Meet the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s New Principal Cellist, Blaise Déjardin
It’s rare that at CelloBello we have contributors undergoing major professional shifts, so we wanted to take this opportunity to highlight the recent Boston Symphony Orchestra Principal audition that was won by Blaise Déjardin, a long-time CB blogger. For our readers, we wanted to bring light to Blaise’s motivations, aspirations, and perceptions of the audition process, directly from him to you. Thank you for your candidness, Blaise! Blogmaster: Why did you decide to audition for the principal chair? Blaise: There are many reasons, but I think the biggest is that I saw it as an opportunity for growth. After 10 years in the section, of exploring and trying to improve, this seemed like a great chance to keep doing that and to keep challenging myself. So, I thought it [...]
What if We All Did That? — by Martha Baldwin
OK, not to blog-rant (is that a thing?) but I’m often surprised by basic behaviors I see in music students (and professionals) and it reminds me of a saying we have in our cello section: “What if we all did that?” Here are my top 3: 1. STAY!!!!!! seriously, just stay to the end people. I realize that many student recitals seem endless but leaving as soon as you’re done playing is, simply put, rude. I’ve seen entire rows of extended family get up and leave noisily after the first performer (their kid) is finished and I’m shocked. Really? No one else matters? Your child is so special that this entire recital is there just for his/her 4 minutes of glory? People notice these things. As a side benefit - [...]
Beneath the Surface of Brahms — by Brant Taylor
Brahms' 3rd Symphony Cello Excerpt A successful audition performance involves showing many different sides of yourself, musically, in a condensed period of time. Therefore, it is useful if not imperative to conceive each excerpt on a list in its own distinct world of character and color. Despite being works from the same composer, the well-known cello audition excerpt from Brahms’ Second Symphony, which we previously discussed, and the cello audition excerpt from Brahms’ Third Symphony, which is the subject of this post, present quite different opportunities. While these suggestions are not the only solutions to the challenges presented by this excerpt, they are a starting point for practice and discussion and illustrate some of the details that must be carefully considered in any successful performance. Sound Production In thinking about [...]
Laszlo Varga, Cellist for the New York Philharmonic, is Dead at 89
Laszlo Varga, Cellist for the New York Philharmonic, is Dead at 89 by Bruce Weber and Jacob Burg Reposted from the Herald-Tribune Laszlo Varga, a Hungarian-born musician and teacher who escaped a Nazi work camp to become principal cellist for the New York Philharmonic under the batons of Dimitri Mitropoulos and Leonard Bernstein, died on Dec. 11 at his home in Sarasota, Fla. He was 89. He died several days after a fall had precipitated a stroke, his son Michael said. In a long career, Mr. Varga applied his virtuosic skills to solo performances, orchestral playing and ensemble work. As a young man he lost his position as first-chair cellist of the Budapest Symphony in a purge of Jews. He came to the United States after World War II as a member [...]
Rambling About Tanglewood: Tales of a BSO Survivor
Reposted from The Berkshire Eagle. LENOX—It's been two times 50 for Jules Eskin this summer: the conclusion of 50 years as the Boston Symphony Orchestra's principal cellist, coinciding with the conclusion of the Boston Symphony Chamber Players' 50th anniversary season. That automatically identifies him as a founding member of the chamber ensemble. He's the only founding member still in it, in fact. Eskin, 82, is a survivor. After five months out for cancer treatments, he came back to active duty at Tanglewood on July 6 to play one of his trademark solos, the big, lyrical one in Brahms' Second Piano Concerto. He's also back to doing his pull-ups and sit-ups and hikes up Lenox Mountain to the fire tower, he says. He's tough even when it comes to producing a [...]
Orchestra: A Love Story — by Martha Baldwin
Solo playing, chamber music, orchestra, teaching—I loved them all in college but at some point, we all must start to narrow our focus and work to establish a career that is dominated by one or two of these. I think the most often over-looked aspect of choosing what direction to take your musical talents (insert LeBron goes to Miami joke here), is thoughtful consideration of the daily life. Happiness in life and career is so often not determined by money or status but by how closely our lives conform to our personal ideals and individual quirks. Young cellists often ask me “Why did you choose to play in an orchestra?” This is my answer. I’m a planner. I am happiest with a stable structured day with a decent amount of routine [...]
Exploring Beethoven’s Fifth: Second Variation — by Jonathan Pegis
Picking up where we left off last time, at the conclusion of variation 1 it is a good idea to keep counting in between the two variations. You want to play this second variation in the exact tempo as the theme and first variation. I will say right at the outset that there is no ideal fingering for this excerpt! It just doesn’t lie well on the cello. My fingering is a bit unusual in that I do not use the thumb at all, or any open A strings. I do, however, use the A string for some of the notes. I highly recommend not playing the open A just because it tends to really stick out. Many cellists don’t use the A string at all which is also fine [...]
Exploring Beethoven 5th, Variation One — by Jonathan Pegis
Continuing our discussion of Beethoven’s 5th Symphony, let us examine the first variation. As I did with the theme, I will first talk about the technical challenges of this excerpt and then look at the musical challenges. First of all, it is very important that you play this excerpt in the exact same tempo that you played the theme. A common mistake is to play this variation much faster than the theme simply because of that long first down bow. One trick that helps is when you finish the theme keep counting the quarter note rests at the end of measure 10, and then count off the two quarter note rests in measure 49. (Almost like you were making a cut!) You can do the same thing at the end [...]
Tour of Duty, Tour of Pleasure — by Aron Zelkowicz
A postcard from Vienna: By the time the Danube winds into concrete beds through Stadtpark, the water is just a trickle. Children in their parkas swing on the playground, the U-bahn train pulls into its station, and people stroll or bike over the canal’s bridges, all within a stone’s throw of the surface. This view from our hotel is lovely and quaint, for those of us on tour with the Pittsburgh Symphony that have north-facing rooms (those with opposite views can peer down on the bustling skating rink next door). Pittsburghers, no strangers to rivers and bridges, hardly needed reminders of the horrible flooding that occurred this week. The tame canal is at odds with what we’ve seen on the front page of local papers and all over TV. I [...]
Exploring Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony — by Jonathan Pegis
Here in just a few measures is an excerpt that has confused, befuddled, and downright scared more cellists than just about any other excerpt (please click image to enlarge): The theme from the second movement of Beethoven's fifth, along with the first two variations, shows up on the vast majority of cello audition lists. I thought it would be educational to spend some time exploring this theme, and future blogs will explore the first and second variations. To begin with, this excerpt is one of a handful that I have coached for many years where I am actually LESS confident than I used to be. Why? Because every teacher, every coach, and every conductor has had radically different ideas about all the different aspects of this theme. Temp, color, dynamic, [...]
A Moment of Impasse — by Jonathan Pegis
Well, the CSO strike is over and while it lasted about 48 hours we only missed one concert. Our committee had met all day with the management/trustee team on Saturday and had hoped to reach a resolution, but it was not to be so we did not play the concert. However, on Monday they met again and after some very intense negotiations an agreement was reached. For those readers who are not familiar with the collective bargaining process, we have an elected committee of 9 musicians who represent us to management, and of these 9 there were 5 on our negotiating team. Typically a contract is 3 or 4 years long, with this new one being a three-year deal. So we go through these anxious times every few years. This [...]
When the Music Stops — by Brant Taylor
For those of us for whom a musicians’ work stoppage in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra was something we’d read about in histories of the orchestra but had never experienced in real life, the e-mail message we received last Saturday was a bit of a shock: we were on strike. Much of the "what" and "how" has already been disclosed elsewhere by both sides, so I won't go over that here. Fortunately, the work stoppage was short-lived—about 48 hours—and the musicians have now ratified a new contract that will allow our season to proceed without further disruption. Any orchestral musician who has been through tough negotiations will agree that they’re strange times. An orchestral organization is tiny compared to the global business corporations in the for-profit world that deal with large [...]
Playing Audition Excerpts: Yes, the Devil’s in Them — by Brant Taylor
Although the collection of excerpts on an audition repertoire list may seem arbitrary, each one has a purpose: giving the audition candidate an opportunity to demonstrate certain things about his or her playing and artistry. Audition success involves showing a command of certain basic elements—such as rhythm, dynamics, intonation and articulations—as well as conveying a nuanced understanding of the music and the composer. A well crafted audition list will include excerpts that emphasize each of these elements, and a candidate’s ability to demonstrate control and understanding of them will determine his or her chance for success. Let's put these goals into concrete terms using a common cello audition excerpt as an illustration—the opening of the second movement of Brahms' Symphony No. 2: Brahms Second Symphony, 2nd Mvt. [...]
Stage-dreaming — by Mickey Katz
A few days ago I was on the Symphony Hall stage, playing Brahms’s A German Requiem in concert. While playing the second movement, I started thinking about what I was going to make for dinner the following night. The last time I cooked it, I thought, it came out a little dry. Maybe this time I should… But wait a second, I was playing one of my favorite pieces in one of the world’s best halls, with a great orchestra and a great conductor, how could I not be completely absorbed in what I was doing? Was I the only one on stage whose mind was wandering, and if not—did anyone in the audience notice? I was aware that I was a part of a great concert, and the audience [...]
Holiday Blues — by Mickey Katz
It’s an exciting time for the BSO, as we’re finishing a week of concerts and preparing to go on our first tour in a long time, playing some major pieces by Berlioz, Bartok, Harbison, Mozart, Carter, Brahms, Wagner, Ravel and Mahler (really). But every visit to a retail store or a coffee shop reminds all of us of the inevitable—the day after we return to Boston is our first concert of Holiday Pops. In just over a week, the Miraculous Mandarin will turn into Frosty the Snowman, and Daphnis and Chloe into Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer. The Boston Pops has been the alter ego of the Boston Symphony since 1885, and is an integral part of the job of orchestra members. During the holidays we’re required to do a good [...]