Carl-Victor

I have been listening to this work at least once a week for the past six months, and it just keeps growing on me. (I have the Oliveira/London Phiharmonic CD, 1991). I simply cannot understand why it isn't more highly praised. It is ravishing. Perhaps it just takes a violinist to appreciate its depth and artistry. Did past greats record this? Any favorites through the years??

Interesting ; reminds me of a situation a few weeks ago when the oboes hadn't yet made it to the rehearsal so we had to tune to the clarinet instead. Yes, I definitely think the strings should have already tuned but inevitably people rush onto the stage at the last minute.

I have always wondered : why does the concertmaster in some orchestras tune the various sections in order, whereas in others all the players tune at once? Is it a matter of professionalism? And just what is the proper order? Aren't the winds tuned first generally since the strings go out of tune more quickly? I have yet to hear a really satisfying answer to this. Also, when should the tuning take place : after the conductor arrives at the podium, or before?

It's my understanding that Szeryng donated his 1734 Stradivari to the State of Israel in 1972. Does anyone know the conditions of its current usage? The original intent was to have it available for promising young Israeli violinists. Is it loaned out for specific periods or for particular concerts?

I finally managed to read the full N Y Times obit and it gave some further information. One of the notable events was Varga's premiering of Jeno Hubay's 3rd violin concerto in 1937, just after Hubay's death. I am not familiar with this work but now will have to find it. Apparently Varga was taught within the Budapest school by Hubay's most accomplished proteges, as he was two generations removed from Hubay himself, and thus even a generation younger than Szigeti. I believe he was a direct heir of the tradition handed down via Vieuxtemps, who was Hubay's teacher. Another great loss from that wonderful tradition.

GRIMISUAT, Switzerland (AP) - Tibor Varga, a conductor and violinist known for his teaching and for his performances of Bela Bartok and other modern masters, has died at 82, his wife said. Varga died Thursday at his home in Grimisuat, Switzerland, said his wife, Angelika. Varga was born in Hungary and made his public debut with Mendelsohn's E minor concerto when he was 10. He began touring in Europe while a teenager and studied in Budapest and in Berlin. After World War II he performed widely as a violin virtuoso. In 1947 he moved to England, where he obtained British citizenship. He founded the Tibor Varga Chamber Orchestra in Detmold, Germany, in 1954, then moved to Switzerland, where he was based the rest of his life. He continued to conduct the Detmold-based orchestra until 1988. Varga started a summer school in 1963 and organized the Tibor Varga Festival in Sion the following year. An annual violin competition is held in Sion, Switzerland in his honor. His repertoire covered baroque, classical and romantic works, but he was best known for his performances of modern composers like Stravinsky, Schoenberg and Berg. Varga is also survived by his son, Gilbert Varga, likewise an orchestral conductor, and his daughter, Suzanne Rybicki.

This may be a bit toungue-in-cheek, but isn't the most important violinist the last stand second violin? After all, isn't an orchestra only as good as its least accomplished member? Obviously, the best orchestras don't hire anyone without great credentials, but I am thinking more about community and university orchestras, which generally have half a dozen good players, and a lot of barely adequate ones filling up the back spaces.

The violin owned by Thibaud and lost during his fatal airplane crash was a 1709 Stradivari, and owned by Baillot at one time, I believe. I am curious as to what current methods are used to try to keep similarly valuable instruments from vanishing in case of crashes or other disasters? Are they sent in some type of indestructible case, sort of a "black box"? Does the amount of insurance depend on the strength of the case?

I had my curiosity piqued by watching Oistrakh and Kogan playing excerpts from this work on the "Art of Violin" and listened again to my old LP of Oistrakh. Have there been any particularly nice recordings since? Did Heifetz ever make a version? Any others from the Golden Age? Menuhin, Szeryng, etc. Newer artists?

This is quite fascinating. I never knew that some players deliberately choose 7/8 or other smaller violins. This raises another question : are there players who play larger instruments (9/8 violins??) in order to produce a fuller sound?

I haven't seen this but I do recall seeing Elman on the show in the early 60s. Didn't Zimbalist appear as well?

I wish I had spent a far greater portion of my time on Earth playing chamber music. I have missed out on so much of the great inspired string quartet literature, not to mention trios, quintets, etc. etc. I was sort of sold on the idea that playing in an orchestra was the only way to succeed, but now play in all kinds of small groups, from tango bands to folk ensembles. And I'm only just beginning to explore the oceans of excellent quartet recordings. Why isn't this aspect of string playing emphasized more among the young? color>

Yes, this is an interesting use of the semibreve rest. Here is the definition of the usage: The Whole Bar Rest While, in general, every bar will contain the number of beats set by the time signature, in the form of beats, notes or both, there are two occasions where a bar might appear to have an incorrect number of beats. The first of these is where a whole bar rest, identical to the semibreve rest has been used. The time value of a whole bar rest is set by the time signature.

I've been thinking about this and wondering whether the double harmonics sounded more musical when played on gut strings. And another question arises : would Paganini himself even have used vibrato at all in such passages (was vibrato particularly common during his era)?

Excellent! Still as fine a musician as when I heard him live back in 1978. Do you know what he is playing on the Wieniawksi (makes of violin and bow)?