Pedagogy Archives

Opening Paths: Mexican Composer Ricardo Castro and Latin America’s First Cello Concerto (Part 3)

Español Editions Ricardo Castro’s cello concerto has been edited twice. The first edition was authored by Jorge Alejandro Mendoza Rojas as a part of his unpublished Doctoral Thesis at The University of Texas Austin: “The cello concerto by Mexican composer Ricardo Castro (1864-1607): A performance edition for cello and piano” (1994). The dissertation itself provides a through survey of information regarding Castro, including his life, composing style and other aspects that are relevant to anyone willing to understand the concerto from a wider perspective. Mendoza Rojas’ edition includes a fully edited cello part as well as a piano reduction. The second edition was sponsored by the Sphinx Organization and has been recently prepared by Strings of Latin America (2021). It includes a piano reduction, [...]

By Natali Herrera-Pacheco, Horacio Contreras, and Germán Marcano|2024-07-05T20:07:50-04:00June 18th, 2022|Categories: Historical, Repertoire|Tags: cello concerto, Pedagogy, Cello Repertoire, Ricardo Castro, Latin America, Sources, Origins of concerto, Technique|

Conversation with Cordelia Wikarski-Miedel (1993)

Interview by Tim Janof Ms. Wikarki-Miedel is Instructor of Cello, the Northwest Artist in Residence, and Director of the Chamber Music Department at University of Puget Sound. Comprehensive Bio TJ: You were born in Berlin? CWM: I was born in Berlin shortly before World War II, when Berlin was not divided between East and West. TJ: Were your parents musicians? CWM: My father was professor of piano at the "Hochschule fur Musik" in Berlin, the equivalent of the Juilliard School in New York. He taught from 1927 to 1945, when he was killed by Russians who had invaded Berlin in the last days of the war. My mother was a fine pianist, and was able to play the major piano literature. My parents often played together, sometimes she accompanied him [...]

By Tim Janof|2021-08-02T17:42:18-04:00July 29th, 2021|Categories: Internet Cello Society Archive, Artistic Vision, Beyond the Traditional, Interviews, Performance, Repertoire|Tags: Pedagogy, Germany, Maurice Gendron, Richard Klemm, Teaching, August Eichhorn, Technique, Berlin Wall|

Conversation with Irene Sharp (December, 1997)

Interview by Tim Janof Cellist Irene Sharp has been acclaimed internationally for her teaching. She has given master classes for the American String Teachers Association (ASTA), the European String Teachers Association, the Australian String Teachers Association, and the Suzuki Association of America. Although based in Northern California, Ms. Sharp has worked with students in cities such as New York, London, Salzburg, Hamburg, Sydney, Tokyo, and Taipei. Currently on the faculty of the Mannes College of Music, she has also served on the faculty of the Meadowmount School for Strings, the Bowdoin (Maine) Summer Music Festival, and Indiana University's String Academy. Ms. Sharp is Artistic Director of California Summer Music, a festival for young string players, pianists, and composers ages 12 to 23 held at Pebble Beach, California. She has been [...]

By Tim Janof|2024-02-19T13:25:48-05:00February 22nd, 2021|Categories: Internet Cello Society Archive, Artistic Vision, Interviews, Performance, Repertoire, Teaching|Tags: Pedagogy, Irene Sharp, Interpretation, Teaching, Rhythm, Technique|

Conversation with Eleonore Schoenfeld (August, 1999)

Interview by Tim Janof Eleonore Schoenfeld earned her Artist Diploma at the famed Hochschule fur Musik in Berlin, Germany. An internationally known cellist, she has concertized in four continents as soloist with leading Philharmonic and Radio Orchestras, in recitals, and in a violin-cello duo with her sister, Alice Schoenfeld, known as the "Schoenfeld Duo." She has made numerous recordings of the solo and chamber literature for major TV and radio stations in Europe and the USA. Among them are works specifically written for the Schoenfeld Duo, which has recorded for Everest and Orion Master Recordings. She has been the Director of the international Gregor Piatigorsky Seminar for Cellists in Los Angeles since 1979. A renowned pedagogue, she is Professor at the University of Southern California (USC), where she has been [...]

By Tim Janof|2020-09-17T02:35:41-04:00March 1st, 2020|Categories: Internet Cello Society Archive, Artistic Vision, Performance|Tags: Piatagorsky, Dvorak Concerto, Popper Etudes, Sevcik, Teaching, chamber music, Tim Janof, Pedagogy, USC|

Conversation with Timothy Eddy (July, 2001)

Interview by Tim Janof Timothy Eddy has earned distinction as a recitalist, soloist with orchestra, chamber musician, recording artist, winner in numerous national and international competitions, and teacher of cello and chamber music. In June of 1975, Mr. Eddy received top honors at the Gaspar Cassado International Violoncello Competition, held in Florence, Italy. He has also won prizes in the Dealey Contest (Dallas), the Denver Symphony Guild Competition, the North Carolina Symphony Contest, and the New York Violoncello Society Competition. In addition to numerous solo and chamber recitals throughout the U.S., he has appeared as concerto soloist with many U.S. orchestras, including the Dallas, Denver, Stamford, Jacksonville, and North Carolina Symphony Orchestras. Mr. Eddy received his Bachelor's and Master's degrees with honors from the Manhattan School of Music, where he [...]

By Tim Janof|2020-03-15T15:40:16-04:00February 23rd, 2020|Categories: Internet Cello Society Archive, Performance, Teaching|Tags: Tim Eddy, Elgar Concerto, Haydn Concerto, Kneisel Hall, Beethoven, tension, Tim Janof, Pedagogy|

Conversation with Hans Jorgen Jensen (April, 2006)

Interview by Tim Janof Hans Jørgen Jensen is currently Professor of Cello at Northwestern University and a faculty member of both Meadowmount School of Music and The National Arts Center's Young Artist Program. Mr. Jensen received a Soloist Diploma from the Royal Academy of Music in Denmark as a student of Asger Lund Christiansen and studied with Leonard Rose and Channing Robbins at the Juilliard School. In addition, he studied with Pierre Fournier in Geneva, Switzerland. At Juilliard he studied chamber music with Robert Mann and Earl Carlyss. From 1979 to 1987 he was Professor of Cello at the School of Music at the University of Houston. He has been a guest professor at the School of Music at the University of Southern California, the Tokyo College of Music, and [...]

By Tim Janof|2020-03-10T14:57:41-04:00August 5th, 2019|Categories: Internet Cello Society Archive, Interviews|Tags: ICS, Bach, Hans Jensen, Beethoven, Hans Jorgen Jensen, bow, CelloMind, vibrato, Christiansen, Northwestern, tennis ball, competitions, adapting, height, Internet Cello Society, hand size, Pedagogy|

Master Class Report: János Starker 2/29/01

Benaroya Hall, Seattle, USA, 2/29/01 The following are my notes from the master class Janos Starker gave in Seattle. 10 minutes before the class was to start, Seattle experienced a 6.8 earthquake. Apparently, Janos Starker was calm as can be backstage when it happened. The class ended up starting only 1/2 hour late. —by Tim Janoff Left Hand Anticipated Shift -- Slide before the bow change and land on the note at the bow change. Delayed Shift -- Slide after the bow change. Thumb Placement in Thumb Position -- A hitchhiking thumb allows more overtones, but it is harder to play in tune. Placing the thumb on the neighboring string is more solid, but it allows fewer overtones. The technique of the future is to place the thumb beneath the [...]

By Tim Janof|2021-11-15T13:29:47-05:00August 5th, 2019|Categories: Internet Cello Society Archive, Artistic Vision, Janos Starker, Self Discovery|Tags: Pedagogy, bow, Janos Starker, ICS, Technique, Philosophy, Starker, Masterclass, left hand, Internet Cello Society|

Remembering Aldo Parisot (September 30, 1918 – December 29, 2018)

With heavy hearts we share the loss of Aldo Parisot, extraordinary performer and beloved pedagogue. A legendary figure in the music world, he was the longest-serving member in history at the Yale School of Music, mentoring and inspiring young artists for the past 60 years. At the age of 99, this past June, he retired from teaching. Acknowledged as one of the world's master cellists, Mr. Parisot led the career of a complete and well-rounded artist as concert soloist, chamber musician, recitalist, and devoted teacher. He was heard with many of the major orchestras of the world, including Berlin, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Stockholm, Rio, Munich, Warsaw, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Pittsburgh, under the batons of such eminent conductors as Stokowski, Barbirolli, Bernstein, Mehta, Monteux, Paray, de Carvalho, Sawallisch, Hindemith, and [...]

By Blogmaster|2019-01-18T00:35:41-05:00December 30th, 2018|Categories: News|Tags: Yale School of Music, Pedagogy, Aldo Parisot|