Message from the Editor
Membership Letters
We could use some help. Having done this for several years now, both John Michel and I are experiencing burnout. We could use some new energy to inspire us and to pull us along when needed. If you have html, writing, or editing skills, please contact me. The ICS has done some great things for the cello community. Please help us to maintain our momentum!
Tim Janof
>> I'm writing to Bernie Cotes, whose letter in the last newsletter indicated that his instrument is injuring his left knee: wear long pants when you play. Or, get a piece of soft cloth (cotton works well, felt does too, wool is too scratchy) and put it over your knee as a buffer. You could even use an extra piece of clothing or an old hand towel. Also, don't squeeze the cello with your knees -- this could solve most of your problem.
As for good beginners books: The Suzuki method books are quite good.
Emily S.
Baltimore
>>To Bernard Cotes,
For the left leg, try rotating your cello very slightly to the right. This will alleviate the digging problem, and give your bow better access to the higher strings. If you rotate it too far, you'll find you get rosin on your right pant leg.
And about pets ... I once had a cat who sat, rapt, in front of me while I played, reaching a paw every now and then to touch the bow. My present cat simply disappears when I play. My father was in a concentration camp in WWII (the Red Cross found him a cello) and there was a mouse who would come out to listen to him practice in the barracks.
Kathy Bohstedt
>> Regarding the letter about pets' appreciation of our music, I had to add this note. My pee-a-poo dog, who is aging and hard of hearing, always lays under my daughter's chair while she plays her harp, yet when I play my cello she whines and begs me to stop. I know I am a beginner while my daughter is a professional, but do I need such insults?
Sarah
>> Hello to all cellists!! My name is Ana Rucner. I'm eighteen years old. I live in Zagreb, Croatia and I am cellist! In age of eight I start to play cello in class Dobrila Berkoviæ-Magdaleniæ. Right now I am a student in my first year in the Zagreb Music Academy, studying under Zeljko Svagliæ. I had the pleasure and honor of working with a number of talented professors. They are: David Grigorjan and Vladimir Perlin from Russia. This summer I will study with Eleonore Schoenfeld from the US and Gustavo Neiva Tavares, principal cellist in the Oslo Orchestra. I believe that it is good to work with various teachers, because everybody will tell you different things about technique and how to make music. Learn now while you are young, because now is the time for hard work!!
I'd love to correspond with somebody who has similar hopes and dreams as I.
>> I am from Nigeria. I received a copy of your newsletter from my cello teacher. I started to play the cello on the June 8, 1999. Before then I played the piano, which I started when I was about six years old. I developed an interest in the cello when my father got one in 1995, which was the first time I got a close look at a cello. It was really thrilling to see my father move around the fingerboard without any guide and without looking at his fingers. I like to do things when they look very difficult or impossible, and what my father did looked impossible so I had to try it myself. I had never seen a good player or listened to one when I started in 1999. (Interestingly, my dad never let his children learn another instrument. Stick with the piano, he'd insist.) I started with a video and some instruction from my dad. Then an amateur cellist taught me because my father is a very busy computer consultant. I'm not sure if there is a better cellist than me in Nigeria at the moment.
In 1999 a Hungarian came to Nigeria and she has changed my life. Everybody plays with various poor techniques in my country. The only reason I had some good technique before she came along is that I watched a video of Leonard Rose over and over. My teacher thinks I'm very talented and will go very far. Last year an international violinist, Louise Jones, came to Nigeria, and I had to convince her that I only started in 1999 after I played for her. She said I'll be world class. I read about many cellists and practice very hard. I've played in a few concerts here as a soloist and I hope to get a schorlarship soon. There is no future for classical music in Nigeria or even Africa, so I'm not even thinking of studying music if I remain in Nigeria. I'd like to study Architecture as well since I think I am talented in that field too. The cello is a wonderful instrument and I'll go as far as God will allow me.
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by Tim Janof
Her Oleg Kagan and Sviatislov Richter were among Ms. Gutman's regular chamber music partners until their recent deaths. Richter once expressed his admiration for her by saying, "� she is an incarnation of truthfulness in music." She continues to collaborate with Martha Argerich and Mischa Maisky, as on her latest CD's by EMI Classics of the complete Schumann chamber music, and also with artists such as Eliso Virsaladze, Yuri Bashmet, and Alexij Lubimov.
The complete solo Bach Suites have been presented by Ms. Gutman in Berlin, Munich, Madrid, and Barcelona. She has premiered many contemporary works, including two -- a sonata and his first cello concerto -- dedicated to her by Alfred Schnittke. Her recordings include the two Shostakovich Concerti with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Yuri Temirkanov for RCA/BMG-Ariola, for EMI Classics the Dvorak Concerto with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Wolfgang Sawallisch, and the Schumann and Schnittke Concerti with the London Philharmonic conducted by Kurt Masur. She also records frequently for Life Classics.
Each July Ms. Gutman invites her musician friends to the International Musikfest at the Tegernsee in the Bavarian Alps, which she founded in 1990 and dedicated to Oleg Kagan.
TJ: You studied with two members of your family, your stepfather and your grandfather.
NG: Yes. My first teacher was my stepfather, who was a famous Russian teacher, Sapozhnikov. He is a very famous cello teacher in Russia, he having published many scores. I also studied for four years with my grandfather, a violinist who studied with Leopold Auer. Auer also taught Jascha Heifetz and Mischa Elman.
TJ: When you went to study with Galina Kosolupova at age 18, did she have to undo your stepfather's teachings?
NG: No, both my stepfather and Kosolupova were students of Simon Kosolupov, so they had similar ideas. When I began my studies with Kosolupova, I both loved her and feared her. My musical outlook had already been strongly developed by my grandfather, and I idolized his ideas, so Kosolupova and I did not always agree on how music should be played. I was very young at the time.
TJ: Did Kosolupova have you do lots of technical work, like playing scales and etudes?
NG: She did in the beginning but realized that my technique had already been pretty well established. My stepfather had run me through lots of scales and etudes my first three years, as did my grandfather. Of course, one continues to enrich one's technique all one's life, so I am still learning to this day.
Oddly enough, my grandfather, even though he was a violinist, taught me lots of technique too and gave me a certain virtuosity. He had me play scales for two hours a day with all sorts of bowings and fingerings, which made scale practice very interesting and did great things for my facility. Because of him, I kind of belong to the Auer school.
(Click here for the complete transcript.)
(Things that no one else would probably ever say about the Brahms F-major Cello Sonata)
by James Nicholas
(Postcard from Brahms, eight days after arriving in Thun, to his future biographer Max Kalbeck)
"�and thank you for the beautiful, lovely sonata; my fondest wish is to get to know it better, because plowing through it twice with Hausmann is not at all enough. You get so excited by your first acquaintance that you can't hear for all the loud sounds. There's roaring and frenzy and gushing in a first encounter like that, but as splendid as all that is, it doesn't allow you to enjoy it quietly. So far, I find the first movement the most gripping. The piece is so greatly compressed; how it surges forward! The concise development is so exciting, and the augmented return of the first theme is such a surprise! Needless to say, we reveled in the beautiful warm sounds of the Adagio, and especially at the magnificent moment when we find ourselves again in F-sharp major, which sounds so marvelous. I'd like to hear you yourself play the Scherzo, with its driving power and energy (I can hear you constantly snorting and grunting in it!) No one else would succeed in playing it as I imagine it: agitated without rushing, legato and yet inwardly restless and propulsive. I'd like to be able to practice it that way, and also to come to an understanding of the last movement, with its sort of lyrical theme - I had the feeling that its mood contrasts too much with the grand style of the other movements, but, as I said, I'd like to hear it more and learn how to play it."
(Letter to Brahms from his friend Elisabet von Herzogenberg, dated December 2, 1886, upon receiving a manuscript copy of the sonata for review)
It had to be one of the most productive holidays ever spent: during a summer retreat in 1886 at Hofstetten near Lake Thun in Switzerland, Brahms composed three of his best-loved chamber music masterpieces: our Cello Sonata in F major, op. 99; the radiant Violin Sonata in A major, op. 100; and the terse and passionate Piano Trio in C minor, op. 101. What can one add to the reams that have been written about the striking contrasts between the two cello sonatas? The E-minor is brooding, nostalgic, veiled; perhaps yet another tribute to the deceased Robert Schumann, as the First Piano Concerto and the German Requiem are said to be. On the other hand, the F-major, written between twenty-one and twenty-four years later, is such a whirlwind of concentrated energy that, apart from the intricate and flawless compositional technique, it might pass for the work of a composer far younger than the fifty-three year old Brahms.
(Click here for the complete transcript.)
by
Richard Slavich
Professor of Cello
University of Denver
Lamont School of Music
7111 Montview Blvd.
Denver, CO 80237
I offer this introduction to the Popper etudes in hopes that cellists eager to hone their technical command of the instrument will be stimulated to visit and revisit this challenging compendium. My purpose in writing is threefold: 1) to identify the specific technical problems most often met in the 40 studies; 2) to guide the reader to those etudes most relevant to his/her specific technical concerns; 3) to offer some specific suggestions that might make the etudes more manageable. (Alan Harris' caveat "Many roads lead to Rome; more do not" is a reminder, however, that a correspondence course in cello technique is a tenuous undertaking; work on these etudes and techniques with your teacher!).
(Click here for the complete transcript.)
JANOS STARKER
The following are my notes from the master class Janos Starker gave in Seattle. 10 minutes before the class was to start, Seattle experienced a 6.8 earthquake. Apparently, Janos Starker was calm as can be backstage when it happened. The class ended up starting only 1/2 hour late.
(Click here for the complete transcript.)
This website has many interesting articles, including one on Emanuel Feuermann, how to hold the cello, this history of the cello, and much more.
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>>Endpins
I am thinking about getting one of those bent end-pins, and I wanted to find out about peoples experiences with them.
Matthew Tifford
Paul Tseng replies:I use bent endpin to achieve a near-horizontal angle of the cello. After years of using a straight endpin and not feeling totally satisfied with the results in my sound and relaxation-state, I tried the bent endpin.
If you use the weight of your arms to play rather than force or pressure, then the near horizontal position afforded by the bent endpin is ideal. It lets your arms to hang (or drape) over the cello. You can hang your bow arm and your left hand over the cello which is higher up and more platform-like. It takes some getting used too initially and you have to remember that the point of it all is to facilitate relaxation. If you miss this point, you miss THE point.
Another thing I had to get used to (and now LOVE) is not using my knees to squeeze and hold the cello. Actually, before I used the bent endpin, Stephen Kates introduced the idea of not using my right leg to clamp the cello. He advocated 2 points of contact: the endpin, the chest and the left leg. The idea was that freeing up the right leg off the side of the cello allowed the cello to vibrate and resonate more freely. He didn't really care for the bent endpin, but it did achieve the same thing with the freeing from the leg clamping effect. Another benefit is in ricochet bowings. In the Prokofiev op 125 there are many passages that employ this technique and it really makes it easier.
All that said, someone with shorter arms and legs might find this kind of uncomfortable. However, a stand partner of mine (female) had been using a Stahlhammer endpin for years before I ever did and she was probably about 5'4. She sounded just fine and never had any problems with this.
I happen to use a regular endpin which I brought to a pipe bender (yes, there are pipe bending shops) with the angle I wanted and the point where the bend would occur marked. I don't really like Stahlhammers because I've heard them and have heard that they rattle after some time.
>>Endpins
I am thinking about getting one of those bent end-pins. What are your experiences with them?
Matthew Tifford
Steve Drake replies: I've got Stahlhammers intalled on all of my cellos. When I first got the first one done, I didn't think I'd use it bent, as I'd been playing with a straight endpin for 25+ years. I mainly needed one since the sound system we use frequently comes with a bunch of sms mikes that fit into a Stahlhammer. But I tried it bent for a while at first, and liked it so much, I never went back.
Paul Tseng replies: I use bent endpin to achieve a near-horizontal angle of the cello. After years of using a straight endpin and not feeling totally satisfied with the results in my sound and relaxation-state, I tried the bent endpin.
If you use the weight of your arms to play rather than force or pressure, then the near horizontal position afforded by the bent endpin is ideal. It lets your arms hang (or drape) over the cello. You can hang your bow arm and your left hand over the cello which is higher up and more platform-like. It takes some getting used to initially and you have to remember that the point of it all is to facilitate relaxation. If you miss this point, you miss THE point, so to speak.
Another thing I had to get used to (and now LOVE) is not using my knees to squeeze and hold the cello. Actually, before I used the bent endpin, Stephen Kates introduced the idea of not using my right leg to clamp the cello. He advocated two points of contact: the endpin, the chest, and the left leg. The idea was that freeing up the right leg off the side of the cello allowed the cello to vibrate and resonate more freely. He didn't really care for the bent endpin, but it did achieve the same thing with the freeing from the leg clamping effect. Another benefit is in ricochet bowings. In the Prokofiev op. 125 there are many passages that employ this technique and it really makes it much easier.
All that said, someone with shorter arms and legs might find this kind of uncomfortable. However, a stand partner of mine (female) had been using a Stahlhammer endpin for years before I ever did and she was probably about 5'-4". She sounded just fine and never had any problems with it.
I happenned to use a regular endpin which I brought to a pipe bender (yes, there are pipe bending shops) with the angle I wanted and the point where the bend would occur marked. I don't really like Stahlhammers because I've heard them and have heard that they rattle after some time.
Dick Matson replies: Many many moons ago, I played with a Tortelier endpin (bent) before switching to a straight endpin for the simple reason that it came with the cello I bought and I thought it (the straight one) was too pretty to replace. Silly me. Then I went back to the bent endpin. I've played steadily with a bent endpin for about 23 years now and I love it. It's not so much for the extra height that the bottom of the cello can get but rather for the extra lateral mobility the bottom of the cello has. This mobility is great when playing chamber music, for instance, because it lets you lean over toward your colleagues and bring the cello with you when you want to do that extra little bit of special eye contact, rather than feeling like you're anchored to one spot on the floor.
An added benefit is that the point of the endpin goes into the floor straighter than what happens with a straight endpin. Because of the angle, bent endpins don't tend to pop out of the hole in the floor like everybody else's straight endpins inconveniently do. There's no wake-up call quite like getting clipped in the back of the neck by a C peg. And that hasn't happened to me now in how long? Oooh, maybe about 23 years or so.
So I like them a great deal. By the way, there is an old thread back a little while on the Instruments & Equipment board about how Stahlhammers can rattle when the rubber o-rings go bad. That's easily fixed by taking the o-ring and the part on which it fits to an auto parts store (which stocks such things in a variety of sizes and thicknesses).
zambocello replies: I've never tried a bent one long enough to get used to it. I don't like the extra mobility of the cello. Also, I felt uncomfortable with the cello being balanced more to the front. I sit on the front of the chair and lean into the cello, and I like the cello to push back a little!
I suppose it just depends on what you're used to and if you like what you're used to. I'm injury-free and happy with my 12"-14" straight end-pin. DEFINITELY try someone else's before you take the plunge.
Ryan Selberg replies: I now have three long, straight carbon fiber endpins on my three cellos, and I love them. Also, I feel secure every time I plant the carbide tip in the floor at Symphony Hall, knowing it is not going to slip! Having watched my predecessor as Principal Cellist of the Utah Symphony chase his cello, mounted with a bent endpin, halfway across the stage in a chamber music concert, was a good lesson in endpin physics. Besides, I really don't like the constriction of the left arm in the lower positions caused by the cello's raised location when using a bent pin. It feels very unnatural. How do you bent endpin players deal with this?
Paul Tseng replies to Ryan Selberg: I feel absolutely no constriction in my left arm using the bent endpin. If anything, after I adjusted my technique (using arm weight) when I began studying in the the more Russian traditions with Feigilson and Panteleyev, both of my arms became more free and relaxed than when I was using a straight endpin. One of the first things I noticed was that I could practice for three hours, go to three hours of orchestral rehearsal, and then come home and not feel the slightest bit of fatigue. I could actually keep practicing after that (if my eyelids could only stay open). Before this, I would be in too much pain to play after a rehearsal. I attribute this lack/loss of tension and pain to the bent endpin/relaxed arm approach.
Perhaps you are/were doing something with your left arm that was not compatible with the bent endpin. Ah...the secret is to not raise your entire arm and shoulder as you shift back to 1st position. At some point your left hand will be higher than your elbow (on the plane of the fingerboard, that is) If you try to keep your elbow and left hand in a line parallel to the floor then your shoulder will start rising and that might be what causes you to feel constricted.
As with the level base-knuckles technique, when one initially tries this they feel a bit disconcerted by the seemingly lack of power these new positions afford them. But after learning the principles of balance and not to force they realize that what they once thought of as power was actually tension and force. Our natural tendency is to grip harder when we feel we are going to slip or fall. But if we relied completely on balance, there would be no need to grip or squeeze. There would be strength from the natural weight of the body (which is more than adequate) and flexibility that cannot exist with tension and squeezing.
Jon Pegis replies: On the subject of carbon fiber, I have seen first hand that every material sounds different, and it is important to try them all and see which one sounds the best. I was initially surprised by this, expecting to hear a big difference between solid and hollow, but not much between different solid materials. On my Acousticus endpin, it originally came with a hollow shaft. Russell Wagner found a drill rod that was the correct diameter, and we installed a Pegis point on it (of course!). However, due to condensation forming on the metal, eventually I began to see corrosion appear. I then replaced the rod with a stainless steel rod, and it sounded much better then the drill rod. Since then I've played cellos at Russell's shop with titanium, chrome steel, and stainless steel endpins, and they all sounded very different.
On the bent endpin question, I used to have a Stalhammer, but eventually it got noisy. Not a rattle from the o-ring, but a creak where it went inside the cello. I did like the ability to go to a bent endpin if I was stuck on a short riser. However, I felt there were too many moving parts in the Stalhammer, and also the rod is hollow. For me, the perfect endpin would be one where you had a straight rod with some sort of adjusting knob at the bottom that would allow you to play with any angle you wanted. To the best of my knowledge such an endpin does not exist, and would be difficult (translation: expensive) to manufacture. I'll add this to the list of cello gadgets that I want to design. Also included in the list is a gadget to adjust the tailpiece gut without taking the whole set-up apart.
>>Alternate Cello Position
Feigilson taught me about how Slava holds his cello. He has the fingerboard pointing out to the left (bottom of the fingerboard by the bridge). This sets the strings in your natural path. To prove this, while away from your cello, hold your left hand up as if it were in 1st position. Now begin to lower your hand and note which way your left hand moves. It goes OUT to the left, not into the middle of your body. Why should we put the fingerboard path contrary to where the left hand WANTS to go naturally? If you were to have to reach into your center around the cello (if the fingerboard and bottom of the cello point to the right) you'd have to reach AROUND the cello with your left should a lot! Ouch! To think, I played that way for YEARS!
I used to play with fingerboard pointing into the center of my body (I think many students and even Yo-Yo does this). But after he explained this to me and it made so much sense, I tried it. I used to have a problem of sometimes falling off the fingerboard in thumb postion. After making this adjustment, it almost never happened again. My left arm was happy as a clam because it was moving in a natural path. The added plus about this is that your RIGHT arm won't have to stretch so much to get to the tip of the bow since you've moved the strings out to the left. Your bow arm will be more relaxed too and probably will retain a nice L-shape as you get to the tip.
>>Vibrato
Here's a question or three someone asked me. I have my opinions, but would like to hear from you all about vibrato. 1) How do you decide which notes need vibrato and which don't? 2) How do you decide how fast a vibrato is needed on any particular note. Should you vibrato at different speeds within the same piece of music? 3) How wide should your vibrato be? Is this also a variable depending on the particular piece and the particular note in a piece? Is this all just a matter of personal taste, or are there actually standards?
Marshall C. St. John
Jon Pegis replies:Are there standards out there? Well, I look at Starker and Harrell -- both great players with phenomenal command of their instruments. And yet I couldn't imagine two more different approaches to vibrato. Personally, I think it's important to develop as many vibratos as you can, even if you don't use them all in one particular piece. It's always better to have more choices, even if there is more confusion at first. I still struggle with vibrato in Bach -- I know Baroque players used it, but suspect it was different from what we're used to today. Within a given piece of music, I try to figure out where the high and low points emotionally and harmonically are, and then choose my vibrato appropriately.
Although it's important to figure out the technical aspect of vibrato, for me my ear helps me the most. I like to listen to instrumentalists and singers who have vibratos I like, and try to get that sound firmly in my ear. Then I can re-create that sound when I practice, but this can take awhile.
Tim Janof replies: This issue is pretty subjective. I doubt that anybody could point to an established "standard." It depends on so many factors:
Ryan Selberg replies: Most of the answers have dealt with when and how to vibrato. One of my pet peeves is the lazy cellist (or cellist who is being lazy) and leaves notes without vibrato for no apparant reason except laziness. This holds especially true for fourth fingers and occasional first fingers, as they are harder to get a nice ringing vibrato, compared to the middle two fingers. Too ofter a musical line will sound like someone is stepping in a hole and the sustaining quality of the line suffers dramatically. I refer to it in my teaching as a negative accent. If one realizes that the two arms/hands work in very close harmony to each other, and certain notes are allowed to be vibratoless, the right hand involuntarily also tends to stop its sustaining and the lack of vibrato becomes very noticeable. I am not referring to notes that are deliberately left plain for musical and expressive reasons, just the notes that are lazily left plain.
>>Memorable Teacher Remarks
What is the most remembered remark or comment that a teacher or colleague said about your playing? A teacher remarked that my Bach playing was "lumpy." I'm sure it wasn' a compliment, but he never really explained what he meant.
pnorris
Tim Janof replies: "My cat could play that better than you." -- Eva Heinitz, and,
A friend of mine studied with Ronald Thomas at Peabody. In one lesson, Ron said, "Those two notes sound like a couple of turds coming out of a dog's @#%$."
Marshall St. John replies: "I guess I'll count you as one of my successes."
jpvision replies: "If you don't stop playing like that I'm going to ask you to leave," and, "Jessica, your intonation has improved 10-fold. What have you been doing?"
Bobbie replies: "Except for the intonation and the rhythm, that was really good."
cellisima replies: "Look out of the window, your playing makes the sun shine!"
RonH replies: "That was very good, now play it again to make sure it wasn't a mistake."
Paul Tseng replies: "I wanted a Rose, you gave me a Starker!," and,
"Great! You got it right! That was ONE in a row!"
Keith Hall replies: ".Your Swan sounds like it just died of lead poisoning."
zambocello replies: As an undergrad I was warming up in the teacher's studio while he chatted outside in the hallway. My lesson was to be on orchestra excerpts, but I was warming up on some fluffy recital piece, I think Popper Tarantella. He opens the door and in a low, serious voice tells me that no one will ever pay me to play a Popper piece; I should be practicing my excerpts. He closed the door and left. That was my lesson for the day! Needless to say I spent the hour practicing excerpts. By the way, he was right. I've never been payed to play Popper!
slavabilly replies: This wasn't directed at me, but I once attended a masterclass given by Shapiro where he told some poor hapless cellist that "If you were a painter, your paintings would look like the f@$#ing blank wall." Steve Balderston replies: Leonard Rose at the conclusion of my jury at Juilliard: "Young man, you're very talented ... but you have the vibrato of a Bumblebee " (I was nervous...and young!)
Parker Garvin replies: I still remember seeing Janos Starker give a masterclass when I was 11 years old and he told the student, "You're squeezing so tight you could kill a chicken!"
David Sanders replies: The first time I played for Starker in a master class, when I finished he asked if I had a match. I asked him, "Why, do you want to burn my cello?" "
1. Eva Heinitz dies at age 94
Eva Heinitz, a noted cellist, pedagogue, and pioneer in the revival of the viola da gamba in the twentieth century, died on April 1. She was conferred the title of "Grande Dame du Violoncelle" by the University of Indiana for her "significant contributions" to the cello and viola da gamba. For more information on her, refer to her ICS interview: http://www.cello.org/Newsletter/Articles/heinitz.htm.
2. Milly B. Stanfield dies at 101
Milly B. Stanfield, a former colleague of Pablo Casals and Maurice Eisenberg and staunch proponent of their cello school died at age 101. She was the co-founder of the International Cello Center in London, Casals' private secretary, author of two books, and a contributor to The Strad for 50 years.
3. Leonard Rose recording re-released
The famed Rose/Hambro recordings have been re-released in conjunction with this year's Leonard Rose competition. If you don't have these recordings, you absolutely must get them. For more information, go to to http://www.wgms.com/leonardrose2_main.shtm.
4. New Cello Sonata
Just two years after James MacMillan wrote his Cell Sonata No. 1, his second sonata for the instrument will soon be premiered by Julian Lloyd Webber.
5. New Bach Suite recording
Frans Helmerson has come out with his own recording of the Bach Cello Suites -- Chamber Sound CSCD 00029/00030.
6. A cellist turned novelist
Gordon Epperson has come out with a new novel, The Guru of Malad. For more information, go to http://www.xlibris.com/GordonEpperson.html.
7. New Books
8. Prize Winners
There will be a cello competition November 3-10 in the town of Viña del Mar, Chile. The age range is 17-32, and the contestants who are pre-selected will have all their expenses paid to come and compete, including air fare, meals and lodging. There is a pre-audition by video which has to be received by August 3, consisting of various requirements, and from that they select two categories of contestants - those who will have their way paid, and those who won't. The first prize is $9000.00 and various solo appearances with the Chilean Symphonic Orchestra.
The video requirements are material from the first two rounds of the competition, including the Bach D Minor Suite, a Piatti Caprice, a Popper Etude, a virtuoso piece with piano, and a sonata. They save concertos for the third and final round. For more details go to http://www.artmusichile.com.
Dordrecht Cello Festival
Dordrecht Cello Festival, the Netherlands, May 24 - 26. Masterclasses, workshops, recitals and concerts with Conjunto Iberico, Marien von Stallen, Jaap Kruithof, Quirine Viersen, Lucia Swats and Gregor Horsch. http://www.cellofestival.dordt.nl .
6th American Cello Congress/Leonard Rose Competition
6th American Cello Congress (in conjunction with the Leonard Rose International Cello Competition), College Park, Maryland, May 24 - June 2. The competition runs May 24-29. The Congress is May 30 - June 2, on "The ensemble cellist and the art of ensemble performance." Symposia, concerts, and a massed cello ensemble. gmoquin@deans.umd.edu
New Directions Cello Festival 2001
New Directions Cello Festival, University of Connecticut (Storrs, CT), June 15-17. Workshops, exhibitions, concerts, jam sessions with Ernst Reijeseger, Erik Friedlander, Big Fiddle, Rasputina, and the Chris White Quartet. http://www.newdirectionscello.com.
Fourth International Australasian Cello Festival
Fourth International Australasian Cello Festival, Christchurch, New Zealand, July 7-14. Mostly a competition, but with daily masterclasses, workshops, recitals. http://www.music.canterbury.ac.nz/4th%20cello%20festival.htm.
Kobe (Japan) Cello Festival
July 25-29, 2001. They hope to assemble a cello orchestra of 1000 players! Solo performers to be announced. http://www.kobe-cello.com
Kronberg Cello Festival
5th Cello Festival, Kronberg, Germany, Oct. 25-28, 2001. Bohorquez, Bylsma, Cho, Geringas, Gutman, Maisky, Meneses, Mork, Noras, Rostropovich, and the Cellissimo Ensemble. Concerts, workshops, exhibitions. http://www.kronbergacademy.de .
World Cello Congress IV
Plan ahead! World Cello Congress IV will take place May/June 2006 at Towson University, Baltimore, Maryland. Concerts, recitals, masterclasses, workshops, symposia, exhibits, receptions. http://www.towson.edu/worldmusiccongresses .
For those who attended World Cello Congress III, videos are now available at $30 (includes shipping):http://www.towson.edu/worldmusiccongresses/video.html .
Also promised is a "Gala Benefit Performance" in 2003 to raise funds for WCC4. "Many of the greatest stars of the music world will join forces to present a one-of-a-kind event not to be missed."
** If you know of any other cello events happening around the world,
please send word to Roberta Rominger, roberta@rominger.surfaid.org
**
(Please do not abuse this valuable service; check local libraries and resources before contacting Sarah.)
If you know of newsletters, teaching materials,
references, lists or articles that should be added to ICS Library, please
send data to michelj@cwu.edu. (Library
contents will be available to all Internet users; please include author
and written statement of release for unlimited or limited reproduction.)**
2. Cello
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~leonid/cello.htm
3. Das Streichinstrument
http://www.das-streichinstrument.de/links/english/link_collection_english_page
4. Last Resort Music
http://www.lastresortmusic.com
5. Latham Music
6. Summerkeys
http://www.nemaine.com/summerkeys/cello.htm
7. Repetitive Stress Injury (RSI) article
http://www.arts-medicine.com/english/theme15.htm
8. playmusic.org
9. Musicelli Publications
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