In the Practice Room with Brant Taylor
What is on your music stand right now? https://youtu.be/Regfkiv1UiM What is the first thing you do on the cello every day? https://youtu.be/neIt_yb0hYc Why do you practice? What drives and motivates you? Anything that helped during the pandemic? https://youtu.be/gDuModB0VO0 How do you cultivate inspiration in the practice room? What motivates you? https://youtu.be/pyN0D2lwaW4 How do you stimulate creativity and imagination in the practice room? What is your favorite way to change things up/get new ideas? https://youtu.be/7Tv4EAeAPtE In your mind, what is it that makes an effective practice session? https://youtu.be/Regfkiv1UiM https://youtu.be/MAxveqAY5oI What are the best ways to prevent injury? https://youtu.be/pLVxnguxoS4 What is your balance between technique and repertoire? https://youtu.be/F3ha0jwZGOM How do you manage lots of repertoire at the same time? https://youtu.be/as5W_gi6tlA How [...]
In the Practice Room with Jan Vogler
What is the first thing you do on the cello every day? https://youtu.be/JswhAsx3kkA What is on your music stand? https://youtu.be/rHybqTPRuoA What do you enjoy the most about practicing? What inspires you? https://youtu.be/x_tlqo6aeDs What is your favorite way to change things up/get new ideas? https://youtu.be/1rVZVbzNcZQ When do you feel the most inspired in the practice room? https://youtu.be/eWkJEtgBx_g Is there a particular practice method that you swear by? https://youtu.be/guW6r90BN2w What are the best ways to prevent injury? https://youtu.be/ZrEkl2LqHSA What is your balance between technique and repertoire? https://youtu.be/gzvNZknCoXE How do you manage lots of repertoire at the same time? https://youtu.be/K-vwv7TDo2I With such a big workload, how do you avoid burnout and maintain balance? https://youtu.be/P7Vgl4hy2Eo How do you start learning a new piece? [...]
In the Practice Room with Amos Yang
What is on your music stand? What is the first thing you do on the cello every day? https://youtu.be/j2UprmXuKHA Why do you practice? What drives and motivates you? Anything that helped during the pandemic? https://youtu.be/uyRoihCEpcQ When do you feel the most inspired in the practice room? https://youtu.be/qfqR7FtbQqg How do you stimulate creativity and imagination in the practice room? https://youtu.be/UJ6zIOvn7TM In your mind, what is it that makes an effective practice session? https://youtu.be/QBj4xUBEKfk Is there a particular practice method that you swear by? https://youtu.be/aWziSVbS5n8 What are the best ways to prevent injury? https://youtu.be/nvkbfqoCEe8 How do you manage lots of repertoire at the same time? https://youtu.be/MF2C0XPYric With such a big workload, how do you avoid burnout and maintain balance? https://youtu.be/Xb-IYAm6GTk How do [...]
A Cello Journalist’s Journey
In 2001, I found myself sharing a taxi with Dutch cellist, Anner Bylsma, who was perhaps best known and loved for his performances and recordings of the Bach Cello Suites. We were on our way to the Royal Northern College of Music’s Cello Festival in Manchester, which was the première cello celebration in the world at the time. As we discussed what his detractors were saying about his book, Bach, The Fencing Master, I couldn’t help but note how surreal it was that this was actually happening – that I was spending time with one of my cello idols. It had been 15 years since my cello professor and former Leonard Rose student, Toby Saks, had first played his revelatory 1979 Bach Suite recording for her studio. Having grown [...]
In the Practice Room with Julia Lichten
What is on your music stand? What is the first thing you do on the cello every day? https://youtu.be/NQveC_g1obo Why do you practice? What drives and motivates you? Anything that helped during the pandemic? https://youtu.be/A83d7hlJf1s How do you go cultivate inspiration? https://youtu.be/lUSyaGCz4kQ In your mind, what is it that makes an effective practice session? https://youtu.be/mUCa2v09_7E Is there a particular practice method that you swear by? https://youtu.be/QYa9fY0QIMY How many hours a day should one practice? https://youtu.be/bAZz3zzqybQ What are the best ways to prevent injury? https://youtu.be/6AQk74UIXzg What is your balance between technique and repertoire? https://youtu.be/MFbf-eRbvcw How do you manage lots of repertoire at the same time? https://youtu.be/rt5B2LeosnQ With such a big workload, how do you avoid burnout and maintain balance? https://youtu.be/FSUCcT-PxOE [...]
In the Practice Room with Austin Huntington
Why do you practice? What drives and motivates you? Anything that helped during the pandemic? https://youtu.be/fyamIbQ1_CM What is the first thing you do on the cello every day? https://youtu.be/I9cUZQpPRH4 What's on your music stand right now? https://youtu.be/YqliVUNn01M How do you go about deepening your musical imagination? https://youtu.be/-z6osWAf7Vg In your mind, what is it that makes an effective practice session? https://youtu.be/Pg1sxCnTYh0 What are the best ways to prevent injury? https://youtu.be/NNdSjzkHqM4 What is your balance between technique and repertoire? https://youtu.be/qon0C3NpJJc How do you manage lots of repertoire at the same time? https://youtu.be/NNg7X7BvRMw How has your practicing evolved over the years, or even recently? https://youtu.be/Bv4hX30eYYg
In the Practice Room with Michael Haber
What's on your music stand right now? https://youtu.be/zXnE9O5u4ec What is the first thing you do on the cello every day? https://youtu.be/Ee5QTrThKU4 Why do you practice? What drives and motivates you? https://youtu.be/GbBtU4uuhIA What do you enjoy the most about practicing? What inspires you? https://youtu.be/LJ0CLr_2LZI How do you cultivate inspiration in the practice room? https://youtu.be/GRqq0Bl1bec In your mind, what is it that makes an effective practice session? https://youtu.be/hcj0Y8wD3BA Is there a particular practice method that you swear by? https://youtu.be/xUJpfvFVVcw What are the best ways to prevent injury? https://youtu.be/nrH40qfgsAc What is your balance between technique and repertoire? https://youtu.be/L36UMRi3MpQ How do you manage lots of repertoire at the same time? https://youtu.be/PbEEHJL226M How do you start learning a new piece? https://youtu.be/lKvv6ytQY2Y How has [...]
Interview with Tiffany Poon, Founder of Together with Classical
CelloBello is very excited to begin a new partnership with Together with Classical, an organization that strives to empower people of diverse musical backgrounds to learn and share their experiences with classical music, through online community engagement, grant-giving, interviews and educational videos. Today we begin with CelloBello founder Paul Katz interviewing the founder of Together with Classical, pianist Tiffany Poon. Be sure to check out the Together with Classical Blog for Tiffany's interview of Paul Katz! PK: Tiffany is the founder of Together with Classical. She's a pianist with a concert career. She's done a lot of playing with cellists, particularly with Jan Vogler but also Guy Johnston and Harriet Krijgh. So, welcome to CelloBello! Let's start by you telling us a little bit about yourself: where were you [...]
In the Practice Room with Zlatomir Fung
What is the first thing you do on the cello every day? https://youtu.be/3q5J63LDfB8 What is on your music stand right now? https://youtu.be/C89OAY5MU-s What do you enjoy the most about practicing? What inspires you? https://youtu.be/i1hkEubvKbY How do you stimulate creativity and imagination in the practice room? https://youtu.be/kIYTEkPtelE What is your favorite way to change things up/get new ideas? https://youtu.be/1ZNM7KDmiMs How do you go about deepening your musical imagination? https://youtu.be/4b7aJo8wRFc In your mind, what is it that makes an effective practice session? https://youtu.be/4e5oFe_FLi4 How many hours a day should one practice? Quality or quantity? https://youtu.be/rde85_02Pg4 What are the best ways to prevent injury? https://youtu.be/8ET5esbCVnk What is your balance between technique and repertoire? https://youtu.be/xe-8YubBfGg How has your practicing evolved over the [...]
In the Practice Room with Edward Arron
In our third installment of this series, we get an inside look into how Edward Arron approaches practicing. What is the first thing you do on the cello every day? https://youtu.be/L2q6chbDQrY What is on your music stand right now? https://youtu.be/zXs9XfzE85w What do you enjoy the most about practicing? What inspires you? https://youtu.be/BwCBbFDkQQg In your mind, what is it that makes an effective practice session? https://youtu.be/Dw92UGiatjM How has your practicing evolved over the years, or even recently? https://youtu.be/49kOrlWa4qM How do you stimulate creativity and imagination in the practice room? https://youtu.be/GjH0_HPhsdw How do you manage lots of repertoire at the same time? https://youtu.be/j8QjSCAI3Ho
In the Practice Room with Anssi Karttunen
Welcome to our second installment of In the Practice Room! This week we have Anssi Karttunen with a few very interesting answers on how he approaches practicing. Why do you practice? What drives and motivates you? Is there anything that helped during the pandemic? https://youtu.be/c6Bf-qkrsAw What is on your music stand right now? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3ga11BKjRQ Are there other genres you find particularly inspiring or motivating? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BF5bXl8yOew
In the Practice Room with Benny Yi-Bing Chu
CelloBello is thrilled to present a blog series: In the Practice Room! We wanted to expand the conversation around practicing and help our readers get an idea of how each of our wonderful contributors think about and approach their own practice. Throughout these series, we will ask our CelloChat hosts a series of questions that revolve around this topic, and include short video clips of their answers to each question within these blog posts. We hope this will be an informative and exciting way to get an inside look at the practice process of some incredible cellists. In our first installment of this series, we begin with Benny Yi-Bing Chu. What is the first thing you do on the cello every day? https://youtu.be/Odgsqjw2-Rw Why do you practice? What [...]
Baroque Dance and the Bach Cello Suites (November, 2002)
by Tim Janof A statement made by Nathaniel Rosen about the Bach Cello Suites has been bugging me for years: "People often talk about the notion that these pieces are dance movements. They're not dance movements! They are works for unaccompanied cello which have, with the exception of the Preludes, titles of dance movements." 1 Having never seen a Baroque dance, how could I know if this statement is correct? I've read a couple of books on Baroque dance, but, like learning to play the cello, a one can't get an intuitive sense of such a kinesthetic subject from a book. As luck would have it, I recently discovered that Anna Mansbridge, a Baroque dance specialist, had moved to my hometown, Seattle. She hails from the United Kingdom, where she [...]
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 [...]
Conversation with Thomas Demenga (May, 2007)
Interview by Tim Janof Thomas Demenga, born 1954 in Berne, Switzerland, studied with Walter Grimmer, Antonio Janigro, Leonard Rose and Mstislav Rostropovich, among others. Important chamber-musical influences were Claus Adam, Felix Galimir, and Robert Mann at the Juilliard School in New York As an internationally renowned soloist, composer and teacher, Thomas Demenga counts among the most outstanding cellists and musicians of our time. He has performed at important festivals and musical centers around the globe and shared the stage with fellow musicians such as Heinz Holliger, Gidon Kremer, Thomas Larcher, Paul Meyer, Aurèle Nicolet, Hansheinz Schneeberger, Thomas Zehetmair, and Tabea Zimmermann. He has worked with conductors such as Moshe Atzmon, Myung-Whun Chung, Charles Dutoit, Claus Peter Flor, Howard Griffiths, Heinz Holliger, Armon Jordan, Okko Kamu, Mstislav Rostropovich, Dennis Russell Davies, [...]