cellobello Archives

Backstage with the Boston Cello Quartet — by Blaise Déjardin

A few weeks ago, I had a video conversation with my 4 years-old nephew and my brother on Skype. At one point, my brother (also a cellist) tells my nephew: “You know Blaise plays in a cello quartet? He plays with three other cellists.” My nephew starts laughing: “A cello quartet? Noooo…That’s not possible!” Yes, it is! But it is indeed a strange concept and I believe it is rare to get a chance to have such a group with a long-term commitment. Since the Boston Cello Quartet is now releasing its first CD album, “Pictures”, it was interesting to look back on our three years together and talk about the challenges of being in a cello quartet. When I asked my colleagues to form a cello quartet, I knew [...]

By Blaise Dejardin|2021-06-28T04:45:52-04:00February 2nd, 2013|Categories: Beyond the Traditional, Chamber Music, Performance, Repertoire, Videos|Tags: generations, Tanglewood, arrangements, making a living, jazz, Tanglewood Cello Ensemble, backstage, musical comedy, classical music, Tanglewood on Parade, Blaise, musical styles, concert, Tanglewood Shed, Boston Cello Quartet, cello, new arrangements, structure, tango, Boston Symphony Orchestra, cellobello, orchestra playing, Boston, virtuosic music, Boston Youth Symphony Orchestra, Ozawa Hall, BSO, change of concept, success, quartets, orchestral musicians, comedy, repertoire, rotating chairs, virtuoso, Dejardin, skype, compositions, fun classical music, strange concepts|

Orchestra: A Love Story — by Martha Baldwin

Solo playing, chamber music, orchestra, teaching—I loved them all in college but at some point, we all must start to narrow our focus and work to establish a career that is dominated by one or two of these. I think the most often over-looked aspect of choosing what direction to take your musical talents (insert LeBron goes to Miami joke here), is thoughtful consideration of the daily life. Happiness in life and career is so often not determined by money or status but by how closely our lives conform to our personal ideals and individual quirks. Young cellists often ask me “Why did you choose to play in an orchestra?” This is my answer. I’m a planner. I am happiest with a stable structured day with a decent amount of routine [...]

By Martha Baldwin|2017-10-03T02:47:39-04:00January 27th, 2013|Categories: Orchestra, Self Discovery|Tags: cellobello, soloist, concerts, establish a career, stability, colleagues, family time, orchestra, status, chamber music, lifestyle, Travel, working full time, personal ideas, mom-friendly schedule, routine, money, challenges, Baldwin, musical talents, focus, happiness, inspiration, orchestral jobs, Martha, choices, Teaching, predictability, rehearsals, Cleveland Institute of Music, variety, short attention span, concert halls, Cleveland Orchestra, cello, social outlets, Touring, direction|

About Those New Year’s Bow Resolutions…. — by Wayne Burak

New Year’s resolutions get significant attention right about now! Whether the subject is your living space, personal finance, diet, or exercise, every topic seems to be on the table. But what about the personal needs of your favorite bow—you know, the one that plays beside you in all of your performances and rehearsals? The one you have promised your eternal love and gratitude to, if it helps you get through the nearly impossible piece or gig? Hmm, did I think that, you ask? Bows have long memories, and yes at some point, you did promise. That is why your bow demands attention now! Think of it like dinner, a movie, and a new outfit for your bow. But before we talk more of bows, let’s assume that you have already handled [...]

By Wayne Burak|2017-10-30T05:16:53-04:00January 21st, 2013|Categories: Luthiers, Playing Healthy, Technology|Tags: accessories, latches, bow grip, New Year's resolutions, pernambuco, bow rehair, organization of sheet music, strings, Brazilwood, pearl eye, Wayne, cello bow, bow, rock stops, organization, cello strings, tension, rosin, computer back up, cello, sheet music, attention, computers, cellobello, warp, cello cases, fresh bow rehair, music, humidity, frog position, frog, instrument cases, Burak|

Bach Suites and You – by Robert Battey

“In a work of art the intellect asks questions; it does not answer them” -Friedrich Hebbel Few tasks are more daunting than attempting to discern and convey J.S. Bach’s precise intentions for his Cello Suites. Just playing them is hard enough, but a true and meaningful interpretation of the Suites requires an entirely different heuristic model than that of our other repertoire. This is because the autograph of the Suites has been lost, and we are left only with several flawed and inconsistent copies. Since there is no original source, everything, from notes to rhythms to phrasings, must be questioned. With many pieces, one can rely on the fidelity and accuracy of a high-quality edition, prepared either from autographs or composer-supervised prints. There, you have the simple choice of either [...]

By Robert Battey|2021-07-26T15:08:34-04:00January 16th, 2013|Categories: Artistic Vision, In the Practice Room, Performance, Repertoire, Self Discovery|Tags: repertoire, inconsistent copies, robert, painting, Teaching, Bach’s precise intentions, study, colors, instrument control, Editions, parameters, Janos Starker, Barenreiter, text booklet, interpretive creativity, experimentation, paris, Rhythm, careless, textual, personality, interpretive ideas, accuracy, personal research, cello, conclusions, The Fencing Master, judgment, ambiguity, Pierre Fournier, cellobello, curiosity, transcribing, Instruments, liberation, Anna Magdalena, printing, Bach Suites, dilemma, uncertainties, virtuosity, lute, Anner Bylsma, publications, editors, enjoyment, lute arrangement, artistic, rainbows, flawed, recordings, meaningful interpretations, autograph, response, phrasing, genius, complexities, monochromatic, Pablo Casals, Bach Cello Suites, sloppy, challenges, historical, Battey, normal teaching model, Bach, Bach's original intentions, slurs|

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 [...]

By Jonathan Pegis|2021-10-25T13:38:55-04:00January 9th, 2013|Categories: Artistic Vision, Auditions, In the Practice Room, Orchestra, Performance, Repertoire|Tags: tempo, Jonathan, cello, Pegis, cellobello, audition excerpt, Auditions, effortless, experimentation, Symphony, Northwestern, control, breathing, pacing, bow control, slow breathing, intonation, variations, string crossings, experiment, Beethoven Symphonies, Beethoven, variations on a theme, fingerings, Beethoven's 5th Symphony, bowings, phrasing, cello excerpt, vibrato|

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 [...]

By Jonathan Pegis|2023-05-01T13:22:31-04:00December 11th, 2012|Categories: Artistic Vision, Auditions, In the Practice Room, Orchestra, Performance, Repertoire|Tags: melody, Jonathan, details, musicality, intonation, legato, shifting, Pegis, Sound, continuous vibrato, Beethoven, practice tips, sound production, bow technique, Rhythm, phrasing, bow control, vibrato, tempo, technical challenges, cello, attention to detail, cellobello, Beethoven Symphonies, Excerpts, dynamics, Beethoven's 5th Symphony, singing, cello excerpt, Preparation|

The Holy Sextet (Part 2) — by Brant Taylor

Part 1 began an exploration of three bow variables that—in addition to the three well-known concepts of weight, speed, and contact point—make up a sextet of basics that should be known and practiced to maximize your control over the string with the bow. We discussed the first and most important, bow angle, in Part 1. The remaining two variables may seem relatively minor, but they are by no means unimportant. If practicing means attempting to find solutions to the challenges of successful instrumental control, you should attempt to understand every potential reason for success or failure with the bow. FLATNESS OF HAIR, or how much of the hair makes contact with the string. Many cellists hold the bow with the stick tilted up (toward the fingerboard) to some degree. This means that [...]

By Brant Taylor|2017-09-01T21:58:08-04:00December 4th, 2012|Categories: In the Practice Room, Self Discovery|Tags: bow, success, weight, Technique, cello, Shostakovich, cellobello, contact point, Brant, Pinchas, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Zukerman, CSO, variables, Taylor, bow strokes, cellists, Brant Taylor, Bach, frog, Concerto|

The Holy Sextet (Part 1) — by Brant Taylor

Think back to when you were shown how to use the bow to successfully produce different sounds on the cello. In all likelihood, you learned that there is a trio of "variables" that are combined in certain ways to achieve a desired result: WEIGHT, or how much of the right arm's heft is placed into the string from above (I prefer the term "weight" to "pressure," though they refer to the same idea). SPEED, or how quickly the bow is moved laterally. CONTACT POINT, or where the bow hair makes contact with the string relative to the bridge (or fingerboard). While each of these variables is critically important to sound production, the complete recipe for successfully controlling the string with the bow involves more. There are at least three other basics [...]

By Brant Taylor|2023-04-17T14:09:04-04:00November 28th, 2012|Categories: In the Practice Room, Self Discovery|Tags: pressure, bow speed, relaxation, tone, struggle, weight, contact point, cello, bow technique, cellobello, bridge, Brant, Vibrations, Taylor, variables, control, variation|

Keeping Healthy On The Road (or in Your Dorm, Home or Apartment) — by Mark Summer

The fall being my busiest touring season with Turtle Island, I’m often thinking of the best ways to stay healthy and happy throughout the dark days of “flu season.” After years of almost constant travel, with endless days of connecting plane flights, shared van rides, and occasionally horrifically early lobby calls, I feel somewhat qualified as an expert at keeping my body in tune enough to weather the storm of illnesses that plague the general population. In 27 years, I’ve never missed a concert due to illness. I thought I had the flu once while on the road, but at a recent physical/flu shot pitch, my doctor informed me that if I was able to play a concert, it wasn’t the flu. Nevertheless, my record speaks for itself. I’m not [...]

By Mark Summer|2024-04-23T16:22:36-04:00November 16th, 2012|Categories: Cello Travel, Playing Healthy, Self Discovery|Tags: cellobello, flights, environment, Habits, Summer, performances, Mark, string quartet, blogs, suggestions, illness, exhaustion, exercise, Rest, flu relief, pressure, Healthy, cello, concerts, swimming|

Delta Kicks Lynn Harrell out of Frequent Flyer Program for Buying Cello its Own Seat

Reprinted from TheConsumerist.com Not wanting to become the Dave Carroll of the classical music world, solo cellist Lynn Harrell purchases a second seat for his cello when they travel together. This should keep everyone happy. The airline sells an extra seat to a very quiet and compliant passenger, and Harrell racks up extra frequent flyer miles that he can put toward future travel for his cello. Delta isn’t happy, though: they’ve kicked him out of their frequent-flyer program and banned him from it forever. His crime? Accruing the frequent-flyer miles that the airline granted to his cello. It’s not exactly a scam to earn free vacations, since he will keep buying full-fare tickets for his instrument for the rest of his career. Okay, it is against the SkyMiles terms and [...]

By Blogmaster|2017-10-30T05:18:11-04:00November 14th, 2012|Categories: Cello Travel|Tags: Delta Airlines, career, power, cello, cellobello, air travel, flying, flying with a cello, cellist, flying with instruments|

Tour of Duty, Tour of Pleasure — by Aron Zelkowicz

A postcard from Vienna: By the time the Danube winds into concrete beds through Stadtpark, the water is just a trickle. Children in their parkas swing on the playground, the U-bahn train pulls into its station, and people stroll or bike over the canal’s bridges, all within a stone’s throw of the surface. This view from our hotel is lovely and quaint, for those of us on tour with the Pittsburgh Symphony that have north-facing rooms (those with opposite views can peer down on the bustling skating rink next door). Pittsburghers, no strangers to rivers and bridges, hardly needed reminders of the horrible flooding that occurred this week. The tame canal is at odds with what we’ve seen on the front page of local papers and all over TV. I [...]

By Aron Zelkowicz|2017-10-30T05:18:40-04:00November 9th, 2012|Categories: Cello Travel, Orchestra|Tags: cellobello, orchestras, gestures, struggle, musicians, Aron, challenges, Zelkowicz, endpin, live performances, stage, audience, perspective, Dvorak, themes, illness, acoustics, cello, tour|

The Process of Unlearning Habits — by Selma Gokcen

“It is not the degree of ‘willing’ or ‘trying,’ but the way in which the energy is directed, that is going to make the ‘willing’ or ‘trying’ effective.” –F.M. Alexander As professional musicians, we have a deeply trained muscle memory system, a network of learned movements which allows us to study and perform a huge number of works in any situation, often in a short space of time. This system is a blessing when it is reliable and accurate and a burden when it does not serve us well. Confronted by unwanted tension or a repetitive stress injury such as tendonitis or carpal tunnel syndrome, some of us, as F.M. Alexander did, may ask: what is my part in this? How have I brought about this condition? And it [...]

By Selma Gokcen|2017-11-24T04:09:57-05:00November 5th, 2012|Categories: Artistic Vision, Beyond the Traditional, Performance, Playing Healthy, Self Discovery|Tags: head, training, tension, Habits, effort, cello, muscle memory, cellobello, singing, Effective, Preparation, Alexander Technique, professional musicians, process, Gokcen, unlearning habits, neck, brain, relationships, function, musicians, Selma, nervous system, energy, back, Technique|

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, [...]

By Jonathan Pegis|2017-07-15T05:12:25-04:00October 19th, 2012|Categories: Auditions, In the Practice Room, Orchestra, Performance, Repertoire|Tags: markings, cellobello, confidence, education, teacher, Audition, Excerpts, pressure, Teaching, coaching, nerves, inflection, mistakes, dynamics, release, orchestral excerpts, orchestra, recording, Beethoven, accents, Preparation, singing, bow speed, blog, control, sustain, Rhythm, bow changes, Symphony, vibrato, technical challenges, phrasing, legato, cello, variations, practicing|

When the Music Stops — by Brant Taylor

For those of us for whom a musicians’ work stoppage in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra was something we’d read about in histories of the orchestra but had never experienced in real life, the e-mail message we received last Saturday was a bit of a shock: we were on strike. Much of the "what" and "how" has already been disclosed elsewhere by both sides, so I won't go over that here. Fortunately, the work stoppage was short-lived—about 48 hours—and the musicians have now ratified a new contract that will allow our season to proceed without further disruption. Any orchestral musician who has been through tough negotiations will agree that they’re strange times. An orchestral organization is tiny compared to the global business corporations in the for-profit world that deal with large [...]

By Brant Taylor|2017-07-06T04:17:59-04:00September 27th, 2012|Categories: Orchestra, Performance|Tags: media, Brant, resolution, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, CSO, Taylor, audiences, connection, cello, orchestral tours, cellobello, music-making, music|

A Cellist in Kabul (Part 1) — by Avery Waite

On September 4th, I packed up my things, hopped in a taxi and drove to JFK airport. My destination, Kabul. My job, the new cello teacher at the Afghanistan National Institute of Music. When I first heard about the opportunity to teach in Kabul, I knew deep down that I had no choice but to go. Something drew me to it. I applied for the job without really thinking it through completely. But when I was actually offered the position, I had to really take a step back and give it some serious thought. In fact, it took me almost three months to fully accept the decision I had made to go. Some days I would be thrilled and excited, and other days I would be scared out of my [...]

By Avery Waite|2017-10-30T05:19:45-04:00September 21st, 2012|Categories: Beyond the Traditional, Interpersonal Relationships, Self Discovery, Teaching|Tags: beauty, patience, intensity, success, Afghanistan, improvement, Avery, impact, Kabul, Teaching, language, traveling, cello, musical language, Waite, cellobello, adventure, students, learning, teacher|

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