_ 

    /  ` INTERNET CELLO SOCIETY © 

    |    http://tahoma.cwu.edu:2000/~michelj/ 

   -|- 

    | 

\ _/    'TUTTI CELLI' Newsletter, September/October 1996

TUTTI CELLI CONTENTS

NEW ICS MEMBERS MESSAGE

ICS NEWS & WHAT'S NEW!

JOHN'S JABBER

Some comments from voters:
I have heard YoYo Ma perform several times in London and his playing is so natural and unaffected, and quite simply sublime. Add to that he is so modest, unassuming and without any pretensions, he is my choice as the No. 1.

My favorite cellist is Jacqueline Du Pre, often overlooked perhaps due to her short career. Her sensitivity and expression is moving and beautiful.

Leonard Rose has a sweet, lyrical quality about his playing, without sacrificing anything in the technique department - always very clean and exact.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

NEW MEMBER LETTERS

FEATURED ARTIST

Lynn Harrell is known throughout the world as a cellist, chamber musician, recitalist, conductor, teacher, and recording artist. Mr. Harrell is the recipient of numerous prestigious awards, including the Piatigorsky Award, the Ford Foundation Concert Artists' Award, and the first Avery Fisher Prize (jointly with Murray Perahia).

"LH: My approach has changed throughout my life. As a youth, I was all instinct. But then I met George Szell and James Levine, who were more analytical musicians. These musicians, as well as many others, really knew what they were doing, and I found that my instincts weren't enough. I soon discovered that knowledge was a key to maintaining a high level, even though there were days when I didn't feel like playing. Your mind can carry you a long ways if you use it. They would say to me, "So sometimes you don't feel like playing, what are you going to do? Are you going to give a bad performance just because you don't feel like it?" You've got to know what you're doing so, if you have a fever and you're really feeling awful, that you can still give very close to your best performance. The only way to do this is to really know what you're doing, and to study and to learn. So there was a long period where I just didn't trust my instincts anymore. But after awhile, I grew tired of this approach and felt like it was time to let go and to trust my instincts. I was willing to let my instincts take me where they wanted me to go.

TF: In other words, for example, you knew how the Dvorak was "supposed" to go, but then it was time to dig deeper into the music and search deeper within yourself.

LH: Yes. I suppose I've come to a stage in my life and career, where I do certain things that somebody 25 years my junior would perceive as being an indulgence, which is how I, as a youth, used to view Fournier's or Casals' playing at times. I probably do this in part because I feel that I've paid my dues and that I am entitled to some "liberties. " But this also comes from a great deal of introspection, thought, and analysis over the years, and so I see things differently than I did years ago."


!!! A handsome photo is included in the Web version and a recording excerpt of Lynn Harrell will be posted later this month!!!

FEATURE ARTICLES

Schumann's intense interest in Bach, whom he once qualified as the "praiseworthiest" and as "one of the greatest creators of all times," accompanied him from the awakening of his artistic talent as a musician up to his breakdown in the Spring of 1854. The peak of Schumann's multi-faceted occupation with Bach was reached in his arrangements of the six sonatas and partitas for violin solo and the six suites for violoncello solo, to which he added a piano accompaniment. His arrangements of the violin sonatas were printed in 1854, but the publisher did not accept the violoncello suites.

Three years after his death in 1856, Clara Schumann sent the manuscript of the violoncello suites to the legendary violinist Joseph Joachim for his opinion of Schumann's arrangements. After six months, Joachim reluctantly expressed his opinion to Clara, "I must truly seriously warn you not to have these published. Every day I look up to his music with ever greater admiration and thankfulness for such magnificence. But precisely because the laurels on the wreath of his immortality with which posterity has crowned him are still so fresh and dense, we should be cautious not to be so forbearing as to add a withering leaf to it, but rather conceal it from the gaze of the musical world as an act of solicitous love." The fate of the arrangements was thus sealed; they remained unpublished and the autograph itself is considered lost. In fact, it was not until 1981 that a transcription of Suite No. 3 was found by the hand of cellist Julius Goltermann (1823-1876), a student of David Popper.

Schumann's piano accompaniments should not be seen as "stylistic transgressions" or as a wanton meddling in the work of another master, but rather as "harmonic braces." These "braces" were "fastened" to the pieces solely in order to bring out the musical qualities of the original in a more vivid manner, and to heave the pieces into the view of a public which was not used to solo instrumental music. Even today, the discretion of Schumann's arrangements deserves our full admiration; the piano accompaniment never takes the upper hand and treats the original with surprising variety, while remaining in harmony with the character of each movement.

* Summarized from a preface by Joachim Draheim, Karlsruhe, Spring 1985.

"Oh, My Aching Back! Musicians suffer a higher rate of back pain than the general population. The rate of such pain among cellists is higher than for any other group of musicians. A major cause of cellists' back problems is faulty sitting.

Sitting is more complicated than standing and is usually more stressful. Poorly supported sitting creates more pressure on your spinal disks than standing. Standing permits greater freedom of movement. It allows your body to maintain better balance and to shift your weight naturally as you move your arms. Unless your feet can fully support all of your body's movements when you are sitting, your body cannot be completely balanced. In addition, when your feet are not properly placed, your knee and hip joints tend to lock, impeding mobility..."

MEMBER SPOTLIGHT

REVIEW

Tim Finholt shares some of his notes on the 1996 National Cello Congress in Tempe, Arizona. He gives the highlights of the masterclasses given by distinguished cellists Fritz Maag, Zara Nelsova, Janos Starker, Lawrence Lesser, Eleonore Schoenfeld and Ron Leonard. Lecture topics covered in his notes include Orchestral Playing, Competitions, Self-Management, New Directions by Victor Sazer, Cello Technique Studies by Starker, and Career Development.

ONGOING SERIAL

An ongoing serial story of the most influential cellist of the early 20th century. Rostropovich and Piatigorsky describe their experiences with the inspiring legend. Several quotations of Casals are also included.

FORUM HIGHLIGHTS

• 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.
  
  Just a quick one for now, as the day before I left for Aspen 2 months ago, my hard drive totally died, and I lost lots and lots of stuff. I just now got a new one up and running. I'll be gone this weekend, but I'll write as soon as I have some confidence in my new rigged up cheapo hacker system.
  Take care, and Back Up Everything NOW!!!
  Bret
  
  
• 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?
  
  
  
• 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.
  
  Many issues were discussed, including the following:
  1. Where does the left thumb go? Though the traditional answer is somewhat
  across from the second (middle) finger, a new school of thought is emerging
  that perhaps the thumb should be allowed to go where it wants to, some
  natural rest position that depends on the mechanics of a particular passage.
  2. Should the thumb press against the neck? The thumb should be relaxed so
  that it prevents the build-up of tension in the rest of the hand, which increases dexterity as well. The concept of fingering needs to changed from
  "pressing" to the controlled transfer of arm weight from one finger to the next.
  3. For ideas on a more "natural" approach to cello playing, read Victor
  Sazer's book called, "New Directions in Cello Playing."
  4. Articulation: Techniques for articulation of notes was discussed,
  including a SLIGHT hammering of fingers on the way down (placing them with confidence), pulling fingers to the side to create a slight pluck when
  lifting the fingers, or just lifting the fingers with conviction. We pay
  more attention to how to place fingers, and often neglect the equally
  important technique of lifting fingers.
  5. You're Never Too Old: If you want a flood of e-mails, just ask for
  stories demonstrating that it's never too late to learn the cello.
  Tim Finholt

DEPARTMENTS

• MUSIC FESTIVAL WATCH
  ***If you have announcements, comments or reviews of music festivals, please contact Roberta Rominger at roberta@rominger.demon.co.uk***
  
  World Cello Congress, July 1-8, 1997, in St. Petersburg, Russia. Details are available from Dr. Helene Breazeale of Towson State University (MD) e-mail e7a7bre@toe.towson.edu.
  Roberta Rominger
  
  
  
• 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 LIBRARY AND REFERENCE

• 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.)***
  
  Dear Marguerite, Sorry I have not responded until now, life has been crazy and I was away for a while. I did find one citation for a cello arrangement of the song "Plaisir D'amour" (which, by the way has been arranged for many different instruments) on FirstSearch. The OCLC accession number is 21276614. If you ask your local librarian to do an inter library loan that number will make things easier. The odd thing is that the only place which is listed as owning the thing is the Norfolk Public Library (Virginia). But they do say they lend, so if they have it, you should be able to get it.
  
  I've checked 3 out of the 5 collections we have on campus and no luck so far. I'll get back in touch after checking the other two (I have to go to another building to do that). In the meantime you can initiate the ILL request. The other information on the score, by the way is this: "Plaisir damour: for violin or cello solo with piano accompaniment; also trio. England: E.H. Freeman, 1952 (plate No. 2022). Good luck and hope this helps!
  Sarah Dorsey
  
  
  
• LIBRARY TECHNICIAN
  ***Paul Stauffer , as library technician is volunteering his help to find resources on the Internet. He can be contacted at pks@mnsinc.com ***

ACTIVITIES AND NOTES BOARD

EDWARD HINES MUSIC
ehines@k12.oit.umass.edu

OTHER INTERNET MUSIC RESOURCES

CLASSIFIED & ADVERTISEMENT HIGHLIGHTS