As I mentioned yesterday, my weeklong sojourn in Seville was a tremendous experience. In fact, in the coming weeks and months I believe the fruits coming from it will fully restore my playing capacities to their highest level. Now, in case you’re confused, let me explain. Some years ago I began noticing abhorrent movements in […]

Just returned from a quick weekend jaunt over to Santa Fe, New Mexico, where I cavorted in the back-country with a friend. On Sunday we ran through snow showers, arriving well above the 10,000 foot level before making the turn for home. Got a great, old-fashioned ‘Rocky Mountain High’ on THAT one let me tell […]

A couple days ago I fielded a question from Jackie asking how to play ponticello easily and with a great sound. So here goes, a few words about ponticello. Now, in case you didn’t know this, ponticello is a special effect. And it is produced when the bow tracks so close to the bridge that […]

I am sure you would agree with me when I say, the players you most enjoy listening to sound uncompromisingly ‘at home’ on the violin. They seem to inhabit the violin. Well, I have news for you. I believe we all have the capability of experiencing and projecting this; of internalizing the process of playing […]

Well, I trust you survived the Halloween weekend intact and no worse for the wear. In Sedona you’ll find literally thousands flooding into ‘uptown’ where the business owners hand out the treats and street performers provide the tricks. Our daughter stayed in character as a fairy only until we encountered a African drumming ensemble, where […]

Don’t know about where you are, yet here right now the mornings are crisp and clear, the days warm and rich, and the nights ablaze with stars. A great time of year. Yesterday afternoon I responded to an email on practice. And as I did so I realized something quite worthwhile. I realized that when […]

Don’t know whether you missed me last week or not, yet I did have a couple of good reasons for not making any deposits to your inbox. I was in LA for most of the week, and I’ve been with flu. Don’t know if what both my daughter and I have been experiencing is H1N1 […]

I got a very brief note in my inbox yesterday, a gal pleading for help with her up bow staccato. Seems she’s got a yearning to play ‘Liebesfreud’ and the darn bow just keeps trying to whack her in the forehead. I’m joking, she didn’t exactly say that. What she did say, though, is that […]

Late in his career the legendary American pianist Mieczylaw Horszowki – isn’t that a mouthful – was asked if there was anything in particular he did or thought before going on stage. He said, ‘I step out with my right foot.’ I’ve never forgotten that statement. To me it speaks volumes about the mindset one […]

Last night I was shown an absolutely astonishing video on YouTube of a teenage boy playing the final movement of Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto on accordion, of all things. He played it blindingly fast, and as musically as I’ve ever heard it. And he not only played the solo part, he played the accompaniment, the tuttis, […]

You might think, from the title of this newsletter, that I’m going to take us back several decades to the time of jazz greats Basie, Goodman, and Monk. But no, I’m going in quite a different direction, as you’re about to see. What I’ve been thinking about today is the use of the body beyond […]

A few days ago I referred to the importance of thinking about moving the bow horizontally – as opposed to vertically when playing strong chords. And I had a gal write in asking for a little clarification on the matter. So here goes. By ‘horizontal’ I’m really speaking of the outward and inward movement of […]

Last night, after a pretty full day at Fox Studios recording for ‘Avatar’, I had the privilege of attending a dress rehearsal of the Los Angeles Music Center Opera. It was Donizetti’s charmingly witty vehicle for vocal display, ‘Elixir of Love.’ I say I was privileged because I really heard some really first-class vocalizing. If […]

One of my favorite composers to work with is the inimitable Randy Newman. Now some of you may remember his wickedly sardonic humor from his hit tune, ‘Short People.’ Others his Oscar nominated, hauntingly beautiful song from ‘Toy Story II’ called, ‘When She Loved Me.’ Of course these are just two small examples of Randy’s […]

The best laid plans. This morning I was looking forward to getting my daughter off to school, having a nice, full practice session, and then sitting down to write. It didn’t happen that way. To make a long story short, I just finished a penmanship lesson with Claire, who convinced me that her ‘cold’ was […]