Where has originality and character gone in the art of Violin playing?

ack

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Fantastic technique
 

LL21

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Yup... I did a quick search for Pat Kop (her full name actually) on YouTube, and found a host of awesome performances and very insightful interviews as well. Yes guys, that's what YouTube was made for :)

Funny thing is last year, while researching Tchaikovsky's Violin Concerto (that became one of my favorite violin pieces), I heard Teodor Currentzis' 2016 interpretation. At the same time, I was fast becoming a huge Currentzis fan, and that Violin Concerto, paired with a spooky "Les Noces", was unbelievable, and shot quickly up in my preference to be my fave modern interpretation. I read the booklet and everything, but somehow I didn't register the name of the lead violin... And guess who that is? Pat Kop :)

This is the album on Qobuz:
https://open.qobuz.com/album/0886445509304

Funny...I bought this a few months ago after listening to a few snips on Amazon. I tis good though I personally struggle to listen to the Stravinsky myself...but that is not the artists...its the music itself. The Tchaikovsky is great.
 

Kal Rubinson

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Funny...I bought this a few months ago after listening to a few snips on Amazon. I tis good though I personally struggle to listen to the Stravinsky myself...but that is not the artists...its the music itself. The Tchaikovsky is great.
Chacun à son goût. I love Les Noces and I have several recordings of it. Have not heard this one because I am not a Currentzis fan.
 

LL21

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Chacun à son goût. I love Les Noces and I have several recordings of it. Have not heard this one because I am not a Currentzis fan.
Touche. I have to admit I liked what little I heard of Currentzis but after listening through 3 albums of his 3 times each...I am back to my earlier 'references'. Not a criticism as much as that as much as I enjoyed discovering new interpretations, I remained comfortable in the earlier versions (which is not always the case for me).

I pretty much have enjoyed anything with Tugan Sokhiev...and I find his version typically finds it way to the top of my list when recommending the compositions he happens to have conducted.
 

ack

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Well, damn, this is the best thread ever on this site - thank you asiufy!! And then, to top it all off, I just watched Patricia's video, so thank you General and Marty for your comments. What a TREAT all around!
 
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ack

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...let's rename this thread to... The Soul Of The Violin
 
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asiufy

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ack,

You're welcome :) Thanks to the general as well for digging up the videos, again, that's what YouTube was made for!
I am not as passionate or knowledgeable about classical music as most here, but I do enjoy the stuff that's distinctive and quirky in its own way, and both Currentzis as well as Patricia fit the mold, and they appeal to me very much!
I am a fan of "Les Noces" as well, and I actually came to it in a very roundabout way. I am big fan of a weird french prog band from the 70s, called Magma. And somebody posted somewhere a clip of "Les Noces" claiming that Magma lifted it straight up in some of their longer pieces, so I obviously had to check it out... And I liked it!

cheers,
Alex
 

Tango

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Good god! I got goose bumps and out on on my feet listening youtube on this one. It's Fairy Tale Tchaikovski and she is definitely Tinger Bell. The whole piece is just spectacularly magical. From 9 minute something to 13 was like opening a door and enter Narnia land. This is the reason to do digital G.
 

Tango

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ack,

You're welcome :) Thanks to the general as well for digging up the videos, again, that's what YouTube was made for!
I am not as passionate or knowledgeable about classical music as most here, but I do enjoy the stuff that's distinctive and quirky in its own way, and both Currentzis as well as Patricia fit the mold, and they appeal to me very much!
I am a fan of "Les Noces" as well, and I actually came to it in a very roundabout way. I am big fan of a weird french prog band from the 70s, called Magma. And somebody posted somewhere a clip of "Les Noces" claiming that Magma lifted it straight up in some of their longer pieces, so I obviously had to check it out... And I liked it!

cheers,
Alex
Thanks to YOU Alex.
 

astrotoy

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Thanks for posting the very interesting article. Somewhere in the mid 2000's we were fortunate to hear Ida Haendel (who is the violinist referred to at the beginning of the article) playing the Brahms Violin Concerto. We were walking by Trafalgar Square and the St. Martin's in the Field Church and saw that the Academy (with Neville Marriner) was performing in a few minutes. We went up to the ticket counter and were very fortunate to snag two tickets that had just been returned. They were for the second pew and we sat only 15-20 feet away from the diminutive Ms. Haendel, who probably was in her late '70's or early '80's. We had never heard the ASMF in the church which gave them its name. Quite an extraordinary performance. Last year in London we heard Ms. Haendel's Strad demonstrated at A and J Beare's violin shop located just on the far side of Wigmore Hall. It was for sale along with several other Strads and one del Gesu. Haendel was quite ill at the time and passed away this past June.

Haendel has an interesting relationship to one of our all time favorite violinists who is not mentioned in the article. That is Ginette Neveu who at 16 won the first Wieniawski Violin Competition in 1935. She beat the favored David Oistrakh who was a decade older and already world famous. Neveu died in a plane crash in 1949 at the age of 30 on her way to the US for a series of concerts. Haendel, a real child prodigy, finished 7th in the competition and was either 12 or 7 years of age, depending on her birth year, which has been in dispute. Gidon Kremer rated Neveu's 1949 performance of the Beethoven Violin Concerto as the finest (and Kremer has recorded the Beethoven 3 times). I am particularly fond of Neveu's 1948 Brahms Violin Concerto recording from a radio broadcast (not her earlier EMI studio recording).

Larry
 

stehno

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Genius in the modern era.


Indeed she is. That pianist was no slouch by any means.

Here's a fairly well-known violin performance - what I would also consider rather artistic in perhaps different ways.
 

Edward Pong

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Interesting thread on violin playing! One thing we need to keep in mind, is when we think of the greats of yester years, it was a time when there were only a few major violin competitions & winning one of these pretty much guaranteed a real career… Now we live in a time where there are literally hundreds of violin competitions & winning one, doesn’t really mean much….Real international careers depend much more on who is behind you & who you know in the music world… Witness Anne Sophie Mutter, I think Karajan told the world, “She’s the one…” when she was 13 & he propelled her to this major international career… now, she’s also a great player, but there will always be people who prefer others… (human nature..)

I think Lang Lang just recorded the Bach Goldberg Variations & it’s vastly different from Glen Gould’s… I think almost the point is not what’s “right”, but maybe something different adds some fresh ideas… Personally, I like GG’s 2nd recording of the Goldberg….

One aspect of what we hear & is never talked about, is the violin & bow, that artist is playing… vastly different sounds & colours, depending on the violin’s character. Larry mentioned hearing Ida Haendal’s Strad in London. Menuhin’s Strad is in Perlman’s hands now & that “sound” lives on thru these great players. Isaac Stern’s Ysaye Guarneri del Gesu is in Sergey Khatchatryn’s hands now… With a great fiddle, the range of expression is magnified.

Along with all the names of wonderful young violinists listed here, I’d like to throw in the name Alena Baeva… She also won the Weiniawski International Competition at age 16, like Ginette Neveu, & went on to win many international competitions. She currently has an international solo career & here is her Tchaikovsky Concerto in the Concertgebouw…

Here is a chamber concert a few weeks ago in Warsaw Poland with Van Cliburn winner Vadym Kholodenko… amazing Schubert & the best Beethoven Kreutzer Sonata I’ve ever heard…

Ed
 

Edward Pong

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Thanks for sharing these old recordings. Some very old ones may have been recorded with old grammaphone horn system which have a very immediate sound... who was the violinist in the Kreutzer Sonata? Magda is a pianist no?

We need to champion new artists who need support in these crazy times... Chasing the obscure old recordings as collectibles I understand is a passion of some, but who will be the greats being remembered 50+ yrs from now, of this generation??

Ed
 

Kingrex

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I found it funny the supposed star in the recording booth the author thought was an arse, was advocating for a master Tape, and all they would record with was digital. It seems he understands the importance of the source. The author seems to not get that. Well, he is going a step further back as the source for the author is the performer. I wonder how much the author cares about recordings quality.
 

Edward Pong

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Jun 24, 2013
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I completely agree with the comments on the state of violin competitions today...

I was in Germany, a few years ago, for a major violin competition & I was surprised & shocked at the players cut in the 1st 2 rounds.... I distinctly remember, the gasps from the audience when the name of a certain performer was cut after the 2nd round.... I also learned, the press were not invited till the finals so they had no idea of what came before...

Sadly, some of the performers in the finals were students of some of the organizers.... unfortunately, politics is everywhere....

I'm sure, if Glen Gould, Lang Lang or any of the artists with real individuality were to enter competitions today, they wouldn't make it past the 1st few rounds... only the "note/timing perfect.." pass so we're left with a lot less individuality, & a lot of "just playing the notes..." until these artists "truly express themselves after gaining prominence...." Our hope!!

Tatsuki Narita, is a violinist I "found" listening on YouTube to his Paganini Concerto No.1 at the Queen Elisabeth Comp. finals. He didn't win, but I thought he was the most musical. We've made numerous recordings together in the past 4 yrs. & I'm always struck by his musicality & vibrant, lively sound....

Ed
 
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