Conversation with Ron Leonard (February, 1996)
Interview by Tim Janof Ronald Leonard is well known as a soloist, chamber musician, and teacher. He has been Principal Cellist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic since 1975, and is the Gregor Piatigorsky Professor of Cello at the University of Southern California. He has performed concertos with Zubin Mehta, Michael Tilson-Thomas, Carlo Maria Giulini, Andre Previn, Simon Rattle, and Esa-Pekka Salonen. He has appeared as guest artist with the Juilliard, Guarneri, Angeles, Mendelssohn, Borremeo, Chilingarian, and American Quartets. TJ: You studied with Orlando Cole and Leonard Rose at the Curtis Institute. How did their teaching methods compare? RL: I studied with them at the same time, believe it or not. They were two very different musical personalities. They approached the instrument, both technically and musically, from quite different viewpoints, [...]
Conversation with David Tonkonogui (May, 1993)
Interview by Tim Janof For those of you who haven't heard of David Tonkonogui, he is the most recent addition to the Seattle Symphony cello section. He is also an active chamber musician in Seattle and has won the hearts of all who have heard him. For those of you who have not heard him play, I highly recommend you go to any chamber concert in which he plays. TJ: First of all, please pronounce your last name. DT: Tonkonogui (Tawn-ko-no-gee) TJ: Where does your name come from? DT: It's derived from Russian. I admit that it's an unusual Russian name. I've never met anybody in Russia with the same last name. But I have met several people in Seattle who trace the origin of their names back to my [...]
Meet the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s New Principal Cellist, Blaise Déjardin
It’s rare that at CelloBello we have contributors undergoing major professional shifts, so we wanted to take this opportunity to highlight the recent Boston Symphony Orchestra Principal audition that was won by Blaise Déjardin, a long-time CB blogger. For our readers, we wanted to bring light to Blaise’s motivations, aspirations, and perceptions of the audition process, directly from him to you. Thank you for your candidness, Blaise! Blogmaster: Why did you decide to audition for the principal chair? Blaise: There are many reasons, but I think the biggest is that I saw it as an opportunity for growth. After 10 years in the section, of exploring and trying to improve, this seemed like a great chance to keep doing that and to keep challenging myself. So, I thought it [...]
Practicing, Some Practice Advice (Part 2) — by Michael Haber
Frustration and Discouragement, Orchestra Auditions, Some Final Thoughts, a Final Comment FRUSTRATION AND DISCOURAGEMENT: Now is the time to talk about our number one enemy. When I look back over all my teaching, one observation stands out above all others. It has not been a lack of talent or intelligence which stood in the way of progress for most students. It has rather been the fact that many people become both frustrated and discouraged by the amount of work and the unwavering discipline and persistence it usually takes to become an excellent musician. I have something simple to say on this subject: frustration and discouragement have been the common lot of most of the musicians I've known, born of the eternal gap between our dreams of how we want [...]
Preparing for Cello Auditions as a High School Senior — by Drew Cone
Applying and auditioning for schools can be really scary at times, but it doesn’t have to be. I’ve been working on my repertoire for auditions for well over a couple of months now and throughout that time, I’ve learned a few things when it comes to preparing for college. Now, just to clarify, I’m no expert on this stuff; I just thought that maybe if someone if my position had any questions needing answering, it might be nice to hear from another person in the same situation, especially since I’ve already recorded most of my prescreenings and have that experience under my belt. Even if it’s a tiny tip that helps, I hope that this could help out people my age with the same aspirations! Prescreenings The nice thing about [...]
What if We All Did That? — by Martha Baldwin
OK, not to blog-rant (is that a thing?) but I’m often surprised by basic behaviors I see in music students (and professionals) and it reminds me of a saying we have in our cello section: “What if we all did that?” Here are my top 3: 1. STAY!!!!!! seriously, just stay to the end people. I realize that many student recitals seem endless but leaving as soon as you’re done playing is, simply put, rude. I’ve seen entire rows of extended family get up and leave noisily after the first performer (their kid) is finished and I’m shocked. Really? No one else matters? Your child is so special that this entire recital is there just for his/her 4 minutes of glory? People notice these things. As a side benefit - [...]
Beneath the Surface of Brahms — by Brant Taylor
Brahms' 3rd Symphony Cello Excerpt A successful audition performance involves showing many different sides of yourself, musically, in a condensed period of time. Therefore, it is useful if not imperative to conceive each excerpt on a list in its own distinct world of character and color. Despite being works from the same composer, the well-known cello audition excerpt from Brahms’ Second Symphony, which we previously discussed, and the cello audition excerpt from Brahms’ Third Symphony, which is the subject of this post, present quite different opportunities. While these suggestions are not the only solutions to the challenges presented by this excerpt, they are a starting point for practice and discussion and illustrate some of the details that must be carefully considered in any successful performance. Sound Production In thinking about [...]
Cello and Marathon Training — by Jonathan Thomson
Rule #1 and Rule #2 focus on the mental aspect of training: about setting your intention before working on a passage. This is necessary to practice effectively, and ultimately leads to better performances. Our experience playing the cello is a delicate interplay between mind and body, which is a balance that must be cultivated again and again as age, circumstances, and stakes change. Athletes face many of the same experiences in training and competition. Throughout my education, I found that my attitudes about the cello and the way I practiced stemmed from my experiences playing sports. Particularly during my graduate studies, running became a counterpoint to music. Running and cello both informed the other. Running helped relieve the stresses of performances, auditions, competitions, juries, and the ones made up by [...]
Exploring Beethoven’s Fifth: Second Variation — by Jonathan Pegis
Picking up where we left off last time, at the conclusion of variation 1 it is a good idea to keep counting in between the two variations. You want to play this second variation in the exact tempo as the theme and first variation. I will say right at the outset that there is no ideal fingering for this excerpt! It just doesn’t lie well on the cello. My fingering is a bit unusual in that I do not use the thumb at all, or any open A strings. I do, however, use the A string for some of the notes. I highly recommend not playing the open A just because it tends to really stick out. Many cellists don’t use the A string at all which is also fine [...]
Exploring Beethoven 5th, Variation One — by Jonathan Pegis
Continuing our discussion of Beethoven’s 5th Symphony, let us examine the first variation. As I did with the theme, I will first talk about the technical challenges of this excerpt and then look at the musical challenges. First of all, it is very important that you play this excerpt in the exact same tempo that you played the theme. A common mistake is to play this variation much faster than the theme simply because of that long first down bow. One trick that helps is when you finish the theme keep counting the quarter note rests at the end of measure 10, and then count off the two quarter note rests in measure 49. (Almost like you were making a cut!) You can do the same thing at the end [...]
Exploring Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony — by Jonathan Pegis
Here in just a few measures is an excerpt that has confused, befuddled, and downright scared more cellists than just about any other excerpt (please click image to enlarge): The theme from the second movement of Beethoven's fifth, along with the first two variations, shows up on the vast majority of cello audition lists. I thought it would be educational to spend some time exploring this theme, and future blogs will explore the first and second variations. To begin with, this excerpt is one of a handful that I have coached for many years where I am actually LESS confident than I used to be. Why? Because every teacher, every coach, and every conductor has had radically different ideas about all the different aspects of this theme. Temp, color, dynamic, [...]
Playing Audition Excerpts: Yes, the Devil’s in Them — by Brant Taylor
Although the collection of excerpts on an audition repertoire list may seem arbitrary, each one has a purpose: giving the audition candidate an opportunity to demonstrate certain things about his or her playing and artistry. Audition success involves showing a command of certain basic elements—such as rhythm, dynamics, intonation and articulations—as well as conveying a nuanced understanding of the music and the composer. A well crafted audition list will include excerpts that emphasize each of these elements, and a candidate’s ability to demonstrate control and understanding of them will determine his or her chance for success. Let's put these goals into concrete terms using a common cello audition excerpt as an illustration—the opening of the second movement of Brahms' Symphony No. 2: Brahms Second Symphony, 2nd Mvt. [...]
Myth Busters — by Brant Taylor
Instrumentalists often prepare for an orchestra audition by seeking feedback on their preparation from a teacher or colleague. Perhaps because my career includes both orchestral playing and teaching, I am frequently asked to coach players who are preparing solo work(s) and orchestral excerpts for a given audition. Some players I hear are very new to the audition game, while others are already seasoned professionals looking to step up to another ensemble or for a promotion in their current group. After years of talking with these musicians about auditions in general and about the specifics of their preparation, I've noticed several assumptions that players sometimes make about auditions. While some of these assumptions are true, and made with good reason, many others are best described as myths. Some of these are half-truths, and [...]
Defining the Intangible — by Melissa Kraut
Several years ago I was asked to contribute to an article for Strings Magazine on "what teachers look for in an incoming student." I was excited about the article—what a fantastic idea—a compilation of suggestions from teachers who listen to 100+ cellists a year auditioning for music schools! Despite my best intentions, I still haven't crafted a contribution. (Here is where I should publicly apologize to the cellist, who is no doubt reading this entry, for the 3 year delay in responding to your request). My neglect was not for lack of interest, or lack of knowledge or experience on the subject. It came down to the difficulty in putting words to something that is so nebulous—defining the intangible. The title for this entry popped into my head during audition [...]
Putting Your Best Foot Forward in Auditions — by Yeesun Kim
Let's face it. A musicians life is full of auditions. Even when you might not be taking a formal audition, each concert may turn out to be an audition for your next project. For many students, February in particular is a busy, stressful month filled with college auditions, summer festival auditions, recital juries and so forth. When you are a beginner, auditions generally represent a relatively encouraging nudge of "Do your best." Later, they have greater consequences, and dealing with the pressure can become quite torturous. Some are more at ease than others, but I believe it is safe to say that auditions are not activities anyone particularly enjoys doing. Of course listening to auditions is not so easy either. One is asked to sit through 7-8 hours per day [...]