Repetoire, what to play?!?!?!? Options

[IrisH - LoonY]

Wouldn't the Violin Concerti be more challenging? In fact, a friend of mine who moved to Liverpool told me that a girl played the Paganini 1, aged only TWELVE!!!!

Sorry, but if someone is 12 can they really understand the Paganini properly? They would have to be amazingly mature, not just musically, to understsand what's going on emotionally and harmonically.

Did you hear Jennifer Pike in the (2002?) BBC Young Musician, aged 12? I heard her play the Debussy Sonata on Radio 3, in a part of the competition that was not televised. This is a work I know fairly well, and every time I thought, "It would be nice if she did this [rubato, accent, etc.]" she did, plus several others I had not thought of. On the basis of that extremely mature performance of a very subtle and demanding piece, I thought, "I shall be pleased and not surprised if she wins this year", which she duly did.

Ahhh yes Jenifer Pike, made a fantastic job of everything she played. In fact she played some Paganini also! La Campanella I think it was (NOT the finale to the B minor Concerto) That was just magical!

IrisH - LoonY

[bohemian]

Fair point Kenm, you do get the odd genius. She was ridiculously good for her age, still is no doubt, but could you compare her performance favourably to that of an older, more experienced musician? For her age, she is spectacular.

[benjaminja]

I don't know if you need particular musical maturity to play Paganini - certainly you need the technical proficiency, but his compositions I have heard don't seem particularly "deep" musically, but are obviously technically fiendish!

Re. original question: why don't you learn the first part of Bartok's 1st Rhapsody for violin? It's on the current grade 8 list and is really fun to play.

[hannah]

Well I may have the girl's age wrong, but it was actually in the paper!!! Yes I was bowled over also but you know.


IrisH - LoonY

This may be the same girl who played this piece in a competition this year, aged 14. She played the first movement of the Concerto No. 1 with an orchestra for a competition final. I was in the audience - I can see what you mean about the 'not-so-deep' musical content of his work. Also, the violinist in question hadn't really managed to overcome a lot of the technical challenges of the music, eg intonation in double stops. Also the sound was rather thin. So although it was a bold choice she could have done better with a more musical, less technically demanding work. She didn't win the competition but this was an experience I certainly learnt something from.

Jennifer Pike is in a different class, however - not surprising considering the many years of expert training she's had.

[benjaminja]

[quote name='hannah' date='Dec 21 2005, 07:47 PM' post='213973']
[quote name='IrisH - LoonY' post='209056' date='Dec 16 2005, 12:04 AM']

Jennifer Pike is in a different class, however - not surprising considering the many years of expert training she's had.
[/quote]

Well, yes, and I'm sure it can't hurt having a composer/music professor for a father, either. Some of us don't have that kind of advantage. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/rolleyes.gif)

[IrisH - LoonY]

I agree, Paganini isn't so much emotion as it is EXTREME technical demands. Recently saw the solo part to Concerto No.1 and there's LOADS of quad stops, harmonics, huge runs and leaps and other techniques which I imagine violinists would understand, unlike Bruch No.1 or Brahms for example, Paganini doesn't appear to need much emotion in his music (especially in fast works) but the slower works do need a fair amount, but as I say, not as much as Brahms etc.

IrisH - LoonY

[TchaikovskyChick]

Hhhm.... Yeah I agree about the Brahms and Bruch being more emotionally challenging...

Here's an astonishing fact of the year (and it's a true story) : I heard someone play the Paganini concerto when they were only 5 YEARS OLD!!!!!!!! It's so scary!! Lol

Yes the Bartok Rhapsody would be a good piece to play for an audition... it's a lot of fun, I did it for my exam (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) But the piano accompaniment is really difficult!!

[IrisH - LoonY]

Hhhm.... Yeah I agree about the Brahms and Bruch being more emotionally challenging...

Here's an astonishing fact of the year (and it's a true story) : I heard someone play the Paganini concerto when they were only 5 YEARS OLD!!!!!!!! It's so scary!! Lol

Yes the Bartok Rhapsody would be a good piece to play for an audition... it's a lot of fun, I did it for my exam (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif) But the piano accompaniment is really difficult!!

(IMG:style_emoticons/default/ohmy.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ohmy.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ohmy.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ohmy.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ohmy.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ohmy.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ohmy.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ohmy.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ohmy.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ohmy.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ohmy.gif) (IMG:style_emoticons/default/ohmy.gif) FIVE?!?!?!?!?!?

IrisH - LoonY

[TchaikovskyChick]

(TchaikovskyChick @ Dec 23 2005, 10:09 PM)

Hhhm.... Yeah I agree about the Brahms and Bruch being more emotionally challenging...

Here's an astonishing fact of the year (and it's a true story) : I heard someone play the Paganini concerto when they were only 5 YEARS OLD!!!!!!!! It's so scary!! Lol

Yes the Bartok Rhapsody would be a good piece to play for an audition... it's a lot of fun, I did it for my exam But the piano accompaniment is really difficult!!

FIVE?!?!?!?!?!?

IrisH - LoonY

I KNOW!!!!!!!! It's insane!! Ah well... maybe it's better to go slower and be able to interpret the emotional aspect of the pieces more effectively. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/tongue.gif)

[Violinia]

I don't think you need to be particularly emotionally mature to play Paganini well - a lot of his work isn't exactly 'deep', is it? But you do have to be amazingly good technically, and it would help to have huge and unusually flexible hands and fingers. Probably helps to start around age 4 with a fantastically good teacher, and practise several hours a day all through your childhood. Then no doubt you'd find Paganini a bit of a doddle.

Violinia

[IrisH - LoonY]

I don't think you need to be particularly emotionally mature to play Paganini well - a lot of his work isn't exactly 'deep', is it? But you do have to be amazingly good technically, and it would help to have huge and unusually flexible hands and fingers. Probably helps to start around age 4 with a fantastically good teacher, and practise several hours a day all through your childhood. Then no doubt you'd find Paganini a bit of a doddle.

Violinia

Exactly what I thought. Although his slower works (Like the Op.17 Cantabile) does need more expression than say the finale to the Op.7 Concerto in B minor (which is just *screams*)

IrisH - LoonY

[harryjamespotter]

hey everyone, thanks for all your suggestions. Hope you are having a fantastical christmas!

I've had a chat with my teacher and I'm thinking about doing the first movt (or v. possibly the 3rd) from Winter and Kreisler/ Dvorak's Slavonic Fantasie.

Good? Bad? Are they easy to learn or not a good idea at all??

hjp

P.S. Wow! Paganini at 5!!

[IrisH - LoonY]

hey everyone, thanks for all your suggestions. Hope you are having a fantastical christmas!

I've had a chat with my teacher and I'm thinking about doing the first movt (or v. possibly the 3rd) from Winter and Kreisler/ Dvorak's Slavonic Fantasie.

Good? Bad? Are they easy to learn or not a good idea at all??

hjp

P.S. Wow! Paganini at 5!!

Winter = (IMO) Hardest of the 4 seasons

IrisH - LoonY

[IrisH - LoonY]

hey everyone, thanks for all your suggestions. Hope you are having a fantastical christmas!

I've had a chat with my teacher and I'm thinking about doing the first movt (or v. possibly the 3rd) from Winter and Kreisler/ Dvorak's Slavonic Fantasie.

Good? Bad? Are they easy to learn or not a good idea at all??

hjp

P.S. Wow! Paganini at 5!!

Winter = (IMO) Hardest of the 4 seasons

IrisH - LoonY

[bohemian]

I've had a chat with my teacher and I'm thinking about doing the first movt (or v. possibly the 3rd) from Winter and Kreisler/ Dvorak's Slavonic Fantasie.

3rd movement of Winter!! Do it!! So much fun...but you should learn the whole thing, with it being one of the best concerti ever written, just check out the amazing harmony at the beginning of the 1st movement, you never know where it's going, but to be fair it doesn't have the same effect with a piano as with a chamber orchestra. The 3rd is full of everything, really exciting, you can show off a lot in it, it's not as hard as it sounds either, even though it's by no means easy. Maybe you could play it with the 2nd movement which is very nice note-wise but can sound amazing played really well, the melody is simple and very beautiful.

It is the hardest season, true, but probably the most fun to learn. I have done Spring and some of Summer, and am just starting Winter, it's so much fun to play (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

You'd want to think about contrast if you play Winter though, that's why I reckon it might be good to do the 2nd movement with it, and call it one piece, then you have a free choice for the 2nd piece, it can be slow, fast, anything.