Musicalbobberson

It’s Quittin’ Time?

Bob — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 02:55:14 +0000

I have not been doing well in either instrument lately. My piano practice length is slowly decreasing. My violin bow arm can’t play legato and my intonation is nonexistent, not to mention the weird twisting my left hand has been doing. I just can’t pull myself together.

What should I do? I’ve almost lost all hope for continuing. I have a lesson tomorrow, so I’ll see how I do there.

Shaming Bach and Paganini

Bob — Sat, 29 Sep 2007 00:45:28 +0000

Wow. Today, I played horribly. Nothing was good; everything was bad. I was so happy when I played decent yesterday, but all that amounted to nothing.

When I played the Bach (Sonata 2, Grave), my bow was pressed, the string crossings weren’t smooth, good intonation was nonexistent… it was plain b-a-d. Yesterday, I played so smoothly, I felt that I actually got onto a higher level, but no…

On the Paganini Concerto, not much was in tune…

So you think: you’re practicing! fix it! so did I, but I have a very fragile temperament (INFJ; Counselor)and got discouraged so easily that I wanted to quit violin then and there. Whenever I feel this way, I (try to) pull myself together and think ‘Bob, if you quit, you have nothing worth living for, so get your act together!’

I have a lesson tomorrow, and I think I will make my teacher very sad.

Paganini x2: About Stamina

Bob — Mon, 24 Sep 2007 00:49:24 +0000

Today, I practice-performed the first movement of the Paganini Concerto with my accompanist twice. Although both times were not bad, I was only focused for half the time during the second time through, partly because my mom forced me to do it again. My whiny little self didn’t want to go through the whole movement again, making pitiful excuses about how tired I was. Looking back (6 hours to be exact), I regretted acting like a toddler. I also was unappreciative of the work my accompanist put in. For anyone who will listen, I am truly sorry for acting immature and un-musician-like.

Concert performers have incredible stamina! Usually, the most a solo violinist or pianist plays at a concert is one concerto (all movements), but occasionally, they may have incredibly long programs! The young Menuhin (young as in pre-teen!) had such an impressive repertoire, that he could play several concertos at one concert and play encores from memory to the audience’s delight! I need to toughen up if I want to even think of making it into a major orchestra, let alone having a solo career.

Yo-yo Ma and the NY Philharmonic Play Dvorak: Lincoln Center Opening Night

Bob — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 03:00:47 +0000

Today, the NY Philharmonic had an all-Dvorak recital to celebrate the first concert of the season. After playing the Star-spangled Banner (not Dvorak) and the Carnival Overture, Yo-yo Ma played the Dvorak Cello Concerto. It was a very moving performance!

He looked so relaxed when he played, exchanging smiles with the conductor. He was also very intense and deeply involved with the music. He expertly brought out the beauty and fire that is Dvorak. I will not forget this performance!

The Cello Concerto is a great piece of music. If you listened to Dvorak’s 9th Symphony “From the New World” you can easily hear his expert and unique way of composing for the string section, as well as the usage of the brass and woodwind. The story behind the concerto is that Dvorak was inspired by a performance of a cello concerto by a cellist with this very same NY Philharmonic. Before, he felt that the cello could only “squeak” the high notes and “growl” the low notes, but after listening to that cellists performance and going back a second time to listen, he began writing his Cello Concerto that very year.

Additionally, we say good-bye to Beverly Sills, who passed away this summer. Taking her place (permanently?) as host of the Live at Lincoln Center series is the great violinist Itzhak Perlman!

Playing From Your Back

Bob — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 00:49:57 +0000

The beginning of the Mephisto Waltz (#1) by Franz Liszt is riddled with a series of repeated notes, each note played anywhere from six to twelve times. As if that weren’t enough, the common trick of using different fingers to play each note is blown to smithereens because there are repeated chords that span a tenth (interval).

My teacher told me to “play from your back,” pointing to the lower part of my back. Those simple words helped me immensely. Not only did my elbows naturally moved outwards in a circular motion, relaxing my arms, but my sound was also more “open” and rang out more (think bells.) It’s amazing how a simple phrase can change how you play by so much!

Smash Bros. Music

Bob — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 01:41:00 +0000

I was looking at the Super Smash Bros. site and noticed the music section.
The Zelda medley was especially powerful because I played Majora’s Mask as a kid.
The Yoshi ending was pretty cool too.

Return to Blogging

Bob — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 01:54:00 +0000

I’ve returned! Here is an update of what I’m playing:

Violin:

Paganini: Caprice #24 (new)
Wieniawski: Polonaise de Concert (new)
Bach: Sonata No. 2, 1st mvt (new)
Wieniawski: Concerto No. 2, 1st mvt (polishing)
Ravel: Tzigane (polishing)

Piano:

Liszt: Mephisto Waltz
Schubert: “Little A Major” Sonata, 3rd mvt

Going to a Concert

Bob — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 00:03:00 +0000

Today, I went to see a local college student’s recital. She played:

Mozart Sonata in e minor K. 304
Hindemith Violin Sonata
Franck Violin Sonata
Polonaise Brilliante Op. 21 (Wieniawski)

The Hindemith was a bit of a new experience for me. I liked the different style and some of the slow parts. The chords were a bit ‘random’ to me.
I have heard the last movement of the Franck sonata for a billion times, but the other three I rarely listened to. I got a nice surprise when I heard a melody from the 4th movement in the third.

Her playing was musically very good, but her technique was not very good. She struggled a bit through the Wieniawski, and had a little trouble making bigger sound in the Mozart (the piano was very loud.)

Kreisler plays Kreisler -cont’d

Bob — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 00:03:00 +0000

After listening to Kreisler play, I noticed several things:

he is very lax about intonation
he uses a lot of portamento (sliding)
there is always vibrato
his tone is so beautiful and cannot be duplicated or put into words

In some magical way, he plays right to your heart, which (almost) makes you totally forget he is very lax about technique. (In no way is he technically inadept, however. His one finger glissandos and staccato are very good.)

Kreisler plays Kreisler

Bob — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 23:10:00 +0000

Today, I bought some songs from Kreisler plays Kreisler. I bought:

Londonderry Air
La Gitana
The Old Refrain
Liebesleid
Caprice Viennois
Poupee Valsante (The Dancing Doll)

Of the six, Caprice Viennois really captivated me. The portamento (sliding) with the double stops really was very Kreisler-like. I was trying to do work, but found myself just sitting there, listening, and would realize minutes later that I wasn’t working.