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Membership Letters
Gosh, it has been awhile, hasn't it? One of the reasons for this is that articles are not being sent in and the proverbial well has been dry lately. Promised articles never materialized. Please send in those articles, such as descriptions of your local cello scene, master class reports, cello fiction, cello poetry, articles, etc. Thanks!
Tim Janof
Editor
>> Thank you for writing and posting your memorial to Robert LaMarchina. He was a very special artist and human being and there are many more that mourn the world's loss. I first met Maestro LaMarchina when I was a 17 year old mezzo-soprano in Hawaii. My first performance was in the spring of 1971 at Kauai's War Memorial Convention Hall. Les Ceballos and I were considered THE young vocal talents on the island and were seniors in our respective high schools of Waimea and Kapaa High. We were the featured soloists in selections from 'The Sound of Music' with the Symphony, Maestro conducting. Upon graduating from U.H. Music School, Manoa, I performed as Alto Soloist in Handel's 'Messiah', December 1976, conducted by Maestro Robert LaMarchina.
I had always respected LaMarchina's professional manner in treating his soloists. He meant business and expected the best out of us. Granted he had the reputation of a shameless womanizer, but he was always the perfect gentleman around me. He did not feel it was worth compromising my vocal performance for the sake of his machismo. Sorry to say, this courtesy did not always extend to the chorus members, many who knew him as "Bobby Baby." Maybe I was one of the fortunate ones or perhaps he genuinely liked me. It's just that he never made me feel uncomfortable and at times there would be moments of true musical connection that only he knew how to elicit. I would float off the stage!
I found him a strict taskmaster in rehearsal and I never disappointed him in either singing or acting. I worked again with him later in HOT's Carmen and Manon Lescaut and as Flora in La Traviata (at Kapiolani Park Bandstand) as part of a City & County offering. There were other parts in productions conducted by guest conductors, but Maestro would always present and would visit backstage to encourage and congratulate me.
I was one of the original Le Bon singers at the popular 70's Kapiolani Blvd. eatery and he was a regular guest bringing his wife and VIPs such as Aram Khatchaturian and Mary Costa. He was a frustrated baritone and it didn't take much to twist his arm at Don Conover's piano bar. 'Satin Doll' was one of his favorites and 'Devil Moon' and he did the songs credit.
It was really too bad that his career had such a tragically disappointing end. He was not one to "brown nose" the Board Members and made some disastrous mistakes in tact that contributed to his 'Virtual Blackball.' I can truly sympathize with his plight as I have been around this community long enough to witness it with other fine artists.
This small pond was far too cruel for his artistic temperament and chose to ignore his brilliant talents.
Anonymous
>> I want to respond to Carrick's letter in the March/April newsletter. Carrick said: "I blame the cello greats like Casals who 'rediscovered' the suites but had no idea of baroque performance practice, so played (and edited and published) the suites not as dances but as vehicles for the sonority and unique tone inherent in the romantic manner of playing the cello. And darn if the music doesn't sound great this way."
While I won't attempt to justify my differing opinion of the dance qualities in Casals' playing of the suites, it is harsh and unfair to 'blame' Casals for anything. The apocryphal stories of his 'rediscovery' of the suites are, indeed, true for they were not yet widely known as masterworks, except among rare musicians like Schumann, when he began to play them. There was certainly no performing tradition of the cello suites (or, for that matter, the solo violin works), and Casals played a major role in the dissemination of this music. It is equally absurd to hang Casals for not adhering to baroque performance practise since, ultimately, it is an historical movement which was nearly fifty years off when Casals began studying the suites. There had not yet been serious scholarship of such things nor any attempt to assimilate the ideals of what we now call 'historically-informed performance practise.'' Obviously we hear Casals' playing of the suites differently today in light of all that has come since, from recordings by Bylsma and Wispelwey to the work of Hogwood, Pinnock, and others, but let's not make a scapegoat of Casals as Richard Taruskin once did in an article in 'Strings' about the suites, holding him (and virtually every other major cellist to have recorded the suites) up as examples of the common destruction of this music.
juilliardrock
>> I read your lament that Yo-Yo Ma has not responded to interview requests. I think Steven Isserlis is a better cellist than Yo-Yo Ma. And he's got a far better sense of humour.
Neal
Vancouver
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Born in Connecticut to a family of enthusiastic amateur musicians, Joel Krosnick has been cellist of the Juilliard String Quartet since 1974. With pianist Gilbert Kalish, his sonata partner for over twenty years, he performs annual recitals at the Merkin and Weill Halls in New York, and has recorded much of the sonata repertoire, including the complete Beethoven and Brahms Sonatas and Variations, and works by Poulenc, Prokofiev, Carter, Debussy, Janácek, Shapey, Cowell, and Hindemith. Mr. Krosnick's principal teachers were William D'Amato, Luigi Silva, Jens Nygaard, and Claus Adam, whom he succeeded in the Juilliard String Quartet. While at Columbia University, he began his lifelong commitment to contemporary music and has performed and premiered many new works, including Donald Martino's Cello Concerto, Richard Wernick's Cello Concerto No. 2, and several works by Ralph Shapey. Appointed to the faculty of The Juilliard School in 1974, Mr. Krosnick has been Chair of the Cello Department since 1994. He has been associated with the Aspen and Marlboro music festivals, the Tanglewood Music Center, Yellow Barn, and Kneisel Hall in Maine.
TJ: You come from a family of amateur musicians.
JK: My father was a violinist as well as a pediatrician and pediatric allergist on the faculty of Yale.
My mother would have been a well-known professional pianist had she been in a later generation. She had played Liszt and Schumann concerti with orchestras around New York in her youth and was a graduate of Juilliard and the Yale Music School. She also played the fiendishly difficult piano parts in the Strauss and Brahms F Major Sonatas in my lessons with Luigi Silva. She wasn't exactly an amateur pianist.
My mother was born in 1904, so she would have been pursuing her career in the 1930's through the 1950's, which is when American women simply didn't go on the road to play music. At that time there was maybe one conductor of a major orchestra who would have hired a female soloist. Facing such obstacles, my mother chose to start a family instead.
My brother, Aaron, is a fine professional violinist. He taught for years at the University of Jacksonville in Florida. He and I grew up playing piano trios with my mother.
William D'Amato was your first cello teacher.
He was a cellist in the New Haven Symphony, but he probably earned most of his living doing something else. I think he may have run a dry cleaning establishment. At the same time he was a very fine professional cellist in the area. He used to play in all the pre-New York trial runs of musicals that ran in New Haven. I studied with him for about a year and a half.
Then Luigi Silva joined the Yale faculty and a mutual friend of my family's arranged for me to play for him. I ended up studying with Silva for the next ten years until he died in early 1961.
(Click here for the complete transcript.)
Alisa Weilerstein first came to international attention at the dawn of the 21st century in 2000 at the age of 18, when she won an Avery Fisher Career Grant, was selected for Lincoln Center's Chamber Music Society Two Program, and released her EMI Classics Debut CD to wide critical acclaim. Many have recognized this early recording of pieces by Paganini, Dvorak, Saint-Saens, de Falla, and Janacek wonderfully accompanied by her mother, Vivian Hornik Weilerstein, on piano as one of the true classics in the cello literature. For each piece is played with an extraordinary sensitivity of feeling, unusual creative interpretation, and a distinctively individual, warm, bright, and beautifully articulated tone. The next year in 2001, Alisa was a winner of Carnegie Hall's ECHO "Rising Starts" Award, gave her New York City recital debut at Carnegie Hall's Weill Hall, and played recitals in major European cities and had a celebrated tour of Japan. In July 2002, she had her debut with the New York Philharmonic to an audience of over 80,000 people. The New York Times heralded her as "an enormously talented musician," whose performance of the Dvorak Cello Concerto featured "boldness, assured technique and vibrant tone."
Born on April 14, 1982, Alisa is the daughter of the founding first violinist for twenty years of the Cleveland Quartet, Donald Weilerstein, one of the most sought after violin teachers at the New England Conservatory of Music and at the Juilliard School, and Vivian Hornik Weilerstein, an outstanding pianist, who is professor of piano and chamber music at the New England Conservatory. Her parents have made important recordings of Ernest Bloch's violin and piano sonatas for Arabesque Records as the Weilerstein Duo and with Alisa, as the Weilerstein Trio, which is also the trio-in-residence at the New England Conservatory of Music, they plan to record on all-Dvorak album for Koch in June. Alisa began her study of the cello at age 4 � years, gave her first public recital 6 months later, and had her debut with the Weilerstein Trio at the Round Top Festival in Texas at the age of 6 years. Last fall, the three members of the Weilerstein Trio were all profiled in major magazines. On its September cover, The Strad asked the question: "What makes violin students flock to learn with Donald Weilerstein?" More magazine profiled Alisa and her mother in a November feature on mother-daughter professional teams. This led to their being guests on Jane Pauley's new ABC talk show in which they both spoke about Alisa's fascinating childhood, ending with her heart-rending playing of Saint-Saens'"The Swan".
As a soloist, Alisa made her debut at age 13 in October 1995 playing Tchaikovsky's "Rococo Variations" with the Cleveland Orchestra. She then became one of the youngest musicians to be signed by the esteemed International Creative Management . She went on to attend the Cleveland Institute of Music's Preparatory Program and then enrolled as a full-time history major at Columbia University, while at the same time studying at the Juilliard School with Joel Krosnick and concertizing with major symphonies around the world, typically playing from 50-70 concerts per year. She receives standing ovations and rave reviews wherever she performs, and continues to be engaged by leading orchestras, such as the Leipzig Gewandhaus, the New York Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra, and the Baltimore, St Louis, National, San Francisco, Detroit, Columbus, the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Barcelona, and Houston symphonies, among many others. Alisa Weilerstein is one of the most popular concerto and recital soloists on the international scene for her charismatic, compelling and exciting stage presence, the physical and emotional intensity and passion of her playing, and the natural expressiveness and deep feeling with which she imbues each note that she plays.
DA: I feel very lucky to catch up with you for this interview, since you seem to have an extremely busy schedule. Can you give us a glimpse of your current schedule?
AW: Well, on May 4 I go to San Antonio to play Haydn D Major Concerto. From there I go to Lisbon, where I'll be playing Schumann Concerto. Immediately after that I go to Buenos Aires to play Shostakovich Concerto #1 at the Teatro Colon, and from there I go to the Spoleto Festival USA. At Spoleto, a typical schedule consists of lots of rehearsing and playing at least two chamber music concerts a day! Right after that I head to Boston to record with the Trio. So, three concertos in three continents! My engagements following this itinerary include performances with the Cleveland Orchestra, National Symphony, Colorado Symphony, Phoenix Symphony and many others...
Phew! Well, let's go back to the beginning. How did you come to play the cello?
Both my parents are fantastic musicians. My father was the first violinist of the Cleveland Quartet for twenty years (1969-1989) and my mother is a pianist. They would both practice daily in the house and would often bring their colleagues over to rehearse with them. My parents also played many recitals together. I loved listening to them practice so much that apparently I'd have terrible tantrums if my mother practiced less than three hours a day. I also was a very precocious concert-goer; apparently I was six weeks old when I first went into a concert hall. My connection with the cello specifically first started when I was about 2 1/2 years old. There was one time when my father was in Europe playing concerts with the Quartet, and my mother was about to leave town to play concerts with other colleagues. The night before she left, I got chicken pox. My grandmother, who was coming to take care of me in any case, felt so sorry for me that she brought me a string quartet of instruments that she had made herself--out of cardboard cereal boxes. The cello, made out of a Rice Krispies box with an old toothbrush for the endpin, was the instrument I immediately fell in love with. I ignored the others completely. So I was so happy when my parents returned to their "normal" routines of practicing and rehearsing, because now I could participate! I have an early memory of trying desperately to make some sound come out of the little cello while my parents were rehearsing together. Eventually I was no longer satisfied with my cereal box, and at age 4 I asked my mother for a real cello and a cello teacher. Both my parents were reluctant at first because they were sure I was too young, but they soon relented. I began lessons a couple of months after that, and I instinctively knew that this was what I wanted to do. My ultimate dream at that point was to play the Dvorak Concerto with orchestra.
Your parents didn't have to keep after you to practice?
Not really. Of course they instilled good practice habits, but I was (luckily!) pretty self motivated early on. I really want to stress here that my parents were the opposite of stage parents; if anything, I was the pusher. They always wanted me to take my time developing before going to the next step.
(Click here for the complete transcript.)
Hello cellists of the world.
From Buenos Aires, Argentina, I will try to describe the best I can the cello scene in my country. Since I am the first to write about it I guess it will be difficult to put it all in a short article. I hope I can do it well enough.
My name is Ignacio Berghelli. I like classical music mainly, but I like tango too. The main reason why I like tango is, I think, because I was born in Buenos Aires and I can easily relate to the music's feeling, as well as the situations and places the lyrics of most tango songs describe.
So, I will begin with tango for the first part of the article.
One of the first composers (if not the first. I'm not a tango expert, just an enthusiast.) to include Cello in tango formations and orchestras was OSVALDO PUGLIESE. It was, of course, a difficult task, since innovations in tango are quite often frowned upon by tango purists, and the "orquestas típicas" (typical orchestras) didn't use to include cellos back then. As time went by, this situation changed, and nowadays, fortunately, there are dozens of tango orchestras with cello, sometimes beside the double-bass and sometimes working alone as the rhythm foundation of the band. There are many concerts taking place in Buenos Aires during the week-ends, although it might be difficult to guess which bands include a cellist if you are new to the scene.
As many of you surely know, the great Astor Piazzola formed his Octet band, which was one of the most innovative tango orchestras in history. Many bands in Buenos Aires have included a cello thanks to him.
(Click here for the complete transcript.)
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>> Brahms B-flat Piano Concerto Cello Solo
Mariabanana: I am trying to work out a good logical bowing for this solo. Should I start upbow or downbow? Should the stress fall on the second or third beat? And what bowing should I do at the octave leap?
cbrey: I've always started this tune upbow; listen to the descending bass line and you'll hear that the 4-3 suspension from E-flat to D on the middle beat of the bar is a stress point. Starting on the D string is really nice; no string change to interrupt Brahms' seamless, typically ammetrical musings. But you need plenty of slow bow contact near the bridge to ensure projection.
If you absolutely must start on the A string, cross over to the D string on the whole step C to B-flat. I've heard even professional players cross over on the half step B-flat to A, which always makes me cringe. It's a double fingering sin: nobody can make that stretch without hopping, which means it compromises the legato; and it introduces an unwanted color change on an arrival note which is slower, and therefore more noticeable, than the preceding two notes. Cross strings on scalar whole steps. The distance is shorter. But don't cross at all if you can avoid it.
Slur the last three notes before the octave jump, and play the high F downbow; during the orchestra's answering phrase, you can discretely slip in an upbow, then play the three 8th notes that lead back to the tune downbow, with a graceful diminuendo. That'll allow you to start upbow once again.
When the tune returns in F-sharp major, I don't change bows on the high C-sharp-to-B; I like it upbow at the tip for the gentle repetition of that interval.
misterbrucie: Would starting on the A string, 2nd finger on the E-flat, 1st finger on the D, then crossing to the D string and playing the C with 4th finger work?
cbrey: misterbrucie: your solution is okay, l but has two drawbacks: first, if you can't make the stretch cleanly from C (1st finger) to E-flat(2nd finger), then you have a slide. If that's your intention, great. If not, then perhaps not so great. Second, you leave a fast note (an eighth) to make the string crossing to a slower note (a quarter). Not ideal.
And finally, mariabanana: if you're feeling somewhat distanced from this music, consider the words to which Brahms set a variant of this melody later in his career:
(Poet: von Lingg, I think)
Immer leiser wird mein Schlummer,
Nur wie Schleier liegt mein Kummer
Zitternd über mir.
Oft im Traume hör ich dich
Rufen drauß vor meiner Tür,
Niemand wacht und öffnet dir,
Ich erwach und weine bitterlich.
Ja, ich werde sterben müssen,
Eine Andre wirst du küssen,
Wenn ich bleich und kalt.
Eh die Maienlüfte wehn,
Eh die Drossel singt im Wald:
Willst du mich noch einmal sehn,
Komm, o komme bald!
Ever more peaceful grows my slumber,
Like a thin veil only does my anxiety
lie trembling over me.
Often in my dreams I hear you
calling outside my door,
No one is awake to let you in;
I wake up and weep bitterly.
Yes, I will have to die;
Another will you kiss,
When I am pale and cold.
Before the May breezes blow,
Before the thrush sings in the forest:
if you wish to see me once more,
Come, o come soon!
The song setting is actually in a minor key, and much more "fraught," but it gives you an idea of what he might have been looking for in terms of musical expression. As Artur Schnabel said, it doesn't hurt to know.
BA: Don't be too quick to dismiss the D string start. When Carter first told me about this fingering I thought he was on crack. I didn't think I would ever be able to get the volume of sound I needed starting upbow on the D string. But I played around with it and eventually not only did I learn to produce the amount of volume I wanted, but I became addicted to the sound to the point where I simply can't conceive of playing it on the A string. It makes such a huge difference to keep the same sonority in that first phrase. I've become much more conscious of string choice and maintaining consistent sonority in recent years thanks to Carter.
One other thing I've found very helpful is to be aware of the larger two beats in the measure (i.e. stresses on the 1st and 4th quarters). It makes some of the rhythms later on make fall more logically. I have a recording of Marion Anderson singer Immer Leiser that to me perfectly captures the wistful mood I think the solo should have. I also have a recording of Horowitz/Toscanini/Frank Miller where they actually play it at the marked tempo- (not the famous 1946 recording which was a bit under the marking, but a radio broadcast from the early 50's.) It sounds odd to ears accustomed to the modern performance practice, but it is doubtless much closer to what Brahms envisioned for the movement. Brahms rarely marked tempos and he specifically marked them for this piece. I wonder if I will see anyone try it at his marking in my lifetime...
>> (Elliott) Carter Sonata
AKC1: Any tips from those out there who have learned this piece? Since this is such a difficult piece to put together rhythmically I would be interested to hear how you all approached it, especially in the early stages. In particular there is this damn spot in the first movement (mm. 33 -41) where the pulse in the piano is 5 beats per measure over which the cello is in 4 with subdivisions. I did all the math and rewrote the cello part in 5 so I would understand at least intellectually how it fit. Still... I can't seem to get it right! (that is practicing against the metronome in 5). Yikes..I get a headache just thinking about it. Luckily it is such a great piece that it is worth the blood, sweat and tears. Any advice or stories on how any of you learned it would be wonderfull!?
Bob: This is a great, great piece, and I'm glad you're doing it. It is very hard, though, so starting early is a good idea. But it seems to me you've already made the piece harder than it is. The passage you describe doesn't actually require any subdivisions, it unfolds beautifully and naturally. In m. 33 the cello is playing a "back beat" to the left hand of the piano; together they constitute the quarter-note tempo of m. 35. This "metric modulation" technique -- where a tempo change is anticipated in a rhythmic passage, just as a pivot chord is used to prepare a new key -- is used throughout the Sonata, so you need to become comfortable with it. From m. 35 on, you simply need to stay in the groove you set up in m. 33; just ignore the right hand of the piano. In rehearsal, have your pianist leave the right hand out for the whole passage; you'll see how simply it fits together, and how any rhythmic problems are up to the pianist to deal with, not you. Practicing this spot alone with a metronome or writing it out in 5 is time wasted, IMO.
cbrey: I've performed this piece probably close to 100 times over the past 27 years, and my preference for this passage is to embrace the 4-against-5 groove wholeheartedly. Not to do so, in my opinion, would be akin to re-writing the last 25 or so bars of the timpani part of the Rite of spring in 2/8. It would be so... white....
Just quickly pencil in a chart of the rhythm of 4 against 5 in the top margin of your part. Draw a staff line; mark it 5/4; then write the following:
a quarter note;
a 16th note beamed to a dotted 8th;
two 8th notes beamed together;
a dotted 8th beamed to a 16th;
a quarter note.
Then tie:
the first quarter to the following 16th;
the dotted 8th to the following 8th;
the next 8th to the following dotted 8th;
and the 16th to the following quarter.
Perhaps you've done this in some form already, but it's important to have it there before you in black and white. Practice tapping out this rhythm until it's 2nd nature to you. Then you can play the passage and understand it in your gut, not just intellectually. The clock and the heart of the music in this passage is in the piano right hand, continuing what has gone on since the beginning of the movement. That clock, and its tension with a "dissonant" meter which it will absorb or by which it will be absorbed, is the essence of the sonata and pervades the piece. It makes it alive. Why ignore it?
One other thing, closely related. There are three-note chords beginning in bar 49 that are syncopated one 16th before or after the beat. Cellists often roll these chords comfortably so that the top 2 notes fall on the beat, using the bottom note as a pickup. No! No, no, no! Bad cellists! Straight to your room without dinner! This cop-out sanitizes the rhythm. These chords will not be perceived as syncopated unless the tops fall where notated.
Bob: I would posit that Carter has taken the word "ignore" in my prior post a little too literally. Of course no musician "ignores" anything that is going on. But the cello part is, both before and after m. 35, playing a simple "off beat" pattern to the piano's left hand. If you render that relationship correctly (and the pianist does the quintuplets correctly) the passage is solved. It becomes, dare I even say it, easy.
All three voices of the music are equally important, and I can't really see any reason to choose to "play off of" the more complicated rhythm if doing it the other way (again, assuming a competent pianist) renders the passage just as precisely effective. Re-reading Carter's advice makes my head hurt a little, though he is of course dead-on right about the later chords. I've gnashed my teeth at how many cellists play them.
Apropos of nothing, the composer's original manuscript is in the Library of Congress, and they'll let you look at it if you ask nicely enough. Some interesting stuff -- notes that he wrote as, say, G#, turn into Ab in the published edition. Dynamics obviously later added (from Greenhouse?). Licks with separate notes somehow got slurs put on them by the publisher. Stuff.
>> Don Juan (2 before W)
vlcgirl: Fingering help, please! Right now I'm starting with 3-4 and just trying (and failing) to hop up to 3 for the B. Please help; this is the only bit I can't seem to figure out.
cbrey: My fingering for that bar is (starting on the D sharp, one beat per line):
(G string, upbow) 1 2 1
4 (cross to D string) 2 (shift up D string) 1 3
(cross to A string) 2
I'm a bit puzzled by your starting with 3-4. That doesn't leave you anywhere you need to be.
A basic fingering principle (there are always exceptions, but this isn't one of them) is that when you have an arrival on a static or isolated note after a lot of activity, you should avoid shifting to that last static or isolated note (a piece like Schelomo, for instance, calls for a lot of shifts to finals, but these passages from Don Juan are a universe away from the highly coloristic world of Bloch). You should be in position for it at least one note earlier. Otherwise the shift to that last note calls attention to itself and can sound sloppy. You want these passages to be clean, clean, clean.
4 bars before W, you would start on 2. The next bar would start on 1. In each case, with an extension on 1-4 from F sharp to B natural on the D string, you have no shifts at all. 3 before W the string changes will be in the "wrong" direction, meaning the bow rotation will be "backwards," but for me the clean fingering without shifts trumps string change. Good fingering choices very often involve a tradeoff. How like life! abtleo: If you or anyone else has a fingering suggestion for the bar before H, I'm all ears. I can't find something comfortable there.
cbrey: That's one of the easiest bars in the piece. Have you tried playing it all in one (thumb) position, 3rd finger on the initial C-sharp? Your thumb goes on the A natural. You finish on the G string.
>> Hand Formation
I've noticed over the years that my hands are extremely tight knit, in that each finger doesn't stray far from any other. I can't make the star trek sign and my index finger does not stretch very far from my middle finger at all. People have suggested that I have very interconnected tendons. I make up for my lack of stretch with pronation but would prefer the more straightforward stretch if it wasn't so stressful. Is there anything that can be done to "taffy"-lize my hands? Does anyone else with normal sized hands struggle with routine stretch? Actually, I prefer pronation, but on the first position C-string I find my fingers have to stay flatter which makes extensions really hard for me.
cbrey: It's difficult to know precisely what your difficulty is without watching you play. However, you mention pronation twice in your post, and this suggests a possible cause to me.
One of the most troublesome techniques I encountered from time to time in my years of teaching undergraduate and graduate students at Juilliard and Mannes, and which I still see when teaching masterclasses, was left hand pronation.
By left hand pronation I mean the old-fashioned hand position with a collapsed wrist and fingers held diagonally to the fingerboard. This is terrific for playing the violin, but unhelpful on the cello. I could never fathom why this technique was still being taught, and in fact neither could these students when it was pointed out to them that there was a better way; it has no advantages and one very serious disadvantage. Inevitably, when a student could not handle extensions, pronation was the reason. It was the only area in which I would interfere with a student's accustomed playing method, making it plain that I strongly recommended change.
The only way in which a cellist can play using the full ability of the hand to extend is with the hand absolutely perpendicular to the fingerboard, wrist in a relatively high or at least neutral position. In this way the musician can pivot the hand forward (from the 1st finger) or back (from the 4th finger) with a downward motion of the elbow. It's very easy to see the difference if you hold your hand in a pronated position, then move the wrist up and the fingers into a perpendicular position. There is a visually obvious gain of perhaps a centimeter.
This is the only way a player can, for example, play a scale with seamless transitions from one string to another on a whole step, or playing broken octave figurations (e.g. A natural in 1st position on the G string slurred up to A natural with 4th finger on the D string). This is obviously an important skill in achieving a real legato. Pronation produces a distorted, hooked first finger and reduces the player to a "hopping" technique, which leaves an audible artifact. It has also been my observation that pronation's limitations result in audible slides that have as their raison d'etre not musical points but technical exigencies.
I don't mean to suggest that it's not possible to sound terrific while playing with a pronated left hand; some very gifted folks do manage it. It's just that they do it despite the technique, having figured out ways to circumvent its limitations. Why not start with a clean slate and -- literally-- a more straightforward hand position?
Victor Sazer: You might try releasing your thumb, especially when you want to stretch or open your hand. When you open your hand, the impulse of your thumb is to move away from your hand. Let it happen.
Always keeping your thumb on the neck, opposite your fingers makes it harder to open your hand.
cbrey: One last, hopefully unambiguous word: in a good extension, your first finger will be straight and pointing back toward your ear. In a bad extension, it will be hooked.
>> Ronald Leonard's Orchestral Excerpts CD
I just bought this CD. I'm wondering what other people think of it?
Jon Pegis: It has been quite awhile since I listened to this CD. It seems like Ron Leonard's advice on the slow movement of Beethoven 5 is to play the dotted rhythms between triplets and dotted. In my opinion this is bad advice at just about every orchestra audition. It is precisely the combination of playing a legato dotted rhythm with a shape that makes this excerpt so difficult. I would say keep the rhythm correct unless the audition committee tells you otherwise. ahntyme: He goes on about how important the beginning of Don Juan must be played in rhythm and then promptly plays it out of rhythm.
Bob: The comments by the pros above are well-put. I too found both his remarks and his rendition of the critical Beethoven 5 excerpt odd. I also remember KILLING myself to try to bring out the accents in the Midsummer Night's Dream Scherzo without affecting the rhythm, only to be told (and have it demonstrated) that they weren't really that important.
Ron is a highly gifted cellist. He produces a uniquely beautiful tone, even in tough technical passages. And if you want to hear some funky rhythms, listen to Steve Geber's excerpt CD, available from Shar. It's really difficult to believe that someone who led the cello section in the orchestra most renowned for perfection of ensemble could put out examples like that.
Having said all that, I know I could not play 1/6th as well as these guys on my best day. They earned their positions and held them honorably for decades. They're entitled to a LITTLE indulgence, even though you should probably seek out some second-opinion coaching from an active pro before setting off to emulate exactly what you hear on these CD's.
I notice none of the top-tier solo cellists have ever tried to match Starker's CD of etudes. Exposing oneself in such merciless repertoire takes more than chutzpah. These are the only two excerpt recordings by a single cellist I've seen. Yes, they're both flawed, especially the Geber; but these guys had the guts to put it out there, which is itself admirable. And I would hope that some day others may take up the challenge.
>> Schumann Concerto Tempo
rocel: I'd be interested to know peoples ideas on the tempo of the first movement? Specifically the marking "Nicht zu schnell (quarter=130)".
BA: Casals and Feuermann both play the second theme of the Dvorak at the marked 100 and it doesn't sound at all fast to me. Toscanini took the third mvt of the Bb piano concerto at or near the marked tempo and it makes perfect sense once you have forgotten the slow performances we are accustomed to. If you doubt Rachmaninov's markings, listen to the tempi he takes in his concerti. I've actually heard pianists unfamiliar with his recordings explain to me how his tempo markings couldn't be right...
There is clear and indisputable evidence that performance tempos have generally slowed across almost all aspects of classical performance in the last century, in some cases dramatically. (Yo-Yo plays the second them of Dvorak at 63 in the beginning). A lot of these tempo markings seem frantic to us at first because we are used to something different and because we have to solve technical hurdles, but to the listener they yield a far different perspective on the work and in many cases I believe a preferable one.
Of course no composer expects a tempo marking to be followed rigidly throughout a movement, but I am so tired of hearing that "x"s metronome was defective. I've heard that charge leveled against almost every composer who ever wrote a metronome marking. "Nobody plays it that fast" doesn't do much for me either.
Just like playing the actual notes the composer wrote rather than what I think he meant, I put my trust in the fact that the great composers were a heck of a lot better musicians that I. When I run into a metronome marking that seems intuitively to be wrong to me, I force myself to spend at least a week playing it around the marked tempo to get used to it, and then decide what I prefer. There's never been a case so far when the marked tempo didn't ultimately end up making more sense to me than what I originally felt.
cbrey: I first heard Steven Isserlis play this concerto at the marked tempi, and he totally convinced me. I always play it at 130 now.
It seems to solve the perennial problem of "wandering" that plagues this piece. It can sound vaguely discursive at best, and unstructured at worst. Playing at Schumann's metronome marking, for me at least, imparts a sense of urgency that is, well, Schumanesque. Those first few bars with no downbeats in the orchestra sound breathless rather than tired, zum Beispiel.
By the way-- what's the deal with all the idiotic accretions, emandations and simplifications, as well as the cadenza, in the International edition? What is the point? Why are those people not languishing in a Turkish prison with rats competing for their quotidian crust of bread, as they would be in a just world?
>> Shostakovich Concerto
rawchicken: Does anyone know where I could find a copy of Shostakovich's manuscript of his first cello concerto? Also does anyone have any advice on how to interpret the staccato/tenuto marking that appears over so many of the notes in the first movement?
cbrey: Why not simply buy the 1959 recording with Rostropovich/Ormandy/Philadelphia? It was written for him and he was a close friend and student of the composer. That's about as authentic as you're gonna get, and cello playing does not get any more spectacular than Rostro at his technical peak.
mvotapek:I had a lesson on this with Rostropovich, and he took a black marker to my score and wrote all his changes in it. I know this is stupid, but part of me was thinking "he's ruining my score!" But of course now i have a 3rd-hand authentic score. (most of the changes are simply dynamics being adjusted in the tutti part...i can't honestly say it's had much effect on interpretation.)
My personal advice on the dot/dash notes is to play them just like they look. He uses dots in many places both in the concerto and in other works. Assuming these dot/dashes are the composer's, it would seem he was after a longer detached note. I hope these markings are authentic...to me they really define the difference between the classical aspects and the folk or brutal aspects of the piece. Often i hear the concerto performed without this difference at all, something that i have a hard time accepting based on the rhythm and structure and orchestration of the piece, let alone the articulations.
>> Starker
andrei: Many years ago I took a masterclass from Starker following his performance of a couple of Beethoven sonatas. I noticed the same thing listening to his recordings, as well as in his above-mentioned performance.
Nearly EVERY cadence had the dissonance with no vibrato and the resolution with vibrato, ultimately becoming actually louder (more resonant) than the dissonance, in contradiction to many "rules" of phrasing. When asked, he said that non-vibrato increases the tension of the dissonance - maybe in theory, but not in actual playing, imho. (This assumes that the role of the bow is consistent whether the LH does vibrato or not, which is unrealistic, anyway). At any rate, it is manneristic, and is seems lifeless and non-human to give less rather than MORE expression to the point of maximum dissonance (ever argued passionately with someone?).
Starker always struck me as someone who has figured out each and every detail of expressive playing, and implemented these as needed, somehow bypassing the heart...
It's efficient and reliable playing at best, but is is truly NATURAL? I know I'd rather hear expressive, moving, memorable (albeit imperfect, at times) playing, rather than a cold, efficient, impersonal performance.
Partly because of this, he remains for me a supreme craftsman whom I respect as such, rather than an artist that moves me or whose recordings I ever crave listening to. Yes, I know, there's myriad of his disciples waiting in the wings to attack me, as well, but, please, it's a question of taste, not a personal attack...
When I go to a concert/recital I want to leave feeling the luckiest person alive because I do music, this wonderful art, I play the most amazing instrument ever, and life is great. I want to go home and play the cello 25 hrs/day because it is the most musical/vocal/heartfelt of instruments, and not to conquer some technicality that I was temporarily impressed by.
BTW, in the case of the afore-mentioned masterclass, I learned a heck of a lot more about music from his pianist at the time, Gyorgy Sebok, I must say.
batmanvcl: We've had some lively starker threads here in the past, but unless I missed something, people have always been free to like or not like his playing without being belittled by others on the board.
To the folks who finds his playing "cold" or "icy": this is an accusation of sorts which has been leveled against Starker for over 60 years. He's heard those words a thousand times (or maybe more), and it's nothing new. He might even be amused that a whole new generation has picked up the torch and carried on with the "icy" bit. Has everyone seen the book with the caricature of starker holding his cello in a big block of ice? Yes, the book which starker himself co-authored?
Surely we can all admit that if the guy had little or nothing to offer in terms of emotional content for everyone listening, his list of accomplishments would be significantly shorter than it is. I will not defend anything he does on the cello. I will simply point out that his level of professional achievement scarcely would have been possible if he were simply someone who had mentally figured out every aspect of cello playing. The length and breadth of a career like his does not happen by accident.
About the vibrato thing: do you guys all hate, for example, Daniil Shafran for the same reason? Like starker, he has a very distinctive use of vibrato which is often the same (fast) speed. And he's not the only one. Let's share the loathing, at least.
And finally, many of those who "defend" (as if he really needs it) Starker are people who have studied with him. His achievements as a teacher are not what this thread is about thus far, but I know many of his students just roll their eyes when these same criticisms keep coming up. I will freely admit that my thoughts of the man are based on personal contact with him as one of my teachers rather than on any recording I heard or master class I participated in. You could say I had a more complete exposure to him as a musician than one who did not study with him, and I respect him as much as it's possible for me to respect anyone. Obviously, this is not tantamount to adoring every single thing he does when he picks up the cello.
In a long-ago thread, someone made a very insightful post about the "conservatory" mentality -- that very blunt, comparative way in which people (mainly students) tend to evaluate performers and summarily dismiss them. The student hears something which sounds weird, is contrary to what they are working toward with their teacher, goes against their cellistic belief system, and for which they don't have a readily available explanation. Then they put down the performer with a comment like "how can anyone play like that?" I know the reason that it's tempting to do this, particularly for younger cellists who are trying to establish their own musical voices and opinions which will guide them through their studies. But remember that these comments generally reveal much more about the speaker than about the performer in question.
Shouldn't hearing cello playing which is strange to us make us want to find out more about it? Explore it? Make us want to figure out what it is about that person that makes them a highly regarded musician? We have something to learn from almost everyone we hear, and when that person is an iconoclast like Starker, let's look at the playing as an opportunity, not as a vehicle to divide us into two camps.
BA: I try to refrain from the Starker discussions, as I know some of his students here to be wonderful cellists and I know well the pain of seeing a beloved and deeply thoughtful teacher attacked for their flaws while their virtues are summarily dismissed. However, against better judgment, I feel the need to say something on this. What follows is my opinion- I have strong personal opinions on what I think cello playing should sound like. You are free to disagree. I certainly don't expect anybody to feel the need to agree simply because of my background. Those who know me will testify that I am a regular idiot.
The thing I have never been able to get past with Starker is his sound. To me, sound is the most personal characteristic of a string player. The ones I consider great had ravishingly beautiful, deeply human and expressive sounds, just like great singers. My experience with Starker has always been that- to me - his sound is bright, edgy and rather monochrome. It simply doesn't give me the reaction that I want; the reaction that I get from the 'ravishing' sounds of the string players I prefer, such as Feuermann, Heifetz (ignore the close miking of the late recordings- listen to the ones from the 30s and 40s), Kreisler, etc, etc...
Many here have called his playing 'cold', which to me is simply intellectual laziness- giving an easy pejorative rather than investigating why one gets that impression. My problem with his phrasing is that I don't hear long lines. Starker tends to relax between small parts of a phrase or even on each note. I rarely hear him crescendo through a note. Take for example those four upbeat E's at the beginning of the Schubert clip. All played in the same dynamic, same attack, same sound. This doesn't create a long phrase (in contrast with how the pianist plays it.) Compare his phrasing in the Brahms clip to Preucil's. Notice how Preucil creates the arc of the long line, while Starker tends to play in far smaller bits of a few notes at a time. (And of course the slow tempo doesn't help the long phrases either.) Contrast their sounds and use of vibrato while you're at it.
The space between musical tension and relaxation with Starker is very small, and often virtually every note decays. It may help him to be relaxed, but I also think is what is interrupting the long line and causing you to not feel 'moved' by the music. Also there is a limited dynamic range, and - to me- rather careless use of open strings and non-vibrated notes that again interrupt the phrase by causing certain notes to stick out for the wrong reasons. I would agree with the analysis of a certain lack of variance in the vibrato as well.
I am somewhat baffled as to why everyone seems to agree that Starker has historically unmatched facility on the cello. He's great certainly, but there are certainly some intonation issues on his etude recordings, which seem to be held up as impeccable here, and in every live performance I've heard of his. I'm not saying that it isn't on a very, very high level, or that I or any average cellist could necessarily do better, but I don't see him to be superior technically to Rostropovich in his young prime, Feuermann or several others, including some living cellists.
However, having said all that, no cellist can be measured simply as a checklist of 'things I don't like'. Clearly Starker is a great teacher, a wonderfully gifted cellist and a thoughtful musician. I'm sure there's a lot we can all learn from watching him play, even if we don't agree on all aspects of it.
These days I find things in just about every cellist that I admire (and try to steal) and other things I don't personally agree with, even in my most beloved performers. Often I learn from analyzing what I don't agree with, as well as what I do, but passing an overall qualitative judgment on a player, as seems to be the national sport around here, becomes more and more elusive to me as I age musically (and physically...) I will leave the rankings to the googlefighters. On my listening pile are several new Starker CD's I've purchased in an effort to become more versed in his playing. When I was younger I focused on listening primarily to the things I loved- trying to learn to imitate- but these days I also take pleasure from trying to stretch my ears to at least hear and learn from different approaches, though I may ultimately disagree with them. It helps me to grow as a musician. While I support the value of constructive, thoughtful and detailed criticism like Andrei's in place of meaningless hyperbole ('he can play any piece in the repertoire with ease and beauty'), I also hope you will continue to listen to everyone, with an attitude of respect and curiosity.
Bob: I studied with Starker, and am close to him, so my comments carry that bias. Batmanvcl said most of what I would, only better.
But I do wonder if other people wonder how it is that someone who has unvarying vibrato, whose shifts are all similar, whose playing is manneristic and seems lifeless and non-human, and who plays with icy-cold rigidity has enjoyed a decades-long world-wide solo career, sold hundreds of thousands of recordings, won Grammys, had top talent fight to get into his studio, and been acclaimed (outside this thread) as one of the great string virtuosos of our time? Hmm. Could it possibly be that some folks here are MISSING SOMETHING?
To BA, no one respects your opinions and analysis more than I do. But if you're going to make pronouncements about Starker and his art from video clips made when he was in his late 70's, then I would ask you to make comparisons to your heroes when THEY were in THEIR late 70's. Until then, let me offer this short list to you and the few others to whom batmanvcl's next-to-last paragraph doesn't apply. THIS is what Starker sounds like, and if you have someone who can do any of this better, I would be grateful for the reference (note; listed labels are important):
Kodaly (EMI)
Italian Baroque Sonatas (Mercury)
Lalo (Mercury)
Popper (Delos)
Bach (Mercury)
either Haydn (Delos)
Prokofiev (EMI)
Martinu Variations (Mercury)
Brahms Sonatas (RCA)
Brahms Double (DG)
He is not a god, and I don't care for everything he does on the instrument. But I do snicker when young'uns dismiss one of the great masters of the cello, not knowing how much more it says about them. I guess all those generations of concert-goers and record-buyers are just stupid.
David Sanders: Some of the greatest cello playing I have ever heard has come from Starker. His Kodaly unaccompanied sonata at the Ravinia Festival; the Castelnuevo-Tedesco Marriage of Figaro at Carnegie Hall in 1973 or 74, I forget; his Beethoven F Major sonata demonstration at Banff; his Boccherini A Major sonata demonstration the first time I played for him in 1972. All very memorable. There are some things I've loved of his, and some things I haven't. There are some things from Rostropovich I've loved, and some things I haven't. There are some things from Rose I've loved, and some things I haven't. There are some things from Feuermann I've loved, and some things I haven't.
But I think many of the intelligent posts in this thread have been right on. There are many, many cellists with much to offer us, and I certainly believe that Starker is one of them.
>> Vibrato
ARBettridge: I just played in a class for Dennis Brott, who, among many things, gave me a long lecture about vibrato and how it should only be on the bottom side of the pitch. I'm pretty confused by this whole issue; everything I know about pitch synthesis in the ear says that an even vibrato around a pitch would sound like the note one was aiming for.
Horst: I have synthesized (using my PC and software) tones with vibrato to any side and compared it to the same tones without vibrato. My results were always the same as yours: around a pitch sounds best, slightly to the sharp side acceptable, but to the bottom side? Flat notes always sound flat and depressive, just the opposite of what you want to achieve by vibrating a note... and the vibrato movement of the left arm, hand etc. will be extremely unnatural and ugly if you try to vibrate to one side only.
There is one unknown factor in this game: The human brain. Though I think that most players will favor the balanced vibrato around the pitch of the note, there might be people who have a different sense of pitch, detecting the highest frequency of the vibrated note as the pitch of the note, and as a consequence, they will favor a vibrato towards the bottom side.
Victor Sazer: In my opinion, Dennis Brott gave you good advice!
The upper edge of your finger stops part of the string from vibrating and controls the length of string that is permitted to vibrate. This determines the pitch of each note and holds true whether your finger is as wide as your hand or as thin as a dime.
When the vibrato is pulled to the flat side of a note, your body's natural elasticity automatically takes it back to the note. For every pulled stroke, you get an extra reactive motion with no additional effort. A vibrato that is pushed upward must be actively returned downward. A pushed vibrato also tends to sharpen the pitch.
This approach in no way changes the central feeling of balance in your arm/finger, which obviously moves in both directions. It just means that you begin from an in-tune note and your first stroke is in a downward direction. The human ear registers the pitch at the top of the oscillation.
Bob: The way this discussion has gone here over the years bears an unfortunate resemblance to the evolution/creationism dust-up. Scientists say "there's no scientific basis for creationism." Creationists say "to us there is, thus there's a debate." The fact that the creationists believe what they believe simply because they believe it creates, for them, a public "debate" even though the discussion really isn't about science. And so although this was much more fully worked-out in several long threads years ago, I shall rouse myself to debunk this canard yet one more time because of the harm that acceptance of it can do to one's playing.
"The upper edge of your finger stops part of the string from vibrating and controls the length of string that is permitted to vibrate."
True, and irrelevant.
"When the vibrato is pulled to the flat side of a note, your body's natural elasticity automatically takes it back to the note. For every pulled stroke, you get an extra reactive motion with no additional effort. A vibrato that is pushed upward must be actively returned downward."
This badly misunderstands (or misstates) the basic vibrato action. But it is simple enough to rebut: (1) Place your right hand on your left shoulder (2) place your left hand on your forearm as if playing a note on the cello (3) first hold it steady, then do a vibrato. Notice, it is simply a shaking action, one that goes naturally above and below the starting point. If you get bollixed up with Brott/Sazer theories, you will develop an inhibited, tense motion, for fear that you might accidentally go above the starting point.
"A pushed vibrato also tends to sharpen the pitch." v Yes, and a pulled vibrato tends to flatten the pitch. Which is why the natural shaking motion - both above and below - is best.
"It just means that you begin from an in-tune note and your first stroke is in a downward direction."
Again, simple empirical observation disproves this. In the normal course of playing, from one note to another, we begin vibrato in either direction, depending on a variety of factors. I cordially invite anyone to demonstrate otherwise.
"The human ear registers the pitch at the top of the oscillation."
This is the biggest falsehood of all, disproved by everyone from cellobass to Gerhard Mantel to Bernard Greenhouse. As to the latter, Greenhouse's exquisite vibrato DOES go above the pitch, whatever the motion may appear to be to Mr. Victor. He is quite insistent on this and spends time in lessons making sure the student does the same. And for good reason. Aside from any practitioners, the simple illogic of this "vibrate flat" idea is breathtaking. If the ear is only "registering" the top of each vibrato oscillation, what is it doing with the other 95% of the pitch? And what about non-vibrato notes, which come almost as often? How does the ear decide to retain 100% of THOSE pitches and throw out 95% of the vibrated ones? Ridiculous.
There are, as we see, still some "vibrato creationists" out there who believe what they believe regardless of logic and empirical evidence. But if you wish to progress and reach your highest level on the instrument, you will avoid them. What people think they hear and what they are actually hearing can be two different things, as demonstrated on this thread.
1. Siegfried Palm dies
German cellist Siegfried Palm died on June 6th 2005 at age 78. He was best known for his lifelong enthusiasm and fight for contemporary music and inspired many composers for new works, among them Blacher, Kagel, Ligeti and Penderecki. Beside his performing career he was active in many other cultural areas. Among others, he was director of the Cologne Musikhochschule, the Deutsche Oper Berlin, and president of the International Society for New Music.
2. Elsa Hilger dies
Elsa Hilger, who never missed a performance in 35 years as a cellist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, except the day her son was born, died May 17. She was 101. http://www.empirewhoswho.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=bioofweek&bioID=4.
3. Kevin McCrae dies
Cellist, composer, and arranger Kevin McCrae, aged 43, has died, after an accident at a level crossing near his home in East Lothian, Scotland. For 18 years he played with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra, but left the ensemble to pursue his growing career as a composer and arranger.
4. New Cello Chat Boards
A new forum for German speaking cellists has been created: www.cello-forum.de. Another for Dutch cellists has been created as well: http://www.takeforum.com/forum/?mforum=strijkers.
5. Suggia recording re-release
6. New Piatigorsky historical novel
Grisha, the Story of Russian-American Cellist Gregor Piatogorsky, by Margaret Bartley has been published by Otis Mountain Press.
7.Isserlis appointed UK ESTA's New President
Steven Isserlis has become president of the UK branch of the European String Teachers Association.
8. Cello Care Guide
Robin Aitchison and Sarah Mnatzaganian, who run a making, restoring, and dealing business, offer a guide to instrument care:
http://www.silviodallatorre.com.
9. Midem Classical Awards
Christopher Nupen's film, Jacqueline du Pré in Portrait won the prize for best DVD in the Concert/Documentary category. Miklós Perényi's disc of complete Beethoven Sonatas with András Schiff won an award in the Chamber Music category.
10. The Outer Banks Cello Institute with Eugene Friesen
The Outer Banks Cello Institute
with Eugene Friesen
www.celloman.com
October 8th-14th, 2005
Northern Outer Banks, North Carolina
Retreat limited to 20 adult participants
To enroll and for more information, please visit
http://www.classactsontour.com/special/program2.htm
The Cello Institute is a unique opportunity for intermediate and advanced
cellists to study with master teacher, performer, and Grammy winner Eugene
Friesen on the scenic Outer Banks of North Carolina. Designed for performers
wanting to expand their abilities in improvisation and non-classical styles,
as well as teachers interested in adding improvisation to their curriculae,
the retreat will take place over the week that includes Columbus Day,
considered to be the most idyllic season on the banks.
The camp schedule allows for unprecedented interaction between twenty adult
participants and one of the most exciting cellists of our time in an
informal setting which will include master classes, private lessons,
opportunities for student jams, and performances. As an extra bonus two
additional retreats will run simultaneously in the immediate vicinity: a
harmonica retreat with Howard Levy and a percussion and vocal retreat with
Glen Velez and Lori Cotler. All participants will enjoy live performances
and lectures by the teaching artists, and will have the opportunity to jam
with percussionists, vocalists and harmonica players throughout the week.
The Cello Institute participants will be lodged in a luxury beach cottage in
the ocean side community of Ocean Sands. Ocean Sands is located on the
expansive northern beaches of the Outer Banks. Amenities include: gourmet
dining, expansive meeting rooms for classes, Jacuzzis, decks, morning yoga
sessions, a private pool, and the breathtaking sunrises and endless
unspoiled beaches of the northern Outer Banks.� Participants may choose to
lodge in their own private suite, to share a room with another musician, or
to bring a non-participant guest who can enjoy the beach and local
attractions.
Don't miss this opportunity to energize your playing and teaching in a
beautiful setting!
11. Eva Janzer Memorial Cello Center Awards
The members of the Eva Janzer Memorial Cello Center board of directors have announced the selection of the 2005 candidates to the Chevalier & Grand Dame du Violoncelle certificate award. The celebration will honor Marta Casals Istomin and Laurence Lesser for their multifaceted contributions to the cause of cello playing and musical life in general. As performers, teachers, and administrators they wrote themselves into the history books. The Eva Janzer Memorial Cello Center will be proud to bestow upon them the title Chevalier & Grand Dame du Violoncelle. Events will take place on Sunday, September 25, 2005 in Recital Hall at the Indiana University School of Music.
12. Orchestral news
15. More Cello News
A cello news link has been engineered using Google.com's features. Be sure to bookmark it.
http://news.google.com/news?hl=en&q=cellist+cello&btnG=Google+Search
2. Wikipedia
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cello
3. New Directions Cello Association
http://www.newdirectionscello.com/
4. Cello Page for Kids
http://www.dsokids.com/2001/dso.asp?PageID=218
5. Ethan Winer
http://www.ethanwiner.com/cello.html
6. Cello Fan Listing
http://www.flatoutblind.org/cello/
7. Cello Stuff
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~leonid/cello.htm
8. Hickey's Cello Catalog
http://www.hickeys.com/cgi/display.cgi?page=vccat.htm
9. Elgar Cello Concerto
http://www.elgar.org/3cello-a.htm
10. Cello Coloring Fun for All
http://www.dsokids.com/art/colorbook/cello.html
11. Schumann Concerto
http://www.proarte.org/notes/schumann.htm
12. Brandeis Cello Society
http://my.brandeis.edu/clubs/cello
12. Baroque Cello
http://www.crosssound.com/CS99/Play99/GuestInstruments/BaroqueCello/CELLO.html
13. Theremin Cello
http://www.obsolete.com/120_years/machines/theremin_cello/
14. A Twilight Concerto for Rats and Cello
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lopez29may29,1,4615110.column?coll=la-headlines-california
15. Servais Strad
http://americanhistory.si.edu/collections/object.cfm?key=35&objkey=21
16. Some Century for the Cello!
http://www.scena.org/lsm/sm8-7/violoncelle_luthier%20_en.htm
17. Paul Tortelier
http://www.gwentbachsociety.co.uk/history/PaulTortelier.htm
18. Carter Brey, Runner
http://msn.runnersworld.com/article/0,5033,s7-197-0-0-8327,00.html
http://msn.runnersworld.com/article/0,5033,s7-197-0-0-8327,00.html 19. Travel Difficulties
http://www.richardharwood.com/latest2005_may_privateeye.html
20. Luigi Bonzanini
http://www.infinito.it/utenti/bonzanini.luigi
21. Los Cellistas
http://www.loscellistas.com.ar/
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