Stuart Duncan

Stuart Duncan was born on April 14, 1964 in Quantico, Virginia, but he was raised in Santa Paula, California. He is currently based in Nashville, Tennessee.

The Goat Rodeo Sessions: a collaboration with Yo Yo Ma, Edgar Meyer, and Chris Thile, some of the most talented string virtuosos of today.

Stuart Duncan has also been a member of The Nashville Bluegrass Band, a great representation of classic American bluegrass, since 1985. The band has toured globally and won two Grammies and multiple other awards. Stuart is a very versatile player, excelling in bluegrass, country, jazz, funk, and classical. He is also very skilled at blending all of these different styles to create a wonderful new sound.

Collaborations: Bela Fleck, Jerry Douglas, Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire, Alan Jackson and Barbara Streisand, among others.

“His discography is approaching the size of a metropolitan telephone directory, and his recording career demonstrates his ability to shift easily from the most ancient sounding Appalachian tune, to some deeply jazz and funk-inflected contemporary melody. In addition to his extensive recording and performing career as a fiddler, Stuart also sings, writes songs, and plays mandolin, guitar, and banjo.” – Matt Glaser

“When I first played with Stuart, I was struck as anyone would be, by the beauty of his tone and his judgment about when to sometimes seek the essential middle distance in the ensemble with a well-chosen connecting line or timbre. In time, at speed and in the heat of the spotlight, playing with The Sugarcanes, I was constantly startled by his access to the fire and fine danger of the music in hand, often delivering the most remarkable contributions off the back of some utterly self-depreciating quip. He will sometimes arrive at the studio with a bag of splinters and wires from which he is going to reassemble some rare, lost stringed instrument, which speaks of his curiosity and care for both the art and the craft of music. He is one of the finest musicians I have ever had the good fortune to sing alongside.”        – Elvis Costello

The Goat Rodeo Sessions, “Attaboy”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-31e8Nlujw

Delaware Valley Bluegrass Festival, “Angeline the Baker”: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5Jm_4YcWHw

Stuart Duncan’s Website: http://www.stuart-duncan.com/

Artist of the Month, 2012-13: Christian Tetzlaff

“Known for his musical integrity, technical assurance and intelligent, compelling interpretations” -CM Artists: New York

Christian Tetzlaff is a violinist who was born in Hamburg, Germany on April 24, 1966. At age 6, he began learning the violin and the piano, and made his concert debut at age 14. His teachers include Uwe-Martin Haiberg (Musikhochschule Lübek) and Walter Levin (University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music). He has a sister named Tanja, a cellist, who he sometimes performs with. They are both part of a quartet called the Tetzlaff Quartet, with Elisabeth Kufferath (violin) and Hanna Weinmeister (viola). As a soloist, he has performed with major European and North American orchestras such as the Berlin Philharmonic, London Symphony, and the orchestras of Chicago, Cleveland, Boston, Philadelphia, New York, Los Angeles, and Toronto (to name a few). He was named “Instrumentalist of the Year” in 2005 by Musical America, in honor of his musical achievements.

He is a very versatile player, able to successfully interpret the works of many different composers of different time periods and styles. He plays many solo works but also plays a lot of chamber music. He has been a part of many recordings, including all of the solo Bach works. He is an engaging performer for a variety of reasons: primarily because his interpretations are so wonderful, but also because he is interesting to watch. All of his movements seem to directly channel the music that he is playing.

His violin was made by Stefan-Peter Greiner (which he prefers to the Stradivarius that he used before).

An interesting interview: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/proms/8667329/Christian-Tetzlaff-Hey-kids-you-can-stop-practising.html

Artist of the Month #5: Ana Chumachenco

Ana Chumachenco was born in Italy, of Russian origin with German and Argentinian nationality. Her father was follower of Leopold Auer, and Ana began studying violin at age four under her father’s guidance. Later, she studied with Ljerko Spiller in Buenos Aires. She spent a lot of time in South America up until the age of 17, when she moved back to Europe to continue studying the violin.

When she was 18, she won the gold medal at the Carl Flesch competition in London. A few years later, she won the silver medal at the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels. During those years, she learned from Yehudi Menuhin, Joseph Szigeti, and Sandor Vegh.

She often appears as a soloist with orchestras or in recitals, but she also spends a lot of her time playing chamber music. She has played in the Munich String Trio (with violist Oscar Lysy and cellist Walter Notas) for over 20 years. She was the violin professor at the Munich University of Music for a long time, and trained many young violinists who continued on to very successful careers. Now she is a professor at Kronberg Academy Masters. She is often asked to be a juror in major violin competitions (i.e. the Queen Elisabeth International Music Competition of Belgium and the International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition in Helsinki).

Artist of the Month #4: Stephane Grappelli – “The Grandfather of Jazz Violinists”

Stephane Grappelli was born January 26, 1908 in Paris, France, to French and Italian parents. When he was six years old, he was accepted to Isadora Duncan’s dance school, which sparked his love of French Impressionist music. He started playing violin at age 12, performing on the streets of Paris and Montmartre before attending the Conservatoire de Paris from 1924-1928, studying music theory. He continued his street performing on the side until he became famous as a violin virtuoso; he also played as a silent film pianist at the Conservatoire and played saxophone and accordion. He loved piano as much as he loved the violin.

He founded the Quintette du Hot Club de France with Django Reinhardt (a jazz guitarist) in 1934, which was one of the first all-string jazz bands. The group disbanded in 1939 when World War II came along.

After the war, he played with a huge variety of people including jazz players, classical musicians, fiddlers, and in 1997 he received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.

He died in Paris on December 1, 1997, following a hernia operation.

I really enjoy listening to his music, partially because I enjoy jazz music (especially jazz violin), and I also find his particular sound quite simple yet stylish. It doesn’t sound very classically trained; he uses somewhat minimal vibrato, only as a stylistic accent (not as part of his usual tone).

This was the first recording I found, but it is one of my favorites. I’ve never heard this piece with violin, which I found a pleasant interpretation.

Artist of the Month #3: Ida Haendel

Ida Haendel was born in Eastern Poland in a city called Chelm. She began studying the violin at age three after picking up her father’s violin and played perfectly by ear a song that her mother had been singing in another room. Haendel was admitted to the Warsaw Conservatory to study with Michalowicz when she was seven. Later, she studied with Carl Flesch in Britain and George Enescu in Paris (who she considered one of her greatest inspirations). During World War II she played in factories and for British and American troops. She published her autobiography, Woman with Violin, in 1970. In 1982, the Sibelius Society awarded her the Sibelius Medal in recognition of her distinguished performances of his violin concerto, which is just one of many awards and honors she has received over the years. She has lived primarily in Miami, Florida for many years and is also involved with the Miami International Piano Festival. Her violin playing has been compared to that of Yehudi Menuhin and Isaac Stern. In 2009, she appeared on a television program called The World’s Greatest Musical Prodigies, where she advised a 16-year-old British composer named Alexander Prior on which children to choose to play his composition. She never married; her companion of choice is a small Pekingese dog named “Decca” (after the company that gave her her first recording contract).

“…less is more. It’s about control and what comes next. Everything is a strategy, like a general preparing for war.” – Ida Haendel

“I am still trying to discover everyday what there is in the music. That’s my eternal fascination, the discovery and rediscovery of every piece of music I play.” – Ida Haendel

In 1993 she had her concert debut with the Berliner Philharmoniker.

Well-known recordings:

Sibelius Concerto with Paavo Berglund and the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra

Beethoven Violin Concerto with Rafael Kubelik and the Philharmonia Orchestra

Brahms Violin Concerto with Sergiu Celibidache and the London Symphony Orchestra

Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto with Basil Cameron and the National Symphony Orchestra

Sibelius Concerto:

I really like this recording because her sound is really full and rich but it doesn’t necessarily seem like she’s trying to show off. Her vibrato isn’t excessive, and it really accentuates the beauty of the notes high on the G string. And of course, her intonation is impeccable, especially on the double stops. Her bow control is incredible – something that I feel I lack when I watch videos of my playing is confidence in my bowing, and each stroke for her seems completely natural and intentional. I really love the somewhat “simple” (for lack of a better word) quality of her playing (although I wouldn’t necessarily say the same for her wardrobe!).

Artist of the Month #2: Mads Tolling

Mads Tolling grew up in Copenhagen, Denmark and moved to the U.S. at the age of 20 to pursue jazz studies, attending Berklee College of Music in Boston. While there, the renowned jazz violinist Jean-Luc Ponty recommended Mads to join Stanley Clarke’s band (Stanley Clarke is a very famous jazz bassist). Since then, he has performed more than 100 concerts with Clarke worldwide, including the Newport Jazz Festival and the Hollywood Bowl. In 2007 Mads Tolling started his own trio and immediately recorded the album “Speed of Light.” The following year the trio expanded to a quartet. In it are some of the top Bay Area musicians, including Mike Abraham on guitar, George Ban-Weiss on bass and Eric Garland on drums. Mads was also the violist in the two time Grammy Award-Winning Turtle Island Quartet from 2003-2007 (Best Classical Crossover album with the recordings “4+Four” and “A Love Supreme – The Legacy of John Coltrane.”).

Tolling has received Denmark’s Sankt Annae’s Award for Musical Excellence as well as grants from Queen Margaret, the Sonning Foundation and the Berklee Elvin Jones Award. He has performed with Paquito d’Rivera, Kenny Barron, Joe Lovano, and Sergio and Odair Assad.

Mads Tolling is also an accomplished composer. He composes or arranges most of the pieces his quartet plays. He has been a thriving force in the educational aspects of jazz and improvisation. He has been active as a Yamaha clinician and has been involved in workshops, coachings and master classes throughout Canada and the U.S.

He plays a “modern no name Italian from around 1940” (he doesn’t know who made it). He uses a Schertler Stat-V pickup.

Danish Dessert (quartet): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6sSB905Rfmc

Black Dog (quartet): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=704E37N6JfQ

Artist of the Month #1: Elmar Oliveira

Elmar Oliveira was born on June 28, 1950 in Connecticut to two Portuguese parents. He started studying violin at age nine. He then continued on to the Hartt College of Music and the Manhattan School of Music, where he received an honorary doctorate. He also has received honorary doctorates from Binghamton University and the Order of Santiago (for more information about the order, visit http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_Santiago). He is currently a Distinguished Artist in Residence at the Lynn University Conservatory of Music (in Boca Raton, Florida). He is also the only American violinist to win the Gold Medal at the Moscow Tchikovsky International Competition and the first violinist ever to receive the Avery Fisher Prize.

His instrument is a 1729/30 Guarneri del Gesu called the “Stretton,” and on several outstanding contemporary violins.

Oliveira is a double threat in that he can convincingly perform both “classic” works for violin and also pieces by contemporary composers.

Elmar Oliveira performing the Rautavaara Concerto for Violin with the Helsinki Philharmonic [Leif Segerstam, conductor]:

I had never heard this piece before I came across this recording, and I’m really glad I found it – it’s an incredible piece! Oliveira conveys so much emotion in his playing. His tone is intense but not unpleasant, and he warms it up with a smooth vibrato and a broad range of dynamics. The piece itself is very dramatic, with varying characters, and Oliveira’s playing is diverse enough to cover all of the bases.