The music world saw the passing of a giant this past weekend as legendary Hungarian cellist Janos Starker died on Sunday at the age of 88. Starker’s presence in the music community was so great and so extraordinary that to try to remember him in writing is almost an impossible task. The course of his life leaps off the page as if written into a movie: child prodigy survives Nazi concentration camp to find world renown as a cellist through hard work, talent, and extraordinary resilience. Despite the dramatic events of his life and the exceptional nature of his success, Starker’s legacy is one that truly is and always has been about the music.

Starker was born to Jewish parents in Hungary in 1924 and was given a cello before his sixth birthday. He made quick work of learning the cello, giving his first public performance at the age of six and entering the Franz Liszt Academy of Budapest the next year. He debuted in performance at the Academy at age 11 and made his professional debut at the age of 14. Coming of age as he did in troubled political times, Starker’s early career encountered the most harrowing of setbacks: he and his family were sent to a Nazi concentration camp for three months during World War II. He and his parents survived, but his two violinist elder brothers did not. After being released from the camp, Starker worked his way to Paris as an electrician and a sulfur miner–but he released his first recording in that same year. That disc, the 1946 recording of Kodaly’s Solo Sonata, met with great success, winning a Grand Prix du Disque and putting Starker into the international eye. Of his brush with death in the concentration camps, he said, “I had very little chance of surviving WWII. And when I survived it, I said I should make it justifiable why I stayed alive.”

He did so with unbelievable vigor, arriving in the United States in 1948 and quickly rising through the ranks of American orchestras, including the Dallas Symphony, the Metropolitan Opera, and the Chicago Symphony. He felt that his calling, though, was as a teacher, and he left his orchestral life to pursue a career as an international soloist and teacher. “I’ve been caught confessing that basically I was born to be a teacher,” he said. “People question the validity of it, because I played all those 3, 4, 5,000 concerts in my life. But the fact is, I think I was put on earth to be a teacher.”

To that end, Starker joined the faculty of the Indiana University School of Music in 1958–where he remained until his death. To enumerate his playing and teaching achievements is an almost insurmountable task: Starker played all of the greatest repertoire with all of the great orchestras, recording much of it, and shaping the face of modern cello-playing with his technique books and his teaching. To all living cellists, Starker was a universal presence in our lives, and that in itself speaks to an extraordinary generosity of character. Not content to preach his musical gospel from a stationary pulpit in Indiana, Starker traveled the world to teach students everywhere.

Nor was he a man of frothy, intangible musical ideas that do little to help the players on the ground: he was a musician of exacting standards with a strong sense of pragmatism that pervaded his approach to teaching and to playing–his was a masterclass that left every participant and audience member alike humming with ideas that they would take home and try immediately, and they would work. His colleague and friend Menachem Pressler said of him, “His standard was very, very high. But he was a perfectionist, so during performance he was very concerned with perfection — and he was perfect.”

Starker’s dedication to excellence–to perfection–rendered him both a beautiful player and a demanding and effective teacher. No metaphorical nonsense, no frills, no hysterical showmanship: Starker’s teaching was lean and focused, practical but utterly musical, just like his playing and just like man himself. That quest for perfection was no empty technical ambition: it was rooted completely in the service of the music, and it is this service to music that has inspired generations of modern cellists–and will continue to inspire future generations for years to come.  It is simply impossible to imagine a world without Janos Starker. Thanks to his unflagging, tireless work as a teacher and his vast catalog of brilliant recorded performances, there will never really be a world without his indispensable presence.

To share your remembrances of Professor Starker, please visit the following memorial site at the Jacobs School of Music.

The post Honoring the Life of Janos Starker, Master Cellist appeared first on String Visions | from Ovation Press.

At the age of 103, Mr. Carter had lived a full life of influence, helping shape the musical trends of the 20th century in a unique way. Last December, a concert was held in Manhattan for what was to be the final celebration of his birthday while the composer himself was still alive… and present! True to form, this performance was not a tribute to works long since past but rather a presentation of fresh and new material from Mr. Carter. His musical output continued through the final years of his life.

As he approached his 100th birthday, composer Elliott ­Carter would lie in bed each morning and greet a flood of new musical ideas. He then worked diligently for most of the day, committing thoughts to paper and turning out finished works faster than their world premieres could be scheduled.

For a composer at the century mark to be so prolific, at such a high level, was a phenomenon possibly unique in the history of music. Meanwhile, the works he created seemed to take the diamond-hard, prismatic style of his mature music in directions that were lighter and more fanciful with each passing year.

Mr. Carter died Monday in his New York City home, said his longtime associate, clarinetist Virgil Blackwell. He was 103.

The most respected American composer of the late 20th century, Mr. Carter wrote 158 works and twice received the Pulitzer Prize for music. He was also the first composer to ­receive the National Medal of Arts.

“He was a remarkable man, we know that,” Blackwell said by phone from Manhattan Monday. “Music was the most important thing in his life. He put all of his energy into composing. And the number of pieces he was able to write in the last 10 years was absolutely astounding. They were all different; he didn’t repeat himself.”

Regarding the incredible longevity of his musical creativity, it is perhaps impossible to overstate its significance. This towering titan of the 20th century spent much of the final quarter of his life, which began long after many people retire, producing a considerable number of his most ambitious and greatest projects.

Mr. Carter was already in his 80s when he took on the most expansive work of his career, “Symphonia,” and he was 90 when he wrote his first opera, “What Next?” That opera was premiered in 1999, and the question in its title was repeatedly asked of the composer throughout the next decade, as he penned a seemingly endless stream of concertos, brief pieces for orchestra, instrumental chamber music, and vocal works. The scores from this so-called late-late period remained highly challenging, but also, in pieces like the Flute Concerto and the Clarinet Concerto, took on a newly Mozartean level of grace.

The 103-year birthday bash concert presented a number of his most recent compositions, including five pieces that Mr. Carter had composed that year and his song cycle A Sunbeam’s Architecture which he wrote at the age of 101 in 2010.

Throughout his career, Elliott Carter was seen as a staunchly complex modernist. Like many other composers of the modern era, his music often encountered difficulty being received and understood by the masses, with intricately developed works that often left musicians and experts as confused as the general public. However, some began to note a shift in the last couple decades of the composer’s music: more lyrical, more welcoming, and more accessible.

Elliott Carter’s “Boston Concerto” (Part One), composed in 2002

Whatever your opinion of his music, it is undeniable the impact that he had on contemporary classical music both in the “old post-war world” and in this new modern world of today. Daniel Barenboim has this to say about Elliott Carter:

For me, he was and remains one of the most interesting figures of music history in the past century.

The historical importance of a composer does not always go hand in hand with the quality of their work. To understand Carter, one must look at where he came from, and the way he reacted to what came before him.

Read the full article – Daniel Barenboim Remembers Elliott Carter

Also check out this piece from NPR, complete with audio – Always A Rose: Elliott Carter Remembered

Other stories from the classical music world:

• The Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra (PBO), led by Music Director Nicholas McGegan, recently gave a “historically-informed program of Beethoven.”
• Another update from our friends at Classical Revolution, now on the ground with a new chapter in Richmond, Virginia.
• Lots in the news lately about the orchestras in St. Louis… what about the classical radio station? Find out!
• This is a good follow-up story to the one we shared last week regarding the departure of conductor Michael Christie from the Colorado Music Festival, going more in-depth about the “magical legacy” that Christie leaves behind.
• Finally, in the wake of the new James Bond film Skyfall which recently premiered, famed musical comedy duo Igudesman & Joo pay tribute with a courageous mashup of Bond and Mozart.

The post A Musical Titan’s Century: Monday’s Bow (November 13) appeared first on String Visions | from Ovation Press.

However, now investors and developers are lined up to purchase this prime real estate and demolish the house in order to make way for something else… with little to no regard for its historical and cultural significance.

Charles Ives’ country house is hidden away amidst verdant rolling hills of unspoilt New England countryside. Chipmunks and gophers scuttle in the surrounding forest and the fragrant air is filled with dragonflies, humming birds and the sound of leaves fanned by the wind.

It would seem that time has stood still since Ives bought this land in Redding, Connecticut. He had a house and barn built in 1912 and moved in with his wife Harmony a year later. It was to become their country home until his death in 1954 and has been lived in by the Ives family ever since.

Until now…

…It’s  heartbreaking  to  think  that  this  beautiful  and  important  musical  landmark could be demolished in a matter of weeks.

Read the full account from cellist and performance artist Zoe Martlew

Take Action

If this is something you want to see avoided, sign the petition for President of the US. In addition there is also a Facebook advocacy group Save the Charles Ives House that you can join. The Charles Ives Society formed this group as well as an action committee to save the heritage house from rampant developers. They are working with local organizations and other parties regarding long-term plans for the property. Their official statement is that they are optimistic about saving the home from demolition.

We’ll be keeping an eye on this issue and will announce any developments we hear. In the meantime, your efforts could go a long way to helping out. Take a moment and make a difference.

The post Call to Action: for Saving Charles Ives’ House appeared first on String Visions | from Ovation Press.

See the original on NPR’s Deceptive Cadence

The post NPR Classical’s 50 Shades of Faure appeared first on String Visions | from Ovation Press.

The so-called “fungus violins” have been making the news with their perhaps somewhat controversial mission of duplicating and even surpassing the legendary sound of the Stradivarius-crafted violins.

In the near future you might be able to have your very own fungus violin, an instrument with a million-dollar sound but that will certainly not cost you a million.

If the technology is successfully tested, will we suddenly see a marked improvement in the quality of music from average everyday violinists? Or, will this simply make it all the more clear that such caliber is decided by the musician, not the instrument.

Learn more about these “biotech” violins!

If you enjoyed the journey last week into making a violin from scratch but thought to yourself: “what about a regular violin, not one made out of carbon-fiber?” here is a remarkable collection of slides and audio of a man who does just that. Kevin Williams, an instrument maker in Wooragee, Victoria (Australia), shares his passion for making string instruments, a passion that moves him to not only build violins, violas, and cellos, but to also personally select and harvest the native timber used for his instruments.

Like the surge in coverage of innovative new developments in instruments such as the CT Stradivarius and Fungus Violins, luthiery seems to have gotten a public facelift in recent months. Shortly before Thanksgiving this year, an Omaha-based violin-maker was featured in a local news story. Cy Amesquita made the decision to follow his heart and pursue his passion of crafting violins over a decade ago. And in that time, his dedication led him to a special commission from Kronos Quartet artist John Sherba to make a violin.

The most recent news once again features Australia, with the nation’s supposed “first violin-making school” having just opened in Roleystone (Western Australia.) It appears there is a movement there to reclaim the lost art and traditions of 16th century master craftsmen.

So, if you are interested in luthiery, Australia might be the place to move!

The post FOLLOW-UP: Fungus Violins and DIY Luthiery appeared first on String Visions | from Ovation Press.

However, something caught my eye the other day on the website Instructables, an imaginative venue for user-created and uploaded do-it-yourself projects, which other users can comment on and rate for quality. One of the website’s members built his own carbon-fiber violin from scratch, and he also provided the documentation and tutorial online.

This is quite a unique treat in the realm of do-it-yourself luthiery!

Last year i made a carbon fibre violin , I started out by drawing a violin on paper , working out the curve heights , plotting the lot on paper.

Once i had my plans drawn it was time to start making moulds , the violin plate moulds started as block of plaster , that i routed out and fine carved to produce a “plug” , the 1st mould was taken off that , then fine finishing the top and bottom plate mould took about 1 month , and i still had a lot of fibreglass moulds to make , rib mould , neck mould , finger board mould, they all take time…

All up it took me 10 months of Sundays , from the time i decided to start to finished product , i had never made a violin before , and my carbon fibre skills were below basic , it was a huge learning curve but between the info on the net and getting your hands dirty and ” givin it a go” , anything is possible.

Check out the original article to read step-by-step instructions for building your very own carbon-fiber violin!

The post Make Your Own Carbon-Fiber Violin! appeared first on String Visions | from Ovation Press.

The “violins” aren’t quite what you’d expect…

The first is about a Galaxy Zoo contributor who discovered a unique and spectacular galaxy merger in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey data. This type of merger is very rare (triple or possibly quadrupal) and is characterized by “thin and long tidal tails.”

It didn’t take long for the nickname “Violin Clef” to emerge. Just take a look:

Well they do say that music is a universal language.

The second story, which we shared on our Facebook page the other day, but which was just too fascinating not to post here, is about a very special violin that takes more than one person to play. Check out the scale of the World’s Largest Violin  — which made it to the Guinness World Records — and hear what it sounds like!

And who says nothing unique ever happens in classical music anymore!?

The post Two Quirky Stories Involving a “Violin” appeared first on String Visions | from Ovation Press.

We’ve featured violin prodigy Chad Hoopes a couple times before here on String Visions. The most recent article congratulated him for been named Classical MPR’s Artist-in-Residence. Mr. Hoopes is a phenomenal violinist who has collaborated with premier musical professionals and ensembles throughout North America. He just recently gave a performance in Cincinnati with Russian pianist Dina Vainshtein.

Chad Hoopes, a 16-year-old violinist from Cleveland, is already being compared to a young Itzhak Perlman and Joshua Bell.

His name may be familiar if you recall Erich Kunzel’s Music Hall show, “From the Top,” and his final Cincinnati Pops recording for Telarc. “From the Top” is a popular show on NPR that features extremely talented kids.

Matinee Musicale opens its 99th season with this young virtuoso, 3 p.m. Sunday at the First Unitarian Church, on Linton Street, Avondale. A reception with the artist follows the concert.

Hoopes collaborates with Russian-born pianist Dina Vainshtein in an ambitious program: Brahms’ Violin Sonata No. 2, Bach’s Violin Sonata No. 1 in G Minor; Prokofiev’s Five Melodies, three pieces from Tchaikovsky’s “Souvenir d’un lieu cher” and Ravel’s showpiece, “Tzigane.”

Read the original story!

We are excited to see Mr. Hoopes in the news again and continue to watch his musical and career development with great interest!

To learn more about Chad Hoopes, please check out our exclusive interview with him here at String Visions!

The post Chad Hoopes Continues to Rise as a Star appeared first on String Visions | from Ovation Press.

Not knowing the law, not having an official letter of invitation, and not telling the situation as it is sends Hans Jensen right back to Chicago…

As a person denied entry into Canada, I was still able to:

• Sleep for 5 hours in a hotel inside the country
• Have a breakfast meeting with a fantastic group of people at the University of Ottawa, including cello students
• Give a one-hour of a master class before being deported from the country.

All of this, without ever having entered the country officially! I was right in the middle of a down bow (playing the right hand) in the Chopin Cello sonata with a wonderful cellist Carol Tsai (who was playing the left hand) when I was stopped by Cellist Paul Marleyn who stood up and told me that it was time to go. At that moment, I was actually very surprised that the problems had not been worked out. I will never forget the expressions on the faces of the students as I was forced to leave in the middle of the class

I have never felt more like a celebrity than when I was being deported at the airport, personally escorted by two Canadian immigration officers. I told them that being able to go immediately to the front of all the lines was actually a great benefit, and that with all due respect I would greatly appreciate always having VIP status.

At the gate, they told me that they didn’t need to watch me, trusting that I would take the flight home. They also added that I was not to come back in and that they would bar me from entering Canada for at least two years if they were ever to catch me in a similar situation.

That part was and remains very upsetting to me because I did not know the law and I did not have a copy of the law with me. If I had, I would have been able to point out that the immigration officers were in fact wrong. Three custom agents stated in front of me and another person that what I was doing required a work permit. All three were wrong.

I was at fault as well, by not having a letter with me that showed my invitation, and also by not knowing the Canadian law for temporary work.

As traveling musicians, it is crucial for us know any and all relevant laws when crossing international borders. For my case, it is perfectly legal to give up to 5 days of classes, speeches, or coaching in Canada without having a work permit. But there are some steps that we must all take to ensure that we do not run into any unexpected obstacles

• Make sure to have an official letter of invitation on letterhead from the institution that you are visiting
• Have the letter written in such a way that it fits within the language, content, and context of the law for whichever country you will be visiting
• Include direct quotes and references to the law so you can point to the source text if necessary and explain the situation if necessary

My experience with Canada and Canadian customs officers over the years have always been great. Even during this trip, the senior officer in charge at the airport was very understanding of and sensitive to the situation. Had it not been for a somewhat overly-aggressive younger officer, I am sure they would have allowed me to enter the country to teach the two days of classes. (I even offered to teach there for the two days for no pay!)

After I found the official law on the Canadian Citizenship website, I called the immigration office after coming back to Chicago. I spoke to a very helpful and friendly customs officer at the Ottawa Airport who agreed that giving classes for two days does not require a work permit. That said, she did remind me to have the letter of Invitation with me the next time. The sensitivity she displayed and the time she spent talking with me was as unusual as the entire situation I dealt with in Canada. But, it was certainly welcomed and much appreciated.

The lesson of the story is to always remember to bring some proof of your reason for entering a country! If giving a master class or short series of lessons in Canada, bring a copy of this law (below) with you to show to any immigration officials if necessary.

Working temporarily in Canada: Jobs that do not require a work permit

The post Hans Jensen Gets Deported from Canada!? appeared first on String Visions | from Ovation Press.

How music can help your mind stay healthy

At String Visions we have featured lots of great stories connecting music and the mind. We have seen how developments in neurological science can improve our ability to practice and how the brains of string players differ from other musicians and non-musicians. And in our musicians’ health section we have found lots of great ways to keep our hands and minds strong.

But how does music directly benefit our health?

A report published last month in September explored this question, concluding that musicians are less impacted in their auditory abilities as they age than non-musicians. The study, conducted by researchers in Toronto, suggests that over a lifetime of studying and playing music we are left better able to detect and decipher sound than those who do not, especially as we age. [1]

This study supplements two other reports from earlier in the year. The first, released in the February Archives of Neurology, determined that older adults with hearing loss appear to be more likely to develop dementia. This study is part of a long-term project supported by the National Institute on Aging which funds Alzheimer’s Disease Centers all over the United States. In this recent publication, scientists reported that for every 10 decibels of hearing loss, the risk of developing Alzheimer’s Disease went up by 20 percent. [2] 

The second study, led by Nina Kraus  director of the Auditory Neuroscience Lab at Northwestern University’s School of Communication determined that music could also help fight against age-related memory decline. Klaus identified that musicians developed certain types of hearing skills from repeated exposure to complex soundscapes which enabled them to retain a comparatively higher level of cognition. [3]

If hearing loss increases the risk of Alzheimer’s, and musical training staves off hearing loss while also combating the debilitating effects of dementia, than aging musicians appear to have quite the hand up against their non-musical counterparts. But how exactly are musicians and non-musicians different in their hearing ability? The Canadian study examined four different auditory abilities:

1. Threshold of hearing – the ability to hear sound as it becomes steadily quieter (the threshold indicates at which point the sound is no longer audible to an individual)
2. Tuning and harmonics
3. Clarity of speech within background noise
4. Temporal gaps

In the first area, hearing threshold, the researchers found no significant differences between musicians and non-musicians. However, the other three factors are more directly connected to the auditory cortex (while threshold is a peripheral auditory measurement) and in those areas musicians had a clear advantage. For example, in the ability to understand speech in a noisy environment, the average 70-year old musician was roughly equivalent to a 50-year old non-musician. [4] [5]

The conclusion? A decline in auditory ability, while inevitable, can be delayed with music.

But as powerful as all of these findings are, there is still much about the musical mind that remains unknown to us. Derek Paravicini is a 32-years old blind, autistic, musical genius with perfect pitch.

Paravicini can play any music that he hears just once. He is to perform a concerto specifically written for him at Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. And yet, though we can see his incredible ability at work, his brain functions are a mystery.

The mystery is perhaps one of the most beautiful aspects of his art.

—————

[1] Zendel, Benjamin Rich and Claude Alain. “Musicians experience less age-related decline in central auditory processing. Psychology and Aging (September 2011).

[2] Lin, Frank R. et al. “Hearing Loss and Incident Dementia.” Archives of Neurology 68, no. 2 (2011): 214-220. Although this may be one of the first studies to more clearly demonstrate the preventive effects of music on dementia, past research explored connections between the two, especially regarding therapeutic uses of music. See Douglas, Simon, Ian James and Clive Ballard. “Non-pharmacological interventions in dementia.” Advances in Psychiatric Treatment 10 (2004): 171-177.

[3] Parbery-Clark, Alexandra et al. “Musical Experience and the Aging Auditory System: Implications for Cognitive Abilities and Hearing Speech in Noise.” PLoS ONE 6, no. 5 (2011): e18082 DOI.

[4] Zendel, Benjamin Rich and Claude Alain. “Musicians experience less age-related decline in central auditory processing. Psychology and Aging (September 2011).

[5] In this study a “musician” was defined as someone who started playing at age 16 or younger, received at least 6 years of formal musical training, and is still playing their instrument. Zendel and Alain analyzed the results of 74 musicians and 89 non-musicians of various ages in the range of 18-91.

The post Protect Your Mind with Music! appeared first on String Visions | from Ovation Press.