Concerto Archives

The “Instead” List

While the list of pieces that appear in cello-piano recitals is incredibly short - same 10 pieces keep circulating in different order - we cellists actually have very large repertoire. Orchestras don't program much more than 10 Concertos and apart the Bach Suites there are maybe 5 pieces that make their way to concert programs. There are always multiple reasons for great music falling out of general attention. It may have to do with style, gender, origin, problems of notation, lack of publisher, wrong publisher, fashion, lack of social skill, too keen self promotion or any combination of these. Often the reasons have nothing to do with the quality of the music. And the quality itself is totally dependent on who is the messenger, in the wrong hands most music [...]

By Anssi Karttunen|2020-09-17T02:35:21-04:00March 23rd, 2020|Categories: Artistic Vision, CelloFun, Chamber Music, In the Practice Room, Performance, Repertoire, Teaching|Tags: repertoire, Instead, Sonata, Solo Suite, Concerto, inspiration|

Conversation with Zara Nelsova (June, 2000)

Interview by Tim Janof The second generation of a distinguished Russian musical family, Ms. Nelsova was born in Canada, educated in England, and is a citizen of the USA. She made her debut with the London Symphony at age 12, and since that time has regularly toured every continent, including her triumphant tour of the Soviet Union in 1966 as the first to be made by an American soloist. Zara Nelsova has appeared with virtually every major orchestra in North America including those of New York, Boston, Chicago, and Philadelphia. She has appeared with numerous European orchestras including the Concertgebouw Orchestra of Amsterdam, Royal, Berlin, and London Philharmonics, the BBC and London symphony orchestras, and in Warsaw and Poznan with the Amadeus Chamber Orchestra. She has collaborated with such [...]

By Tim Janof|2022-05-09T13:53:00-04:00October 27th, 2019|Categories: Internet Cello Society Archive, Interviews, Performance|Tags: Barber, Bloch, Schelomo, Zara Nelsova, Pablo Casals, Concerto, Pierre Fournier, soloist|

Conversation with Maria Kliegel (September, 1999)

Interview by Tim Janof German cellist Maria Kliegel's international career started in 1981 when she received the "Grand Prix" of the Concours Rostropovich in Paris. She also won first prizes at the American College Competition, the First German Music Competition in Bonn, the Concours Aldo Parisot, and was in the national selection for "Concerts with Young Artists." After the Rostropovich Competition, the international concerts and tours began: she performed in Basel, and played with the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C., and the Orchestre National de France in Paris -- each time with Mstislav Rostropovich conducting. She has performed at the Konzerthaus Berlin, Stuttgart Liederhalle, Amsterdam Concertgebouw, Weilburger Schloßkonzerte, Gidon Kremer's Lockenhaus Festival, Gubaidulina Festival in West Germany, Risor Kam in Norway, Alte Oper Frankfurt, and Kultursommer Nordhessen. She has [...]

By Tim Janof|2020-03-01T17:58:09-05:00October 27th, 2019|Categories: Internet Cello Society Archive, Janos Starker, Performance|Tags: Maria Kliegel, Naxos, Concerto, Janos Starker, Rostropovich|

Conversation with Alban Gerhardt (April, 2003)

Interview by Tim Janof After winning several international competitions early on (Wettbewerbserfolgen 1990 at the ARD, and the Leonard Rose International Competition in 1993), Alban Gerhardt has established himself as one of the world's leading cellists. His career-launching debut with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra has led to performances as soloist with such orchestras as the NDR Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich, and Frankfurt Radio Orchestras, Bamberg Symphony, Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, Dresden, Hamburg, and London Philharmonic Orchestras, Royal Scottish National Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony, BBC Philharmonic, Mozarteum Orchestra Salzburg, National Symphony, Houston and Chicago Symphony Orchestras, Orchestre de la Suisse Romande, Orchestre National de Belgique, St. Petersburger Philharmonikern, Shinsei Symphony Orchestra Tokyo and Nagoya Philharmonic Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic, as well as the chamber orchestras of Lausanne, Amsterdam, Cincinnati, and St. Louis. Among the [...]

By Tim Janof|2020-08-10T13:30:54-04:00August 5th, 2019|Categories: Internet Cello Society Archive, Interviews|Tags: ICS, interview, Internet Cello Society, Gerhardt, Concerto, Janoff, Haydn, Germany, Practice, Helmerson, Dvorak, etude, soloist, regimen, Alban Gerhardt|

Conversation with Gary Hoffman (September, 1999)

Interview by Tim Janof American cellist Gary Hoffman was born in Vancouver, Canada, in 1956. At 15 he made his London recital debut in Wigmore Hall; his New York recital debut occurred in 1979. At the age of 22 he became the youngest faculty appointee in the history of Indiana University School of Music, where he remained for eight years. Mr. Hoffman, who is frequently invited to hold master classes, has coached cellists at numerous institutions and festivals, including Aspen, the Gregor Piatigorsky Seminar at the University of Southern California, the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, the Casals Festival in Prades, the Eastman School of Music, Schleswig-Holstein, Verbier, Ravinia, etc. He achieved international renown following his victory at the Rostropovich International Competition in Paris in 1986. He has appeared as soloist [...]

By Tim Janof|2020-03-10T14:56:58-04:00August 5th, 2019|Categories: Internet Cello Society Archive, Interviews|Tags: Bach, Internet Cello Society, expression, Concerto, ICS, Janos Starker, Gary Hoffman, performance, Lalo, Technique, Starker, Dvorak, Baroque, Tim Janoff|

Conversation with János Starker (February, 2004)

Interview by Tim Janof "With his peerless technical mastery and intensely expressive playing, Janos Starker is universally recognized as one of the worlds supreme musicians." (New York Times) János Starker was born in Budapest in 1924 and began studying the cello at the age of six. By the age of eight he was coaching his first pupil, and by eleven he was performing in public. His early career took him through Budapest's Franz Liszt Academy, and on to positions of first cellist with the Budapest Opera and Philharmonic at the end of World War Two. In 1948 he emigrated to the United States where he subsequently held the posts of principal cellist with the Dallas Symphony, Metropolitan Opera of New York, and the Chicago Symphony under Fritz Reiner. In 1956 [...]

By Tim Janof|2020-03-10T15:02:17-04:00August 5th, 2019|Categories: Internet Cello Society Archive, Interviews|Tags: Tim Janoff, Concerto, Internet Cello Society, Leonard Rose, Janos Starker, ICS, repertoire, internment camp, Greenhouse, controversy, articulation, Starker, soloist, Hungary|

Conversation with János Starker (June, 1996)

Interview by Tim Janof János Starker is known throughout the world as a soloist, recording artist, and teacher. Born in Budapest in 1924, Janos Starker came to the United States in 1948, where he subsequently held the principal cellist chair in three American orchestras, including the Chicago Symphony under Fritz Reiner. Starker then resumed his international performing career in 1958. Since then he has performed thousands of concerts with orchestras and in recitals throughout the world. When not touring, János Starker holds the title of Distinguished Professor at Indiana University in Bloomington, where his classes have attracted talented string players from around the world. TJ: Is there such a thing as a student with no talent for an instrument? JS: I wouldn't say that a person has no talent, [...]

By Tim Janof|2022-01-17T11:12:43-05:00August 5th, 2019|Categories: Internet Cello Society Archive, Interviews|Tags: golden era, talent, National Cello Congress, recordings, musicality, Tim Janoff, dupre, Interpretation, Internet Cello Society, Concerto, Leonard Rose, ICS, Janos Starker, Rubinstein, repertoire|

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: Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Zukerman, CSO, variables, Taylor, bow strokes, cellists, Brant Taylor, Bach, frog, Concerto, bow, success, weight, Technique, cello, Shostakovich, cellobello, contact point, Brant, Pinchas|

Tour Musings — by Alisa Weilerstein

I'm now a few days removed from one of the most exhilarating—and definitely the longest—tours of my life. I've grown accustomed to playing a different concerto every week, sometimes with a recital thrown in here and there. But I can't remember the last time I actually played only one piece for three weeks straight. However, that's exactly what I did in the last week of March and first two weeks of April; I played Shostakovich 1st Concerto fifteen times across the US with the St Petersburg Philharmonic and Yuri Temirkanov. I've had so many thoughts about this tour and am struggling to consolidate them into a coherent blog entry. I have to start by saying what an incredible musical and educational experience it was for me. There are players in [...]

By Alisa Weilerstein|2018-03-15T04:14:38-04:00April 22nd, 2011|Categories: Artistic Vision, Cello Travel, Performance, Self Discovery|Tags: cello, Airplanes, recital, cellobello, Alisa, Rostropovich, orchestra, tour, Weilerstein, Travel, concert halls, experiences, Sound, Shostakovich, emotion, unique, performance, musicianship, Concerto, challenges, Cello Travel, inspiration, rehearsals, exhilarating|

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 [...]

By Melissa Kraut|2024-01-22T02:00:58-05:00April 11th, 2011|Categories: Auditions, Teaching|Tags: cello, Kraut, Development, cellobello, Melissa, knowledge, students, possibility, Auditions, suggestions, expression, quality, Experience, commitment, Concerto, reflection, clarity, connection, career, skill, intonation, intentions, bow, Strings Magazine, sound production, potential, bow speed, imagination, passion, tone, success, musicianship, vibrato, Technique, articulation|

In the Zone — by Talya Buckbinder

I received my most memorable lesson in distraction during my first year of playing the cello. My teacher sat me down one day, instructed me to play the Gavotte from Suzuki Book 2, and then proceeded to demonstrate the most amusing display of histrionics I'd ever seen, even going as far as to caterwaul loudly and spill her coffee down the front of her dress. My teacher thought she could train me to focus on the music if she presented me with an array of possible distractions. At the Perlman Music Program, Toby Perlman would tell us the story of how Mr. P played a concert through an earthquake and continued performing, completely unaware that the earth was trembling below the concert hall. We all laughed incredulously, though I couldn't [...]

By Guest Blogger|2017-10-24T04:17:45-04:00April 6th, 2011|Categories: Performance, Self Discovery|Tags: cello, lessons, cellobello, relaxation, music, goals, student, focus, Technique, Concerto, Haydn, Distraction, Teaching, effortless|

Two Minutes of Your Time — by Brant Taylor

Early in 2011, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra will hold auditions hoping to fill two vacancies in our cello section. In my twelve years of hearing auditions as a member of this ensemble, hundreds of cellists have presented themselves on our stage. Some have done so several times. Their audience is a committee of nine members of the orchestra who sit behind a screen in our otherwise-empty hall. Some of us take notes during the performances, but the only thing that matters to the process is the simple "yes" or "no" each committee member marks on a blank index card after every player has finished. If a candidate receives at least six "yes" votes in a preliminary audition, he or she advances to the final round. To those unfamiliar with the [...]

By Brant Taylor|2017-08-04T03:27:35-04:00March 14th, 2011|Categories: Auditions, Orchestra|Tags: Brant, orchestra, cello section, Practice, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Preparation, CSO, process, ensembles, Taylor, Concerto, Excerpts, Time, artistry, Experience, trends, cello, honesty, cellobello, nerves, Auditions, numbers, beauty|