expressive intonation Archives

Conversation with Nathaniel Rosen (March, 1996)

Interview by Tim Janof Nathaniel Rosen, former Teaching Assistant for Gregor Piatigorsky at the University of Southern California, is renowned for being the only American cellist to ever win the Tchaikovsky Competition in Russia. Mr. Rosen is in much demand as a soloist, recording artist, and chamber musician. He teaches at the Manhattan School of Music and the Thomas More College in New Hampshire. TJ: Eleonore Schoenfeld, Professor of Cello at USC, was your first teacher. What was she like? NR: I studied cello with her from the beginning, starting with open strings. She was well organized and patient, but still very demanding. Because of this, she has become one of the best in the business. The finest young talents from all over the world seek her guidance. She stressed [...]

By Tim Janof|2024-07-08T12:44:59-04:00January 17th, 2021|Categories: Internet Cello Society Archive, Interviews|Tags: Bach Cello Suites, expressive intonation, Internet Cello Society, ICS, Eleonore Schoenfeld, Interpretation, Gregor Piatigorsky, intonation, Competition|

The Joy of Feuillard – A Sequential Approach to Teaching Bow Technique (Part 6 – Feuillard #32, Variations #4-7)

Part 6 - Feuillard #32 - Variations 4-7 Before working on the next few variations, I like to help refine the student's understanding of intonation. In Part 5 we talked about the basic concepts of using the perfect intervals to check the intonation with the open strings. We also helped to organize the left hand in first position by checking the first and fourth fingers with the open strings, thus creating a clear "structure" for the left hand (for most people the tendency is for the first finger to be sharp and the fourth finger to be flat in first position). I usually like to give the students at least a week to sort this all out, so that they can play the theme with more stable intonation, especially regarding [...]

By Robert Jesselson|2024-08-05T12:47:24-04:00October 22nd, 2018|Categories: Technique, Repertoire|Tags: bow distribution, left hand frame, staccato, multi-tasking, Teaching, The Joy of Feuillard, intonation, fundamentals, expressive intonation, Feuillard|

Working With the Infinite Onion — by Thomas Rosenberg

Here’s a riddle for you: I am like an infinite onion. There is always another layer of me for you to peel back and you might feel like crying the entire time. I am also like doing the dishes. There is always another meal to eat and that means there will always be more dirty dishes for you to clean….forever! What am I? The answer is: INTONATION! Great intonation in a chamber music ensemble is one of the most difficult technical aspects to achieve for any group striving for excellence. It often requires a lot of rehearsal time, can test anyone’s patience, and all your hard work can seemingly disappear on stage, even for professional ensembles. I would like to explore the reasons it can be so tricky and complicated, [...]

By Thomas Rosenberg|2022-09-07T23:44:58-04:00January 27th, 2014|Categories: Chamber Music, In the Practice Room|Tags: expressive intonation, string groups, fuzzy sound, student ensembles, good instrument tuning, Thomas, great intonation, time management, intonation, group intonation, working, tuning, hand position, Adjustments, intonation exercises, Listening, left hand position, chamber music, onion, patience, open strings, rehearsing, Rosenberg|