SOUNDPOST

Violinist Sanford Allen performing with the Sphinx Symphony

LETTER of the MONTH

BRING IT HOME

Thank you for posting online Vivien Schweitzer’s 2014 article titled ‘You can only diversify the audience by having a diverse group of people on stage’ (bit.ly/3DTdjdo), but I do not believe the statement in the headline is true. If an orchestra performs Baroque, Classical or Romantic works along with those written by the composers of today, you will still have diversity in the audience. What we really need here is the broadening of exposure of various musical genres in people’s communities. That is the way you cultivate an audience.

By bringing the various cultures and types of music into the many divergent communities in this country, you awaken an awareness and a desire to participate in the performance of such compositions in both ways, either as an audience member or as a performer. Exposure to very good musical compositions makes you feel good inside. It’s very satisfying and expansive to the conscious mind.

LESLIE FALLIS

Clearfield, UT, US

CULTURAL DESERT NO MORE

It was gratifying to read about the inaugural InClassica International Music Academy in Dubai this year (Postcard from Dubai, December 2021). Around 15 years ago I left Abu Dhabi with my two children, regretful that classical music seemed to have no place in the emirate; although they had both taken up instrumental tuition while we were out there, there was no conservatory, nor any chance of them joining a youth orchestra that we knew of. I remember the common complaint was that Europeans tended to spend just a few years in Dubai and then leave, which meant there was very little chance of cultural activities gaining a foothold in the community.

Now, however, a quick search online reveals that there exists a Dubai National Conservatory, an Emirates Music Competition and a National Youth Orchestra Dubai – so many opportunities for young people to learn. And now there’s an annual classical music festival (below) with topnotch soloists to inspire them.

Thank goodness that, even in these troubled times of lockdowns and pandemics, there’s still so much drive and creativity to popularise this music in a ‘new’ territory.

ALAN BEYERS

Leicester, UK

SPHINX PHOTO COURTESY SPHINX ORGANIZATION. INCLASSICA PHOTO ALEXEI MOLCHANOVSKY

SECRETIVE STRADS

I have some remarks and questions concerning the Janine Jansen Stradivari feature (‘A spritual connection’, October 2021). Firstly, in my opinion the denomination ‘Alard, Baron Knoop’ of the ‘Alard’ Stradivari from 1715 is a little bit dangerous. Maybe it has been in the famous collection of Baron Knoop for a short time, but there exists the risk of confusion with the ‘Baron Knoop’ Strad from 1715, allegedly his favourite instrument, now in possession of David Fulton, recorded on the CD Homage by James Ehnes. They are different violins. In the William Henry Hill and Ernest Doring books the ‘Alard’ is simply the ‘Alard’.

Was the ‘Alard’ really played by Joseph Joachim? According to Ernest Doring’s book How Many Strads? the admirers of Joachim wanted to present it to him, but its then possessor David Laurie refused. By the way, with at least five Strads, Joachim was sufficiently well equipped.

Was the 1710 ‘Vieuxtemps, Camposelice’ Strad later played by Váša Příhoda and Josef Suk? Or is the ‘Camposelice, Příhoda, Suk’ Strad, also from 1710, a different instrument, one of the many ‘Camposelices’? I adhere to the latter opinion.

My last questions: is the ‘Ida Haendel’ Strad also known by another name? Who were its other owners? Is it identical to one of the few Strads from that year listed in Doring’s book?

KLAUS URBAN

Albersweiler, Germany

STRADIVARI PHOTO UNA BERNAND

NO PAIN, NO GAIN?

Reading your feature on young American violinist Chad Hoopes (‘State of independence’, November 2021), I started thinking about the immense stress young musicians must be under when in high-pressure environments like competitions. As explained in the article, Hoopes won the Menuhin Competition at 13. Granted, it was the junior category, and so he was not competing against 25-year-olds, but the pressure must still have been substantial. It appears that all competitions are good for is enforcing unrealistic expectations of perfection on young players. A vicious circle is created when the financial rewards and other opportunities awarded to the winners can ‘make or break’ a young musician’s development. How else could they get their hands on a Strad or travel across the world for a lesson with a renowned teacher? It is nice to see that Hoopes has come out of it well, however. Hopefully this becomes the norm!

KARL ADAMS

Victoria, BC, Canada

ONLINE COMMENT

After reading Russian–American violinist Daniel Kurganov’s experience of starting the violin at the age of 16, string players shared their own tales of starting later in life bit.ly/3bSuW0H CLAIRE DE LUNE People like this are so important! We need to see successful people who start later. I sometimes look at an eight-year-old and think: ‘too late’! Which is silly of course.

PIETRO MOSSA Wow, that’s cool. I started at twelve and I thought I was the oldest dinosaur in the world to have graduated from a conservatory.

BRIGITTE VAN DER VUURST I started at 15 and am now a professional player and teacher. It is possible, but a lot of work! I would have preferred to start at a younger age.

GABRIELLE TOURTELLOTTE I started aged nine but burned out on the violin at 20 and switched to viola. And I’ve never been happier!

GEORGINA CEAIRNS I was 15 when I started on the cello. I was a professional cellist and teacher by the age of 22.

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Editorial note

An editing error in the November 2021 issue attributed a Facebook comment made by Elizabeth Beer to Charles Berthon. Apologies.

www.thestrad.com

TOP 3 ONLINE POSTS

1 Luthier and daughter tortured and killed over Stradivari violin collection bit.ly/3CQ9i8k

2 Tiny violin performance stuns judges on Spain’s Got Talent (see page 74) bit.ly/3lay393