks to Internet Cello Society; 1309 Skyline Drive; Ellensburg, WA 98926.(Library contents will be available to all Internet users; please include author and written statement of release for unlimited or limited reproduction.)
***All members are welcome to post announcements or news that are pertinent to our global cello society. Send information to BPSmith@aol.com***
To: Cello Teachers
I would be grateful to receive any graded lists of repertoire that you may be able to share as well as suggestions for repertoire for the intermediate cellist -- up to and including basic thumb position. Thanks for your help!
Collegially,
Jim Fittz at jafittz@bentley.univnorthco.edu
ICICLE CREEK CHAMBER MUSIC INSTITUTE
JULY 28-AUGUST 11 1996
The Institute will serve students whose serious preparation allows them to benefit from interaction with a community of professionals. Primarily for very advanced college and high school strings and piano. Students will work and receive coaching in chamber ensembles and will be offered private studies with any of the artist-faculty participating. Students are housed at the luxurious Sleeping Lady Conference Retreat, with gourmet meals provided by chef Damien Brown. Students also have regular chances for performances in and around the City of Leavenworth, as well as weekly concerts presented on the grounds of the Center. Co-directors and Faculty Carrie Rehkopf, violin and John Michel, cello are joined by the following Artists:
Camilla Wicks, internationally known concert soloist and pedagogue
David Perry, concertmaster of Aspen Festival Chamber Orchestra, and 1st
violinist of the Pro-Arte Quartet at the University of Wisconsin
Kairos Quartet, quartet-in-residence at Icicle Creek Music Center
Francine Kay, piano, Toronto, Ontario
Peter Longworth, piano, Toronto, Ontario
Maria Newman, composer, violin, viola, Los Angeles, California
Cost for the session is $989 and scholarships are available for qualified students. Audition tapes are accepted until May 1, 1996, and must include two contrasting movements of current repertoire. For more information or an application please call: (509) 548-6347 or write to Icicle Creek Music Center, PO Box 2071, Leavenworth, WA 98826.
Scott Hosfeld, Icicle Creek Director
Icicle@Cascade.Net
***Paul Critser, ICS Internet Surfers--Paul Critserand Marshall St. Paul***
Marshall St. John will maintain the "Internet Cello Societys" pages and join Paul Critser as a ICS NET SURFER! ICS is still looking for more volunteers to surf the Net for related music sites. All you need to do is create a list of abstracts as the one below, bi-monthly. Experience in writing HTML desirable.
FEATURED WEB SITES
- Discontinued Set of Rostropovich CDs for Sale!
- Only four sets of 16CDs left for $160/set
- Live performances of Rostropovich in the 1960's
- For more information e-mail : rikkamiche@aol.com
Classifieds are possible via the Web Classical Music Store! Any businesses or individuals that might be interested in posting advertisements, please write rikkamiche@aol.com and type "advertising" in subject field.
Address letters to the appropriate department editors listed above and any other correspondence to John Michel at CelloTalk@AOL.COM
Send comments on the content of this server
to John Michel at director@cello.org.
Copyright © 1996 Internet Cello Society