COPIED
2 mins

Life lessons

As he marks 25 years with the Diotoma Quartet, the French violist talks about life as a chamber musician and the importance of conversing with peers

I have more childhood memories of my musical environment than of my viola lessons. In my home town of Caen, Normandy, we had a fantastic contemporary music festival and at the age of eight I was lucky enough to meet people like Stockhausen, Berio and Xenakis. It definitely had an impact on my professional career, seeing as I now frequently play premieres with Diotima. During the 1980s in France there was also a revolution in Baroque music as it came into ordinary musical life. I was deeply affected by the group Les Arts Florissants and their brilliant leader William Christie, who were in residence in Caen. Having both the Baroque and contemporary styles around me gave me a well-rounded start to my musical life.

Moving to Paris when I was 20 to attend conservatoire was a dream for me. After 14 years with the same teacher, it was an enormous change. And while I remember my lessons with Jean Sulem fondly, it was the discussions with my peers that really shaped me. It is vital to learn from your colleagues – maybe even more important than your lessons. It enlarges your spirit and way of thinking. It was also an exciting period in France for the string quartet genre. I had the chance to hear and have lessons with some very important chamber players of the time. I formed Diotima in my fourth year with its current cellist, Pierre Morlet. We never expected to earn money from the group, let alone become full-time quartet players for 25 years.

Franck Chevalier at the age of twelve
TOP PHOTO FRANÇOIS ROUSSEAU

I had never realised what a fascinating world it was.

Playing in a quartet can be difficult in terms of interpersonal relationships. And there’s no secret to it. Having Pierre with me for so long has provided stability, but with incoming members we have tried to include young musicians. It is a way to bring new blood into the group and stay connected to current generations. The most important thing is to be focused on the success of the group; then you can deal with anything. Problems arise when the quality decreases. It’s the same with all musical bands, whether it’s the Beatles or a Baroque ensemble. Being focused is something we learnt from Boulez, whose answers to our questions were always just one word. You can have very deep discussions when you are that concentrated.

‘We have to question the past but not be too radical’

The film The Leopard contains a quote that I find very relevant to the current state of the music industry: ‘If we want everything to remain as it is, then everything must change.’ Classical music has and always will be a language that can help all of society. The more we can do to keep it that way, the more we will ensure it doesn’t disappear. We have to look for what doesn’t change, question the past but not be too radical about it, and accept the new generation’s ideas.

This article appears in March 2022

Go to Page View
This article appears in...
March 2022
Go to Page View
Editor's letter
The road to Leonidas Kavakos’s first complete
Contributors
LIHAY BENDAYAN (Technique, page 78) is professor of
SOUNDPOST
Letters, emails, online comments
Food for thought
News and events from around the world this month
NEWS IN BRIEF
Competition launched to loan Lynn Harrell’s old cello
OBITUARIES
ROGER TAPPING British violist Roger Tapping died on
Labour of love
Danny Elfman talks about his new cello concerto
COMPETITIONS
Sphinx Competition, Goodmesh Concours etc
Pretty in red
ROSIN
TRUE COLOURS
Luthiers can use Schilbach’s new Metamerism test card
HOLD ON
Including the Product of the Month
Life lessons
Franck Chevalier
A learned crowd
The Cambridge Music Festival marked its 30th anniversary in the unusual format of two instalments during 2021. Toby Deller attended three performances during the autumn celebrations
DEEP THINKER
For Leonidas Kavakos, recording Bach’s Solo Sonatas and Partitas has been the culmination of a 30‐year artistic journey and, as the violinist tells Charlotte Smith, the works have a pertinent message for our troubled times
THE LEADING EDGE
For those ensembles willing to take the plunge, performing without a conductor can lead to a greater sense of collaboration, fulfilment and, ultimately, responsibility. Jacqueline Vanasse hears from some of the string players involved in such groups
THE JOURNEYMAN YEARS
The time spent between finishing at violin making school and striking out on your own can be critical to a luthier’s learning experience. Peter Somerford finds out what makers should expect from their first jobs in a workshop – and how they can make the most of their time
LANDSCAPE OF SHADOWS
Cellist Laura van der Heijden talks to Tom Stewart about the subtle, often other-worldly atmosphere inhabited by Czech and Hungarian music in her new recording with pianist Jâms Coleman
A MAKER IN THE ROUGH
Tuscany in the 19th century was home to numerous luthiers, some of whom were carpenters who turned their hands to instrument making. Florian Leonhard examines the career of Luigi Cavallini, a lesser-known self-taught maker whose work, while unusual in parts, displays a surprisingly high level of craftsmanship
FROM FAME to FOOTNOTE
Despite his prolific output, the works of British composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor have been performed relatively infrequently in the century following his death. Tatjana Goldberg explores his chamber and violin music, particularly the Violin Concerto, and his fruitful artistic partnership with pioneering US violinist Maud Powell
NIELS LARSEN WINTHER
A close look at the work of great and unusual makers
Making a Parisian-eye ring
Makers reveal their special techniques
MAGNUS NEDREGÅRD
LUTHIER MAGNUS NEDREGÅRD
Her dark materials
Points of interest to violin and bow makers
BEETHOVEN STRING QUARTET OP.132
BEETHOVEN STRING QUARTET OP.132
MASTERCLASS
I wouldn’t usually include all the fingerings I
Developing a controlled vibrato
Developing a controlled vibrato
CONCERTS
Your monthly critical round-up of performances, recordings and publications
RECORDINGS
SEI SOLO BACH Sonatas and Partitas for solo
BOOKS
COURTESY DAVID L. FULTON The Fulton Collection: A
From the ARCHIVE
Carl Fuchs pays tribute to his friend and fellow cellist Carl Davidoff (1838–89), including a reminiscence of how he acquired his famed Stradivari cello
IN THE NEXT ISSUE
GERMAN FOCUS Johannes Moser The German–Canadian cellist
JENNIFER PIKE
For the British violinist, Szymanowski’s Violin Sonata in D minor brings back fond memories of old holidays, family reunions and a three-concert marathon in 2017
Looking for back issues?
Browse the Archive >

Previous Article Next Article
March 2022
CONTENTS
Page 20
PAGE VIEW