The Red Violin is a post from: Mark's Remarks

Where can you get a story whose adventures lead from 1681 – present, is translated in four different languages, explores remote German monasteries, displays wandering virtuoso gypsies, echoes music in starched concert halls, reveals steamy romances, auctions priceless antique instruments, boasts an incredible score written by John Corigliano and is played masterfully by Joshua Bell and lastly, an unforgettable role by Samuel L. Jackson, all in a two hours?

The last violin of Niccolo Busotti is auctioned in a riveting account of the life of a violin that has realized itself through the centuries.

I don’t remember ever seeing a film with violinists that actually appear as if they are playing the violin. Most people would not notice this, however, a player can tell immediately.

Be sure to pick up a copy of the Red Violin DVD at you local video store and watch, listen and enjoy this pinnacle of filmmaking and storytelling. You’ll want to watch and listen again and again!

Violin Master: Antonio Vivaldi “The Red Priest” meets Bob Fosse is a post from: Mark's Remarks

In the 1600-1700’s, a wit could safely jeer that Baroque composer Antonio Vivaldi did not write 450 concertos but wrote one concerto 450 times. Today we know that this couldn’t be further from the truth. So nicknamed the “Red Priest” because of his seminary background and flaming red hair. No matter what great classical music I’ve discovered in my travels, Vivaldi’s concerti and choral works continue to capture my mind & heart.

The Four Seasons is probably Antonio Vivaldi’s most popular work in modern times. But I encourage the discriminating listener to dig even deeper and discover some hidden jewels that are lesser known pieces. 

I was first introduced to Vivaldi’s music via the 1980’s film, All That Jazz, starring Roy Scheider as Joe Gideon.  Based on an autobiographical account of the late Bob Fosse, famed Broadway director and choreographer, Scheider portrays Fosse’s alter ego in a wild ride of amphetamines, alcohol, womanizing and workaholisism which ultimately leads to Fosse’s demise. The classic scene played over and over throughout the film depicts Scheider in the bathroom, commencing each day with popping a handful of uppers, dropping a couple of Alka Seltzer in a glass of water, throwing a Vivaldi cassette tape into the player, looking into the mirror and saying,”It’s showtime, folks.” 

Not being able to get this concerto out of my mind, I went on an all out search into record stores (yes, vinyl) as the movie soundtrack was released after the film was well out of the theaters. As a result of this search, which ended up being the Alla Rustica concerto featured in the movie’s bathroom scene, I continued to hit and miss, only to stumble upon a virtual wealth of other music which Vivaldi had composed.

The Stradivarius Violin “Hammer”: A Cool $3.54M is a post from: Mark's Remarks

Renowned “Golden Age” luthier Antonio Stradivari may never have dreamed that one of his violins would sell for more than the cost of 25 Steinway and Sons concert grand pianos.  Named after Christian Hammer, the 19^th Century collector who was its first recorded owner, this extraordinary violin was auctioned at Christie’s Auction house in May of 2006, to an anonymous bidder.  It is the highest price ever paid for an instrument at a public sale. 

So, what makes this violin so special?  Some say the wood, some say the varnish, others maintain that Stradivari made a deal with the devil.  But it’s likely, that even in the 1700’s, this fiddle was valued at more that a large home at the time.

Violin values are chiefly based on their antiquity and pedigree.  I have had the honor to play a Stradivarius once in a San Francisco dealership.  It was the eeriest feeling holding a violin of this value (list price $2M), but when I played it, I found no discernible difference to other fine instruments.  My opinion was validated when a San Francisco Symphony soloist played it after me in the next room.  When he finished an incredible cadenza I could hear him say from next door, “Nothing special.”

Itzhak Pearlman Plays Bach Violin Concerto Tonight in SF is a post from: Mark's Remarks

Widely acclaimed violin virtuoso, conductor and instructor Itzhak Pearlman, will be performing the Bach Violin Concerto #2 this evening at Davies Symphony Hall.  My daughter asked me if I, like J.S. Bach, would walk 200 miles to hear a great violinist play?  I responded that I wouldn’t trudge the 200, but would brave the Bay Bridge at the 6pm rush hour and meet my buddy Steve Shoen at Ruth Chris Steakhouse for a cocktail before the concert.  My, have times changed.

Bach Violin Partita: The Master of Masters is a post from: Mark's Remarks

Prodigious composer, Johann Sebastian Bach, not only walked 200 miles just to hear Buxtehude play the violin, but composed some of the most incredible concertos, partitas, sonatas, and suites ever experienced.  In fact, Bach wrote so much music that his second wife used some of it to make curlers and the Lutheran Church wrapped sandwiches with Bach’s music.  At the end of every single piece of music, he inscribed “For God Alone the Glory.”

Bach’s written compositions took ten editors over 50 years to publish.  Felix Mendelssohn is greatly responsible for the revival of Bach’s music with Mendelssohn’s premier of St. Matthew’s Passion.  J.S. Bach was once challenged by a French musician named Marchant to a harpsichord contest – when all of the ladies and gentlemen of the court gathered to hear the contest, they were informed that Marchant was spooked and slipped out the back door.  Not to disappoint the audience, Bach sat down and improvised the Chromatic Fantasy.

NASA launched a CD sampling the Earth’s music in the hope that an extraterrestrial nation would discover it. Recordings by the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, Elvis & The Grateful Dead were included.  For a moment, NASA thought to burn a recording of one of J.S. Bach’s works on the CD but  at the last moment decided against it.  They thought it would be bragging.

One of my favorites is Partita #1 in B minor play masterfully by Yehudi Menuhin:

Fiddlesticks! is a post from: Mark's Remarks

What does seafood gumbo, an accordian and a rip-roaring time all have in common?  Go to Lafayette Louisiana and find out for yourself.  Recently, I’ve revived my interest in Cajun fiddle music…and it’s hot, hot, hot! 

“Cajuns are an ethnic group mainly living in Louisiana, consisting of the descendants of Acadian exiles.” – Source: Wikipedia

Largely carrying a two step or waltz beat, cajun fiddle is a pleasure by which to dance.  Tunes are mostly sung in French with an unmistakable howling quality.  It is deliciously unique and I would guess that most music purveyors would not recognize the music if they heard it.  Instrumentation is chiefly fiddle, accordian, guitar, triangle and fiddlesticks.  Some great bands have emerged form the style such as Balfa Toujours (Balfa Forever) http://www.balfatoujours.com/.  I was fortunate to hear this marvelous group play at Jay Ungar’s Ashokan Fiddle and Dance Camp in 2002, and study Cajun fiddle with Kevin Wimmer.

Is variety the spice of life or spicy food and music the variety of life? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cajun

Take a listen to seasoned fiddler/singer, Kevin Wimmer and his mother in this wonderful video:

Beethoven or Mendelssohn: Which One’s Better? is a post from: Mark's Remarks

As I was walking in the early morning hours today, plugged into my trusted iPod, I couldn’t decide with which to listen - my choice being between two stellar violin masterpieces.  The composers: two of the greatest geniuses who ever set foot on this earth. 

The violin concerto (con -chair-toe) is the signature piece of many great composers.  Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847), composed his E minor concerto as one of his last large orchestral works.  It calls to be played “Allegro Molto Apassionato” – very passionately.  Rich in sweet melodies and recurring themes, the Mendelssohn violin concerto is one of the most popular and most perfect of all violin concertos ever written.  It is also unique because of the fact that the violin is played almost immediately as the 1^st movement begins.  Tip: Listen to this concerto numerous times to get past the 50 million note barrage.  You will not regret it.  Once you listen again and again, you will surely be humming some of the melodies at work. 

Ludwig Van Beethoven (1770-1827) tells his story in a stirring violin concerto which has a strong, dark, brooding quality and absolutely incredible melodies and solos.  Because Beethoven was a tormented soul in his lifetime, you can hear his resistance and passion for life, all at the same time.  Way down under that hard exterior is the tenderness of a flower composed into a spectacular, three movement masterpiece that one can only call Ludwig Van.  Tip: Fall asleep listening to the first movement…and oh, the places you’ll go.

Love and the Art of the Violin is a post from: Mark's Remarks

Is love congruous with the violin?  Let’s look at the instrument and the music it plays for a moment…Firstly, the shape of the violin and it’s uniquely feminine appearance exudes Venus herself.  The curvaceous, sensual and exotic shape of this wooden effigy appears to have a life of its own.  In the motion picture, The Red Violin, this is exemplified during the scene wherein Frederick Pope seduces a young woman, then plays (Joshua Bell – violinist) an absolutely amazing composition which came to him in a moment of “inspiration”. 

Secondly, the sound of the violin can be provocatively intoxicating, depending on the composition.  It’s diverse and oftentimes melancholy, ethereal, romantic strains can be heard from great distances, through country villages and urban apartments, penetrating not only our ears, but our very being.  What say you?  Many wonderful and inebriating “romances” have been composed for love.  A table, a chair, a bowl of fruit and a violin; what else does a man need to be happy.” – Albert Einstein

Fritz Kreisler: One of the Greatest Violinists Who Ever Lived is a post from: Mark's Remarks

What makes a great violinist?  Technical command?  Expression?  Aura?  The answer is: they all do.  Austrian-born violinist & composer, Fritz Kreisler (1875-1962), captured the hearts of not only music aficionados and listeners, but other accomplished violinists as well.

“He is noted for his sweet tone and expressive phrasing. Like many great violinists of his generation, he produced a characteristic sound, which was immediately recognizable as his own.” 

In 1910, Kreisler  premiered  Elgar’s Violin Concerto, one which was commissioned by and dedicated to him.  After the war, he moved to America where he gave his last public concert in 1947.  With the introduction of radio and recording, Fritz Kreisler broadcast performances and made few recordings which still survive today. 

On April 26, 1941, Kreisler met with tragedy & was involved in the first of two traffic accidents which deeply affected  his life. Struck by a truck while crossing a street in New York, he fractured his skull, and was in a coma for over a week.

Kreisler wrote quite a few pieces for the violin, including solos for encores, such as “Liebesleid” and “Liebesfreud”. Some of Kreisler’s compositions were written in the style of other composers such as Gaetano Pugnani, Giuseppe Tartini, Jacques Marnier Companie, and Antonio Vivaldi. His cadenza for the Beethoven violin concerto is the one most often played by violinists today.

“He performed and recorded his own version of the first movement of the Paganini D major violin concerto. This version is rescored and in some places reharmonised. The orchestral introduction is completely rewritten in some places. The overall effect is of a late nineteenth century work.”

“Kreisler owned several antique violins by luthiers Antonio Stradivari, Pietro Guarneri, Giuseppe Guarneri, and Carlo Bergonzi, most of which eventually came to bear his name.”

“He also owned a Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume violin of 1860, which he often used as his second fiddle, and which he often loaned to the young prodigy Josef Hassid.”

Fritz Kreisler continued to perform despite the unfortunate accident he’d experienced.  In one of his last live concerts, his wife watched and listened in ”great pain” while the once brilliant violinist performed. 

Towards the end of his life, he was in another accident while traveling in an automobile, and spent his last days blind and deaf from that accident, but he ‘radiated a gentleness and refinement not unlike his music.’”

Source:  Wikipedia

Violin or Fiddle: What’s the difference? is a post from: Mark's Remarks

This is possibly the most frequently asked question I have ever received as a player.  I often facetiously retort, “It’s a violin when you buy it and a fiddle when you sell it.” 

Actually, there is no real difference between the instruments.  Some say,” a violin is a fiddle and a fiddle is a violin.”  Sometimes, the bridge is flatter on a fiddle so the player can more easily play on two strings.  Oftentimes “fiddlers” use a different quality string, such as a coarser steel string as opposed to a gut string used for a sweeter sounding instrument, but in the end, it’s the approach to the instrument and the style of music played that determines Carnegie or the Ozarks.

Here are some of the differences you may observe when hearing the violin or Fiddle: 

Bowing – “God made the violin and the devil made the bow.”  The fiddle has a certain bow style unique unto itself.  Depending on the fiddle music (e.g. Irish, Virginia, Texas, Cajun, Old Tyme, Bluegrass, etc.) the player will accent notes by use of slurs, pulses and ornaments in their bow style.  Classically trained players also have a myriad of bow styles in their quivers but are generally more formal and all have fancy Italian & French names (i.e. staccato, legato, detache, etc.).  Fiddlers play more “drones” which is dragging the adjacent string along for the ride with only one finger down on the fingerboard while playing two notes.  Violinists play “double stops”, which are two separate notes using two fingers to achieve the effect.  Both can sound like two violins/fiddles playing at the same time even though it’s just one player. 

Music – Fiddlers tend to play more by ear, listening and grabbing nuances through auditory skills. Violinists typically work off sheet music.  One is classical music, the other is folk music.  It is not uncommon for an experienced fiddler to learn a “fiddle tune” in minutes as they can hear the key immediately.  Many classical players play fiddle music and lots of fiddlers have some classical training.   Both styles use extensive memorization for concerts and jams. 

Position – Both violin and fiddle are usually played under the cheek, even though the piece on the instrument is called the “chin rest.”  Sometimes I’ve seen fiddlers hold the fiddle much lower resting on the forearm and lodged into one’s side much like coddling a baby.  Fiddlers sometimes use only ¾ of  the bow by playing “up on the stick.” 

I’m sure there are many, many more differences, and when it’s all said and done, enjoyment of either the violin or fiddle is profoundly personal and each can grab you like the dickens depending on your mood.

Please check out this great fiddler below and don’t worry…a “Pig’s Foot” is a BLACKSMITH’S TOOL.