A Profile of Robert LaMarchina (January, 2004)
by Tim Janof Though relatively few may know of him today, Robert LaMarchina was one of the most brilliant cellists of the 20th Century. A child prodigy, he was the toast of the music world and was showered with praise from some of the most celebrated musicians of his time. Gaspar Cassadó said that LaMarchina was "the most outstanding talent I have seen." Maurice Maréchal said "There is no doubt of it, the boy is unusually gifted." Toscanini referred to him as "my little angel." Had he not gone into conducting and had some self-sabotaging tendencies from a career standpoint, there is little doubt that he would have been a household name for cellists around the world. LaMarchina was born in New York City on September 3, 1928. His parents [...]
Leonard Rose Remembered (January, 2004)
by Tim Janof Leonard Rose was one of the greatest cellists of all time. Many of the recordings he made in the prime of his career continue to be viewed as the ultimate model of gorgeous cello playing. His greatest recordings have a timeless, unmannered quality that sound as fresh today as they did when they were first released. He also had tremendous success as a teacher. His former students are now leading cellists around the world, and include principal and section cellists in professional orchestras, highly regarded pedagogues, and revered soloists. Leonard Rose was a cellist's cellist, who excelled in every aspect of cello playing -- teacher, soloist, orchestral cellist, and chamber musician. While researching for this article, I had the tremendous fortune of finding Barbara Rose-Schirota, who is [...]
Master Class Reports: Janos Starker’s 75th Birthday Celebration (September, 1999)
by Tim Janof The following are my notes from the master classes in Bloomington, Indiana during the 75th Birthday celebration for Janos Starker (September 12-14, 1999). Please note that, though certain ideas are discussed in terms of specific points in the music, some ideas may be applied in a more general sense. Maria Kliegel's Master Class: Bach c minor Prelude The dotted notes shouldn't come out like triplets (i.e. m. 8). It is important that one learn about Baroque performance practice. Come in on the opening C's with confidence, though not necessarily with a bang. The G in measure 1 continues what the C is doing, so be sure to connect it to the previous C. One gets better articulation in the dotted eighth-sixteenth passages (i.e. m. 6) if one [...]
A Tribute to William Pleeth – by Hannah Roberts
I found Pleeth to be continuously imaginative and creative in his thought process when teaching. One defining characteristic was his innate and unaffected gift of creating powerful connections, using imagery from all areas of life to illuminate aspects of cello playing and music making. This was often accompanied by exquisite demonstrations given on his cello with seemingly effortless ease, while standing. Much of what I learnt from him strongly underpins my own values as a cellist, musician and teacher. He had studied with Julius Klengel, so he often recommended Klengel or Goltermann works as a combination of etude and concert piece. I studied with him at the Yehudi Menuhin school between the ages of nine and eighteen, where I was also fortunate to have weekly lessons with the late Jennifer [...]
Hannah Roberts on her Teaching Philosophy
Reprinted with permission from Aitchison Cellos. ‘It’s such a privilege to be involved in the evolution of another person’s progress and the benefits of this stimulating process are mutual. You learn as much as you give. The essence of it however, remains the same: sensing as much as you can about the other person’s thought process and their way of understanding is the key to being able to help them. That is the cornerstone, whether in a consultation lesson or working with a long-term student. You are constantly trying to sense what the person needs at that stage and how they are processing what you are trying to give them. Are they able to utilise it there and then? Or are you sowing the seed of the idea that may [...]
Hannah Roberts on her Musical Upbringing and Studying with William Pleeth and Ralph Kirshbaum
Reprinted with permission from Aitchison Cellos. In the first of an annual series of interviews with leading UK cello professors, Hannah Roberts talks about her musical upbringing and her experience of studying with William Pleeth and Ralph Kirshbaum. ‘I will always be grateful to my first teacher, my mother, for her unfailing dedication and for striking such a skillful balance between keeping things fun and maintaining discipline. I’m also very thankful that she tested the set up and response of my modest childhood instruments to be sure that they would work well for me because the way an instrument is set up is tremendously formative to a person’s concept of sound and physical approach. ‘I was offered a place at the Menuhin school when I was 8 years old. [...]
Remembering Lynn Harrell (January 30, 1944 – April 27, 2020)
The cello world has been shocked and saddened by the passing of legendary cellist Lynn Harrell. Mr. Harrell’s career as an internationally renowned soloist, chamber musician, and teacher spanned more than five decades. His singularly beautiful sound will be remembered by future generations through the many recordings he leaves behind. All of us at CelloBello mourn his loss and send our deepest condolences to Mr. Harrell’s family and loved ones. CelloBello founder, Paul Katz, reflects on his life-long friendship with Mr. Harrell: It’s hard to believe Lynn is gone. Even with COVID-19 deaths all around us, 60,000 in the US alone in just the last three months, it still doesn’t get easier when it's a friend. This unexpected loss hits hard. Lynn and I first met in the early '60s [...]
Remembering Anner Bylsma
I play early music on period instruments because of the great Dutch cellist Anner Bylsma, who passed away on July 25 at the age of 85. When I was 14 I entered the classical music section of a Tower Records store where Bylsma’s recent release of arrangements of music for unaccompanied flute and violin by J.S. Bach, performed on his son’s 7/8ths-sized cello tuned like a violin, was being played. I didn’t pay much attention to it until Bylsma hit the final note of the prelude to the E major Partita, BWV 1006. It ended a driven but, as I realized much later, subtly nuanced and very “spoken” performance. It seemed the energy stored by what had preceded the note was fully released by it: powerfully, beautifully, emphatically, and most [...]
Master Class Report: János Starker 2/29/01
Benaroya Hall, Seattle, USA, 2/29/01 The following are my notes from the master class Janos Starker gave in Seattle. 10 minutes before the class was to start, Seattle experienced a 6.8 earthquake. Apparently, Janos Starker was calm as can be backstage when it happened. The class ended up starting only 1/2 hour late. —by Tim Janoff Left Hand Anticipated Shift -- Slide before the bow change and land on the note at the bow change. Delayed Shift -- Slide after the bow change. Thumb Placement in Thumb Position -- A hitchhiking thumb allows more overtones, but it is harder to play in tune. Placing the thumb on the neighboring string is more solid, but it allows fewer overtones. The technique of the future is to place the thumb beneath the [...]
Remembering Anner Bylsma (1934 – 2019)
With heavy hearts we share the loss of Dutch cellist, Anner Bylsma. His presence and artistry have made an enormous impact, profoundly influencing the lives of generations of cellists. Over the course of his career, Bach played a significant role in Bylsma's life as reflected in his performances, writings, and the two sets of recordings of the complete Cello Suites he made in 1979 and 1992. In fact, his first recording was the first ever to be recorded on gut strings, achieving a significant stride in the period performance movement. Bylsma was a strong believer in the essential accuracy, and therefore sanctity, of the Anna Magdalena Bach manuscript of the Cello Suites. He accepted there were some mistakes but not that all performance indications were suspect and therefore optional. In [...]
Remembering George Neikrug (March 7, 1919 – March 9, 2019)
With heavy hearts we share the loss of George Neikrug who passed away yesterday at the age of 100. George Neikrug was teaching at Boston University where he had been professor of cello for the past thirty years. The latest CD featuring Mr. Neikrug is "Great Moments in Cello Playing," selected from eighty years of treasured recordings, recently released by Cello Classics. He gave master classes in Germany, Italy, Austria, Australia, Iceland, Hawaii, Canada, and extensively in the United States. He played solos with major symphonies all over the world. In addition to the cello repertoire, his virtuosity enabled him to perform some of the most technically demanding works for the violin on the cello. His many performances of the Paganini Violin Concerto in D Major with the Sauret cadenza [...]
Remembering Aldo Parisot (September 30, 1918 – December 29, 2018)
With heavy hearts we share the loss of Aldo Parisot, extraordinary performer and beloved pedagogue. A legendary figure in the music world, he was the longest-serving member in history at the Yale School of Music, mentoring and inspiring young artists for the past 60 years. At the age of 99, this past June, he retired from teaching. Acknowledged as one of the world's master cellists, Mr. Parisot led the career of a complete and well-rounded artist as concert soloist, chamber musician, recitalist, and devoted teacher. He was heard with many of the major orchestras of the world, including Berlin, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Rio, Munich, Warsaw, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Pittsburgh, under the batons of such eminent conductors as Stokowski, Barbirolli, Bernstein, Mehta, Monteux, Paray, de Carvalho, Sawallisch, Hindemith, and [...]
Emanuel Feuermann and the Art of Phrasing
There has been a long-running debate in the string-playing world regarding the 'Golden Age' of string playing, generally considered to span the 1920s to the 1960s. While many today are happy to listen to and model their playing on more contemporary players, there has been a persistent argument made that the players of that era—Heifetz, Feuermann, Kreisler, Oistrach, Casals, and numerous others—played in a different way than more recent players. It is easy to dismiss this argument as the eternal 'nothing is as good as it used to be' meme and, when painted with too broad a brush, such generalizations quickly fall apart. The string players of that era were, after all, a group of vividly different players with different approaches—as are today's players. Yet when one begins to examine [...]
My First Lessons with Gregor Piatigorsky
In 1961, Jascha Heifetz, Gregor Piatigorsky and William Primrose joined the faculty of the University of Southern California where I was a cello student studying with the highly inspiring Gabor Rejto. As fate would have it, Rejto was leaving on sabbatical that year and so I auditioned for Piatigorsky and was admitted to his first class at USC. Two amazing years with him followed—he was truly a creative genius, a great psychologist, and a supportive father figure that cared deeply about everyone that he taught. We were a new class of students, however, and as we entered the room that first day, none of us knew what to expect: Excited that I was going to be studying with the 'Great Grisha,' I bought a new short-sleeved, bright orange shirt for this special occasion. Made from [...]
The Forgotten Live Video Recording: Du Pré & the Dvořák Cello Concerto, 1968
The most wonderful video performance of the Dvořák Cello Concerto by Jacqueline Du Pré and Daniel Barenboim was added to YouTube just a few weeks ago. In this CelloBello exclusive blog is a moving, personal description by a young London musician, Tony Woodcock, who was 17 years old at the time. Below he recounts the unexpected political backdrop for this historic concert, which was hastily arranged in response to the 1968 Russian invasion of Dvořák’s home country of Czechoslovakia. Tony Woodcock, by the way, grew up to eventually become the President of the New England Conservatory of Music, and was a primary supporter of the founding of CelloBello.com. My heartfelt thanks to him for his role in making our website possible, and for illuminating us on an extraordinary history that [...]