Janos Archives

Practicing, Some Practice Advice (Part 1) — by Michael Haber

I've written this brief essay for purely selfish reasons: I like to see my students improve. When they do, I feel happy, they feel happy, I go home for dinner a happy man. What follows is intended to help you organize your practicing, and your thinking about your practicing, in an effective way. Your progress, mine too, depends on the quality and quantity of this work. It's also intended to encourage you to practice, period. Not all of my students are always inclined to work as well and as much as they should. I should confess from the beginning that I have always loved practicing. It is the royal road to instrumental mastery and the incomparable satisfaction of playing music as well as it deserves to be played. I have [...]

By Michael Haber|2024-03-28T00:03:32-04:00September 1st, 2017|Categories: In the Practice Room, Self Discovery, Videos|Tags: Duport, Starker, Popper, Michael Haber, Practice, setting goals, Gallamian, intonation, Starker method, technical work, scales, trills, Technique, Piatti, Janos|

Reminder: Memorial for Janos Starker at Indiana University this Sunday, September 22

All invited to the Janos Starker Memorial at Indiana University, Sunday, Sept. 22. A message from Janos Starker’s daughter, Gwen Preucil; I am writing to let you all know that there will be a memorial for my father at Indiana University on Sunday, September 22nd at 4 pm at the Musical Arts Center in Bloomington, Indiana. […]

By Blogmaster|2013-09-10T11:57:08-04:00September 10th, 2013|Categories: Performance|Tags: virtuoso, Memorial, cello, soloist, Musical Arts Center, cellobello, Bloomington, Preucil, teacher, Indiana University, survivor, confidence, Remembering Janos Starker, artist, cellist, Hungarian Cellist, elegance, Gwen, performer, Indiana, expression, Janos, Janos Starker Memorial, legacy, Starker, legend, musician|

Remembering Hungarian Cello Master János Starker — by Benjamin Ivry

Having survived a Nazi internment camp during World War II, Hungarian Jewish cellist János Starker (1924-2013) led a life focused on civic contributions and behaving with utter freedom. Starker, who died in Indiana on April 28 at age 88, witnessed some of the worst horrors of modern history, and was determined to devote himself to constructing the future. He and his parents, of Polish-Ukrainian Jewish origin, survived their imprisonment, but his two older brothers Tibor and Ede, both accomplished violinists, were murdered in Nazi labor camps. Starker’s notion of free behavior included a lifelong habit of consuming quantities of whiskey and cigarettes, neither of which impeded his ferociously concentrated playing. It also embraced free speech, even when the expression of his musical taste might wound students or established colleagues. In [...]

By Blogmaster|2023-03-21T10:59:02-04:00August 1st, 2013|Categories: Artistic Vision, Janos Starker, Performance|Tags: performances, Benjamin, Holocaust survivor, cellist, Hungarian Cellist, elegance, Ivry, Janos, musical taste, Starker, Nazi internment camp, virtuoso, seeking perfection, expression, Accomplishment, World War II, Teaching, soloist, cello, confidence, Remembering Janos Starker|

A Celebration of Janos Starker in Memories & Music: Toronto, July 27-28

A Message from Gabriella Starker It is overwhelming as well as comforting to read and hear the outpouring of respect, memories and emotion since my father left us. I am still emotionally unable to look at all of it. I know I will eventually. My father was my inspiration, my mentor, my strongest and most demanding critic and my great friend. I know that most of you would say exactly the same. His devotion and passion for those he taught and inspired was all encompassing. Nothing gave him greater joy or pleasure. Personally I am reeling from the loss of my daddy, even the detail that he was the last family I could speak with in Hungarian when it came to the basics and not the intellectual pursuits. Life without [...]

By Blogmaster|2013-07-09T20:57:33-04:00July 9th, 2013|Categories: Janos Starker|Tags: cello, Canada, Remenyi House of Music, cellobello, former students, stories, music, gathering, Toronto, students, honor, Toronto Cricket Club, celebration, intimate gathering, tribute, colleagues, life of Janos Starker, Janos, love, Starker, memories, impact, musical influence, inspiration, photographs, Teaching, artist, pictures|

Remembering János Starker: July 5, 1924-April 28, 2013

“What is the role of music in society?… Music is one of the essentials in human existence, almost identical with eating, sleeping, making love, the basic functions that keep a human being alive. Music simply, is one of the blessings and joys of civilized human existence.” – János Starker View Janos Starker performances and interviews at https://cellobello.org/legacy/starker-the-teacher ------------------ János Starker Tributes From Tsuyoshi Tsutsumi: The passing of my dear mentor and inspiration, János Starker, is indeed profoundly sad news, even though we have been expecting this at any moment. It is a great honour for me to write about him, and it causes so many wonderful memories to flood my mind. The only thing I can say at this moment is that he was not only a truly incredible cellist, musician, artist, [...]

Passing It On — by Brant Taylor

A few weeks back, I was having a post-concert drink with my friend and colleague Joshua Gindele, cellist of the Miro Quartet, and the conversation turned to teaching. Though we are both associated with ensembles that perform dozens of concerts every season, teaching the cello is an important component of both of our musical lives. (Josh teaches at the University of Texas at Austin, and I teach at DePaul University.) Discussions on the general relationship between performing and teaching often give rise to interesting questions, some without straightforward answers. Many performers teach even though the skill sets required for good teaching and good performing are far from identical. If great teaching is something that is learned, when and how are the skills acquired? If a performer is a big star [...]

By Brant Taylor|2017-08-08T01:49:47-04:00February 20th, 2012|Categories: Bernard Greenhouse, Interpersonal Relationships, Janos Starker, Teaching|Tags: Quartet, Janos, inspiration, Awareness, Starker, Teaching, performance, cello technique, cello, Gregor, cellobello, David, Piatigorsky, Katz, perspective, Popper, music, Bernard, Paul, Brant, Greenhouse, Experience, Development, Taylor|

A New Look at Sight-Reading (Part 3) — by Robert Battey

Successful sight-readers move deftly around within a rigid hierarchy of tasks (“the Levels”). They’re like fencers, thinking ahead, anticipating the threats and challenges in the music, and adapting what they do on a measure-by-measure basis. They keep to the hierarchy, adding the next Level only when the lower ones are completely under control; experienced players do not jeopardize the ensemble by fumbling at a Level they can’t handle properly. Thus, effective sight-reading training is about understanding these Levels to the point where you can apply and adjust them instinctively, automatically. As I’ve said, it’s a different kind of thinking, almost like playing a different instrument. For most people, the most difficult concept to wrap your head around is that finding the actual pitches comes last. Simply chasing notes will quickly [...]

By Robert Battey|2017-10-24T03:47:44-04:00February 3rd, 2012|Categories: In the Practice Room, Self Discovery, Teaching|Tags: Effective, cello, perfection, cellobello, Coordination, music, Listening, Development, harmony, success, Janos, Technique, Starker, Battey, character, sight-reading, ensemble, Accomplishment, Rhythm, dynamics|

Finesse — by Brant Taylor

Any musician who has interests outside the realm of music has probably discovered ideas and concepts important to other disciplines which are directly applicable to the study and performance of music. The lessons we can learn about greatness from outside our own field are often very powerful because the underlying principles tend to be universal and not confined to any single discipline. For the famed American chef Thomas Keller, there is one word he uses to describe his entire philosophy of approaching his craft at the highest level: finesse. Chef Keller apparently doesn't want anyone who works for him to forget it—the word and its dictionary definition are emblazoned directly on the tiles above the entrance to the kitchen at Per Se, his high-end (and delicious) New York City restaurant: [...]

By Brant Taylor|2021-01-20T20:53:36-05:00July 19th, 2011|Categories: Artistic Vision, In the Practice Room, Performance, Self Discovery|Tags: aspirations, vibrato, ideas, contact point, cello, details, cellobello, exploration, finesse, Brant, Listening, harmony, Taylor, effortless, Janos, Awareness, lessons, creativity, legato, concentration, solutions, release, Philosophy, concepts, bow speed, small details, skills, weight, Starker, musical, fundamentals, tension, character|