Caressing the cello, not killing it

Caressing the cello, not killing it

Daily Comfort Zone

norman lebrecht

October 30, 2023

After recent reports of string-breaking in Shostakovich, here’s a welcome antidote in Bloch.

Comments

  • WU says:
    October 30, 2023 at 11:51 am

    This is different music that an be caressed – in Shostakovich the occasion arises not so often (and definitely not in the first and third movement of Cello concerto 1)!

    Reply
  • Glynne Williams says:
    October 30, 2023 at 4:26 pm

    I’m afraid I blame Nigel Kennedy in large part as the first string player I heard sawing his instrument in half. People seem to think it’s terribly modern to abuse their instruments, and it’s become a fashion. His recording of Vivaldi Four Seasons sticks in my mind as the ugliest I’ve ever heard!

    Reply
  • Nathaniel Rosen says:
    October 30, 2023 at 11:22 pm

    A broken string occurs sometimes in concert and sometimes at home. The reasons are unknown. However, it is always a gift to the performer, who is encouraged by circumstances to act the hero. The audience will remember it forever.

    Reply
  • Cecily says:
    November 1, 2023 at 9:57 am

    Being able to produce a rich resonant forte tone on any string instrument without the misjudge – for that’s what it nearly always is! – of damaging the beautiful instrument is the hallmark of a quality player who knows his music and above all knows his instrument. That the sum total of it. End of story..

    Reply

    • MOST READ TODAY: