How to Play Mozart

A few days ago I had a very good violinist from a few states away fly in for one of my half-day intensives. When I say these are intensives I mean just that. We went for over 3 1/2 hours straight with nary a sip of water. She couldn’t believe how quickly the time passed.

Needless to say, a lot was accomplished.

We spent the first 2 hours or so coming to a new and comprehensive understanding of the bow arm.

Then it was on to repertoire. The Mozart Concerto in A Major to be specific.

Now, many highly accomplished musicians consider Mozart to be the most sophisticated and revealing composer a violinist can play.

I agree.

To play the Mozart A Major Concerto successfully, for instance, you must become several characters in a mini opera, demonstrate effortless mastery of the instrument, change moods and character in a flash, and do all this within a very ‘classical’ ethos.

In short, you’ve got to play squeaky clean with an abundance ‘color’ and expressivity.

One of the ways you can really help yourself toward this end, is to listen to his operas. Mozart’s understanding and love for the human voice is remarkable. And he transferred every bit of this affinity to his works for violin.

A second way is to master Kreutzer. His 42 etudes are both systematic and comprehensive. In fact, they will prepare you not only for the demands of classical period music, but for baroque and much romantic period music as well.

Providing, that is, you get all the juice from each one. And that is exactly what you will get by working with my course, ”Kreutzer for Violin Mastery”.

All the best,

Clayton Haslop

P.S. And for the ‘icing on the cake’ there are the half-day intensives – I still have a couple spots available during my Sacramento/Los Angeles visit in June – and masterclasses.

Contact me by phone or email for details and scheduling of the half-day intensives.