Eugene Osadchy Masterclass Notes

I haven't blogged in a while, b/c I haven't been feeling well ... I still have to blog about the Visual Recital - b/c it was amazing & I need to get in touch w/ Hugh Sung ... I still don't get what the big deal over Aaron Rosand is ... I doubt I ever will ...

Anyway, here are the Osadchy masterclass notes ...

Lalo:
-Two types of positions/Connections: Technical & Meodic
-You are what you practice - if you practice nervous, you will be
-Rhythmic Integrity is extremely important
-Opening Statement - Incredible & Loud/Scary - he recalled first hearing the Feuermann recording of this piece & being amazed that the cello could sound like that
-sustain sound w/ bow
-pay attention to register/string/sound
-Don't pull away with the shoulder to get louder [My observation: this is actually counter-productive if you think about it]
-You have to relax & lean in [My thought: Arm Weight & relaxation]
-Marcato doesn't live at the tip
-For tiny notes, use tiny bow
-Be a hero w/ the slides - just go [self confidence]
-Bow must contact strings for good sound
-Common problem: We use a lot of bow after a shift - RH & LH have to be independent of each other
-He recommended practicing shifs separately, and showed the exercise he had to do for 2 years at conservatory
-Use "Old finger" for shift [I call it the guiding finger]
-"New finger" is good for Romantic music - Heifetz & Feuermann used it a lot
-Descending new finger only worked for DuPre
-Next step is to remove the glissando by removing weight
-2nd theme is very feminine - think of your mother, girlfriend & sister all together
-Don't put large butt at the end of phrase
-more linear
-Imagine yourself a mother looking at a sleeping baby
-Think of musical line while shifting
-Common misconception: if you play angry, it's good
-------------------------
David Popper - Polonaise de Concert
[I noticed the cellist hed the bow w/ the 3rd finger at the silver - I was surprised]
-shoulder out of socket=bad - make sure the cello is well set up for you [player was 15 yr. old]
-if you can play fortissimo at the tip, then you're well set-up
-Don't lose articulation b/c it's marked piano
-Polonaise=dance [I think he said a Polish dance...]
-When you play piano, echo
-when you play pp, it's about LH articulation
-paying over the fingerboard w/ bow=bad [this was a really interesting & surprising point! But makes sense ...]
-Don't "push furniture" while playing fast on the C string
-control the sound
-Same comment as Lalo re: shifting & hands
-Don't stop vibrato
-Don't play faster than you can
-Shift=arch (Casals called it rainbows)
-Shifting is just like a mother cat moving kittens from one place to another
-like wrist motion for playing C Maj. scale on piano
-Alive fish vs. dead fish
-Piatti 1 - explains bowing in upper half -make "kidney gesture"/loop w/ bow arm - always circles
-Only use bow as needed
-Shifting - does bow change before or after arrival??
-Popper 1 - teaches you about RH & articulation

Edit: here's Elgar - I'm going to organize all of these when I get a chance ...

Elgar:

-Du Pre vibrates every 8th note
-character of them: Lament/past
-he hears it like Barcarolle
-No Bannanas (don't vibrate after the note starts)
-play 8th notes slightly sooner than you want
-If you don't shift in character, it's like cockroach in soup
-Uses 1 finger chromatic scales w/ wrist rotation & hung weight
-hand has to do circular breathing
-allows body to remember intervals - don't practice w/ spasms

-Shifting down - think of Clara (Schumann)- tender
-4-4 shift like "Old Finger", deliver instead of push ..

um, I think there were more notes, but I got a bit disorganized ... whoops!

Still have to put up:
Visual Recital
Instrument Purchasing
Haimovitz Masterclass #1

Now however, I go to eat dinner!

more to come ... Elgar ... I didn't get to stay for Goltermann