Notes from the Maxim Vengerov Masterclass 4th March 2006. Dukes Hall, Royal Academy of Music, London.

1) Hasik Avdalyan (Sten Lassman- piano)
Brahms Sonata no 3

The piano and violin are equal partners and in time together, as friends. The train is there, but it needs to be on the right rail. In chamber music you must feel spiritually together, and even make mistakes together.

Think of Brahms in Switzerland with the mountains, it needs to have the generosity of space, and play with more colours rather than just one beautiful colour. You are playing already dramatic, it needs to start as if you are exploring, take some time to warm up, stay some time in the shade at the beginning. It’s like a book “once upon a time…” before it leads into the story. Take time.

Imagine as a bird sees all over the landscape, but don’t get detached. When the harmony changes then use a different colour. Start with less. There is a miracle when you don’t play.

Composers had a strategy…the music starts from the shade, and puzzles the audience, and then leads them, the start is not the most important thing.

Then we see the “Castle”, its like architecture, and now is the main subject. Sometimes you are accompanying, you need to be inside the theme. There is too much vibrato for Brahms, it needs to be noble and controlled, wider but not so fast.

You both (violinist and pianist) need to speak the same language, it is like one is Japanese and the other is Chinese, you are not understanding each other. Don’t vibrate so much, the piano can’t do it. It has to be very simple – one line.

 
2) Thomas Gould (John Reid – Piano)
Mendelssohn Violin Concerto

You have a great idea and sensitive approach. This is often a selfish piece for the violinist to express their soul and personality, but sometimes it is very wrong. You don’t have this selfish approach.

On the technical side you need to be more plastic and flexible. You are too tight and there is tension in your right hand. Use less effort, use the wrist.

The harmony can be like the different colours of a painter, and the brushes are different technique.

It’s in E minor, the recapitulation is in E major, but it sounded pretty much the same. Make it sound even more different. And also you sound like there is suffering in E major, which is unnecessary. You are explicitly showing how you feel, but it needs to be implicit and inside the score. You need to start more inside and don’t shout. Like you go outside and see a beautiful lake and mountain and it will always be there. Imagine you are walking on ice. And you can see through. Then you see a whale is swimming.

Hmm…the whale would not wink at you “do you want to go for a beer?”

The speed of the bow needs to be consistent, if it speeds up do it gradually. This is the same as the Sibelius, stopped time, don’t change the character.

(Octave section). This should not sound like a well-prepared exercise, you need more build up to an explosion. Finally the theme is played for real now and is explicit.

Now the second subject, don’t give too much importance to the transition. It’s like going from one address to another…do you take the bus or the plane? It’s not important. More important is when you meet your friends. You arrive (long G) ”Hello”, and conversation with friends, tea time! You have to match the vibrato of the other instruments in the orchestra. Harmonic …say goodbye.

E minor recap, is like seeing a gap in the dark clouds. Like you’re in an aeroplane and its all dark, then you go through the clouds and it’s sunshine.

 
3) Anthony Sabberton (Daniel Swain - piano)
Beethoven Violin Concerto

This is convincing playing – you have command of the instrument. Before the music you have to have all the possibilities to get there, there are endless ways to explore Beethoven. First you get to know the composer, his personality, life, and the influences of events on his life. This would influence the performance. Also you need to consider the collaboration with the orchestra, you are the boss, the accompaniment has to serve you, but with an orchestra you have to serve them.

In the second subject when you play the broken chords it sounds like someone practising. You are the accompaniment and you need to serve here, at this point the subject is in the orchestra. It is just scales, but you have to separate yourself in two, one is playing, one is listening.

This piece is about two conflicting things, time and how to stop time. It starts with a pulse – time, which runs through the introduction. You have to play outside of this and forget the pulse. Embrace the beauty, the pulse is a reminder that time, you can never stop.

Beethoven is contrasts and contradictions. One minute he is happy, going for strolls, reading poetry – then there is an explosion!

You have to have great strategy, no matter how much you want to express yourself in the first entry, you have to let it go. While you are playing the audience is on hold, the more you wait the better it is. Ideally it is like a séance, hypnotic, everyone is in a trance. It is important to play what you think.

Think of nothingness, and everyone will think of nothingness. Then think of beauty. The accompaniment is major, and then the violin enters in minor. It is very dramatic. It is serious, a partnership, don’t rush.

In Beethoven the dynamic range is very important, there are all the nuances, don’t shrink it. When it slows it shows a weakness, it can’t always be strong, even Beethoven. You should try playing the accompaniment and singing the melody.

Then it goes to G minor. This feels not according to the plan, feel completely spaced out, discomfort, act strangely, don’t take it for granted.
The concerto represents human beings under pressure. When all else fails all we can do is pray…and here we can pray. But there is still the pulse in the orchestra. When you play it in different ways, emotionally, and when you have the strength to express yourself, or hopelessly. Here there is still hope left as the pulse is interrupted.

Then the pulse becomes continuous, and then you have to accept.

4) Naoko Miyamoto (John Reid – piano)
Wieniawski – Polonaise in D

Technically you are a bit inflexible, loosen up and enjoy. The Polonaise is happy, noble, proud, bourgeois.

Just before meeting the Queen you fell asleep!

You have to talk with the music, greet, question, answer. Begin very elegant, and then there is a very arrogant man, smoking a pipe, a different character.

Violin playing has to be like a Rolls Royce, even if there are bumps it has to be a smooth ride.

There is a couple there. He wants to meet the Queen, but his wife is tired “I want to go home”. He uses psychology to convince her. First he asks but no reaction from her, then he begs, she replies “we should go home”, then he shows desperation and she replies “we have kids waiting…”. You have to have images in your head, and speak the music.

There are lots of problems you have conquered, but you need to forget them now and play the characters. Your playing is too square, you need to play circles and figure “8”s even more plastic. It is jerky because of the distribution of the bow. Accelerate and decelerate the bow gradually.

1) Hasik Avdalyan
(Sten Lassman- piano)
Brahms Sonata no 3

2) Thomas Gould
(John Reid – Piano)
Mendelssohn Violin Concerto

3) Anthony Sabberton
(Daniel Swain - piano)
Beethoven Violin Concerto

4) Naoko Miyamoto
(John Reid – piano)
Wieniawski – Polonaise in D