Arbos

My American students refuse to sing, my Spanish ones don’t. My theory is that while in the US music is taught primarily through the instrument, in Spain they learn solfege and choir from the beginning. But I would never say “Americans can’t sing”. I can’t say whether Zukerman is racist or not, but this was not the first time he has mimicked random “Asian” sounds or reproduced stereotypes. Since I am Spanish I’m sure he’d told me to be more passional when I play, or something like that. I am just surprised at how the world works. Why did this particular occasion deserve such a response, and why are people acting surprised and offended *now*, when he’s done the same thing so many times?

Rue, while I agree with you it is hardly the first time he’s mocked Asian people. I was surprised to see a reaction, to be honest.

Only it wasn’t criticism, it was telling them Korean and Japanese people don’t sing because it’s not in their DNA.

If you want to listen to A Gregory in her full glory she has a very good record on Spotify, playing Russian music. If she is playing Don’s violin I think it would be a more faithful test of the instrument.

Hilary Hahn liked her Vuillaume so much she bought another one. Kavakos has played and owned a number of Stradivari violins, same for Joshua Bell. Apparently not any Stradivari is a definitive instrument since soloists like to swap them that much.

How do you know what the “good” ones are? Doesn’t taste count? I tried a 1689 Strad that I liked a lot (and supposedly those are not as good as the Golden Period ones) and then I was not impressed with the del Gesu “Mary Portman” that was played by Kreisler. Also I am not trying to say that everybody in this business acts foolishly, but sometimes I wish people were more naive and just bought what they liked. That would be a more sensible decision than purchasing the copy of what a soloist likes.

I still can’t understand how trying to copy a particular instrument down to the smallest detail and promising that it will look and sound almost like the original (which the buyer probably has never played) can be a viable business strategy. I guess the idea is that if you play like Heifetz (you don’t) your violin won’t hold you back because it is just like his (it isn’t)!

I can’t wait to see awfully antiqued Chinese instruments from the 2000’s for $20000 each. Oh, and then the threads on Maestronet asking whether a particular example is real!

Well, I don’t make instruments, I was just curious! Seeing how the change in models come from players’ preferences I wonder whether modern taste would mean a change in model. It seems to me that innovation in violin making can be found in more precise copying and new strings. Indeed, viola making is a field more open to change and innovation.

Makers of the past tended to copy Amati and Stainer, but at some point everybody starting copying Stradivari and, a little later, Guarneri del Gesu. The most accepted theory is that it happened because these models give a more powerful sound, more suitable for the music of the time. Where do you all see the violin going in the future? It seems like del Gesu has displaced Stradivari as the most inspiring or copied maker these days and I wonder if in a hundred years people will be copying Balestrieri, for example.

Your bow hold and elbow height are very beautiful and remind me of the great violinists of the past. Something that helps me with intonation is relating fingers to open strings when I can form perfect intervals. For example, on the D string I can do first finger E with open A (perfect fourth), third finger G with open G and fourth finger A with open A. It has helped me tremendously!

Very interesting, thanks!

So far this is the violin that has taken the most to have a somewhat solid opinion about. Do you all just think it is too idiosyncratic to classify? I’ve taken a look at the pictures by OP and it reminds me of Steinhardt’s violin, that supposedly started as a viola!

Considering that most of us don’t have very good recording equipment and an orchestra to play with, this video is an interesting opportunity to learn a little bit about how a soloist sounds on a phone without accompaniment and compare it to our own practice. I have enjoyed and appreciated Hahn’s practice videos for the same reason and it is absolutely true that the bow noise fades really quickly in the hall. Nevertheless she is rather crunchy, as you can hear in all her recordings! I really don’t think that this (or her practice journal) is a self-aggrandizing gesture. For someone with a reputation of perfection, who allegedly even counts the number of oscillations in her vibrato, playing a concerto WITHOUT the orchestra is a huge risk and she does miss some notes here and there, which is harder to notice when the orchestra is playing.

“Your elbow is too high” *picture of Heifetz in the background*