Joshua Bell: This bow is worth more than my house…

Joshua Bell: This bow is worth more than my house…

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norman lebrecht

October 03, 2014

The American violinist has given an interview of rare candour to our friend Zsolt Bognar, at Living the Classical Life.

He has got nothing to sell, nothing to plug. He talks, musician to musician, about growing up in a family of therapists, about playing 150 concerts a year, about the struggle to raise funds for his first instruments… and his present playing tools.

He also mentions a gambling streak in the family that pushes him to take risks. And ‘the most beautiful sound I have ever heard on a violin’.

Watch at the weekend. It’s 44 minutes. Right here. 

joshua bell bognar

Comments

  • Anonymous says:

    “Nothing to sell, nothing to plug”

    His record company is trying to land his Bach album at #1 and generate many viewers for his HBO Masterclass to test his TV popularity. He’s got lots to sell at the moment.

  • Milka says:

    Carefully geared hogwash.

  • SVM says:

    When classical musicians stay in their ivory towers, they get lambasted for being ‘inaccessible’; when they go out and promote themselves, they get lambasted for ‘lacking integrity’. It seems that, whatever we do, we are always in the wrong.

    How about some more nuance: there may exist some arbitrary snobbery, but we must maintain a serious and professional deportment in our artistic endeavours; there is crass publicity, but there are also interesting modes of communication.

  • Mark Henriksen says:

    A terrific interview; he relates is own experiences honestly and any musician can relate. Amazing that such a great and successful artist remains so unaffected and genuine. The kind of guy I’d like to have a beer with.

  • M2N2K says:

    A very good interview – honest and direct.

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