I am frequently contacted by string players needing help with tonal issues in their search for an instrument. Many string players have trouble sorting out what tonal criteria are important in the process of selecting an instrument. Problems arise most often when string players attempt to objectify issues of tone. A player’s interface with an […]
Recording a CD – Up Close and Personal
Fall
Note: This summer [2002] the Jupiter Trio spent three days at Skywalker Ranch in order to make a recording using the state-of-the-art equipment available there. What follows is a personal account of this experience written by pianist Aglika Angelova to family, friends, and supporters of the trio. Dear Ones, i have written this email so […]
Intonation for String Players
Fall
Intonation is a vexing problem for string players. In fact it is so much so that often one of the distinctions between the most sought-after string performers and ensembles from their professional colleagues less in demand is the quality and consistency of their intonation. The notion of “in tune” as a goal, however laudable, is […]
Is that My “A” You’ve Got?
SpringI’ve been given thousands of “A’s” in my career as a professional cellist. I’ve gotten them from oboists, pianists, violinists, electronic machines and assorted other sources, and as I have responded to these many “A’s” and listened to others respond, I have come to realize that the “A” that is given is not necessarily, or […]
The Past Reborn Recordings of a Lifetime
Fall
Oscar Shumsky was a musician’s violinist as much as he was a violinist’s violinist. Although his career never achieved the star status enjoyed by some of the more aggressively marketed artists of his generation, Shumsky was revered by professional musicians as well as by the concert public that did have the chance to hear him. […]