| Author |
Subject |
pnorris
Registered User
(4/1/01 11:03:39 pm)
Reply |
The
most remembered remark
What is the most remembered remark
or comment that a teacher or colleague said about your playing? One
of my husband's friends at work upon hearing I played the cello said
he would like to hear me play the Bach D minor suite Sarabande
someday. While he gets points for even knowing about the work,
little does he know that years ago during a lesson, a teacher
remarked that my Bach playing was "lumpy." I'm sure it wasn't a
compliment, but he never really exlplained what he meant. I rarely
play solo Bach these days and am very hesistant to do so for this
friend. What kinds of remarks, scathing or otherwise stick in your
memory?
|
Tim
Janof
Administrator
(4/1/01 11:08:27 pm)
Reply |
Re: The
most remembered remark
"My cat could play that better than
you." -- Eva Heinitz
|
drcello
Registered User
(4/2/01 2:51:32 am)
Reply | Edit
 |
My old
teacher
John Ehrlich, recently retired from
Drake University wrote me...."I guess I'll count you as one of my
successes." Not exactly high praise, but I'll take it!
Marshall C. St. John
drcello@mindspring.com
Cello Heaven
|
jpvision
Registered User
(4/2/01 7:50:13 am)
Reply |
Re: The
most remembered remark
I'll offer two from my conservatory
days-
"If you don't stop playing like that I'm going to ask
you to leave."
and...
"Jessica, your intonation has
improved 10-fold. What have you been doing?"
|
Tim
Janof
Administrator
(4/2/01 8:41:36 am)
Reply |
Re: The
most remembered remark
A friend of mine studied with Ronald
Thomas at Peabody. In one lesson, Ron said, "Those two notes sound
like a couple of turds coming out of a dog's @#%$."
|
Bobbie
Registered User
(4/2/01 9:21:26 am)
Reply |
Re: The
most remembered remark
"Except for the intonation and the
rhythm, that was really good."
|
Cellissima
Registered User
(4/2/01 10:37:40 am)
Reply |
Re: The
most remembered remark
While I struggled with the
Klughardt-concerto (2. movement) on a cold and rainy
day...
"Look out of the window, your playing makes the sun
shine!"
|
JanJan2
Registered User
(4/2/01 10:43:19 am)
Reply |
Re: The
most remembered remark
After performing The Swan at summer
camp, one of the cello instructors said
"You have a soul for
the cello."
Janet
|
RonH
Registered User
(4/2/01 10:56:01 am)
Reply |
The
Most Remembered Remark
"That was very good, now play it
again to make sure it wasn't a mistake."
|
Stefan79
Registered User
(4/2/01 11:16:47 am)
Reply |
I get
that one all the time! :)
|
Paul
Tseng ICS Staff 
Administrator
(4/2/01 5:55:05 pm)
Reply
 |
Re: The
most remembered remark
"I wanted a Rose, you gave me a
Starker!"
-Channing Robbins on my opening of the Lalo
Concerto which he felt was too whimpy (17 years
old)
After playing Brahms F major for my freshman
recital, my quartet violist had tears in her eyes; she said "it was
just so beautiful"
Great! You got it right! That was ONE in a
row!"
-Burton Kaplan
"More BOW, Boy!"
Lillian
Fuchs
Paul Tseng
My Website
Alexander's website
MP3!
Edited by: Paul
Tseng ICS Staff at: 4/2/01 5:55:05 pm
|
KeithHall
Registered User
(4/2/01 12:21:43 pm)
Reply |
The
most remembered remark
On playing The Swan at the age of 17
.............
|
KeithHall
Registered User
(4/2/01 12:25:31 pm)
Reply |
The
Most remembered remark
On playing the Swan at age
17..........."Your Swan sounds like it just died of lead
poisoning"
On playing the slow movement of the Rachmaninoff
Sonata again at 17........."come back and play that when you have
fallen in love"
On playing the Vivaldi Sonata in A minor the
adjudicator wrote ....." I wanted to light a (friendly) firework
under your seat"
|
zambocello
Registered User
(4/2/01 2:12:23 pm)
Reply |
One
that stuck with me
As an undergrad I was warming up in
the teacher's studio while he chatted outside in the hallway. My
lesson was to be on orchestra excerpts, but I was warming up on some
fluffy recital piece, I think Popper Tarantella. He opens the door
and in a low, serious voice tells me that no one will ever pay me to
play a Popper piece; I should be practicing my excerpts. He closed
the door and left. That was my lesson for the day! Needless to say I
spent the hour practicing excerpts. By the way, he was right. I''ve
never been payed to play Popper!
|
zambocello
Registered User
(4/2/01 2:17:48 pm)
Reply |
Another
one
Laszlo Varga, with whom I did
doctoral work, has a Hungarian accent such that when he says
"thirds" it sounds like turds. He knows this and when I played
thirds out of tune he enjoyed telling me that my thirds
stink!
And another.......
I didn't study with Shirley
Trepel, but I heard some good stories. My favorite: "That's not
vibrato, that's a disease."
|
SlavaBilly
Registered User
(4/2/01 5:30:01 pm)
Reply |
Harvey
Shapiro
This wasn't directed at me, but I
once attended a masterclass given by Shapiro where he told some poor
hapless cellist that "If you were a painter, your paintings would
look like the f@$#ing blank wall."
Ouch.
|
MaryK
Registered User
(4/2/01 7:02:50 pm)
Reply |
Re: The
most remembered remark
"Play golf, take a walk, don't play
the cello" - Eva Heinitz
MaryK
|
DoDahlberg
Moderator
(4/2/01 7:29:04 pm)
Reply |
Had to
be Peter, right Janet?
Dorie
|
Steve
Balderston
Registered User
(4/2/01 10:45:35 pm)
Reply |
Here's
one...!
Leonard Rose at the conclusion of my
jury at Juilliard: "Young man, you're very talented...but you have
the vibrato of a Bumblebee" (I was nervous...and young!)
|
Parker
Garvin
Registered
User
(4/2/01 10:49:53 pm)
Reply |
Janos
Starker
I still remember seeing Janos
Starker give a masterclass when I was 11 years old and he told the
student, "You're squeezing so tight you could kill a
chicken!"
|
David
Sanders 
Registered User
(4/2/01 11:21:43 pm)
Reply |
Re:
Janos Starker
The first time I played for Starker
in a Master Class, when I finished he asked if I had a match. I
asked him, "why, do you want to burn my cello?"
|
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