SOUNDPOST

LETTER of the MONTH

DUAL IDENTITIES

I enjoyed reading the article (bit.ly/4bNtNnX) on Tanja Roos becoming a psychologist tremendously. I could relate to it on a personal level: being forced to put aside my job during Covid (I’m principal violist of the Mahler Chamber Orchestra), I decided to use that time to enrol in university to study clinical psychology. I am just wrapping up my bachelor’s degree, with a master’s degree being the next step!

The academic studies, but most of all, experiencing therapy in the field through internships in various institutions, have been a wake-up call for me. Psychotherapy – approaching patients with different pathologies from a variety of social backgrounds – requires a lot of knowledge but also intuition, and a set of skills not so distant from the ones musicians have to develop. That includes having open ears, listening to the words but also to what is not being said, and an ability to connect with others on an emotional level.

Today I try to pursue both careers, which is a challenge, but it has definitely added depth to my music making and made me appreciate playing concerts that much more – we musicians are so spoilt. With all the hard work we put into it, at the end of the day, it is a thing of beauty!

BÉATRICE MUTHELET

Paris, France

LETTER OF THE MONTH WINS

one from a selection of products from The Strad Shop: Masterclass: Violin Concertos, The Strad Calendar 2024, The Best of Trade Secrets 6 or a ‘Digital Amati’ T-shirt

THE POWER OF PIZZ

Regarding Davina Shum’s interesting opinion piece on pizzicato (Opinion, April 2024) and the need to practise it, this is something I have often written about. One reason the Busch Quartet was so great was that the players’ pizzicato was memorable: a good example is Herman Busch’s wonderful pizzicato in the Andante of Beethoven’s C major ‘Rasumovsky’, and Adolf Busch himself clearly took trouble to execute it well. And they didn’t even play Bartók! Another C major masterwork, Schubert’s Quintet, is greatly enhanced when the guest cellist has really mastered the art of varying the plucked string effects. Pizzicato, whether orthodox or left-hand, is such an obvious tool in the string player’s workbox that one hopes more teachers will start taking serious notice of it.

TULLY POTTER

Hildenborough, UK

LIGHTS, CAMERA, VIVALDI

It was back in 2006 that I originally read a biopic of Antonio Vivaldi was in the works, with Joseph Fiennes reported to be taking the role of the Red Priest (right). Now, almost 20 years later, we hear there are going to be two treatments of his life hitting our screens in the next couple of years. According to Variety, German director Volker Schlöndorff is preparing a film about his early years, to be filmed entirely in Italy, while John Ottman (of Bohemian Rhapsody fame) will be giving his life the LA treatment.

While I’m delighted by the news of any Vivaldi movie, I can’t help worrying that there’ll be a degree of artistic licence with this latter escapade: the trade paper says: ‘His first assignment was that of music director of an all-female orphanage orchestra where he developed a secret affair with a teacher. The film will tell his story of forbidden love, deceit and the transformative power of music.’ This is the first I’ve heard of any love affair at the Ospedale della Pietà, and it does sound like the most obvious Hollywood movie cliché there could possibly be.

ANDREIA BALDE

Baltimore, MD, US

HEAD IMAGE GETTY/YULIIA KONAKHOVSKA

TRHUMB PHOTO GETTY/ GEORGE MURESAN. VIOLIN PHOTO NEIL CAMPBELL

MIRROR IMAGE

I enjoyed Martin Goldman’s Opinion piece on the use of the left thumb in violin practice (‘Rule of thumb’, June 2024) especially since, being double-jointed, I always used to put too much pressure on my own left thumb. For me, practising in front of a mirror, as well as stopping to correct my thumb frequently, was essential to maintaining the proper position. A physiotherapist eventually gave me a set of isometric exercises to build up strength in the tendons, which also helped me somewhat. This came with a caution, however: if I didn’t give due care and attention to my thumbs, it could eventually lead to arthritis in later life. I’m pleased to say that, touch wood, this has not yet become a problem for me.

LISA PITCHER

Norwich, UK

ONLINE COMMENT

In May violinist Daniel Kurganov released a video featuring a composition and performance generated entirely by Artificial Intelligence.

It prompted music lovers to discuss the very essence of what makes music music bit.ly/3yt8RnL

ANASTASIA FRIDMAN AI never will and cannot replace real musicians and real composers. Music is not just about notes that are being played. It is also a great source of (real) emotion.

ELEANA VAN NIEKERK This is somewhat scary to me. I do want to believe that classical music will survive this form of ‘industrial revolution’. What I see is that composers of the future may use these AI technologies to help with compositions or ideas, and then refine them. This piece has some interesting ideas, but definitely needs refinement, and a bit more structure could also help. Maybe we can start getting some fresh musical material in Brahmsian styles, but played by real humans.

ARUNA TALAPATRA I don’t understand this. Why teach AI to play classical music? Let AI take care of my day-to-day jobs I don’t enjoy doing so I can learn to play an instrument myself!

www.thestrad.com

ONLINE EXCLUSIVE

1 Did AI just kill classical music? A video from violinist Daniel Kurganov bit.ly/3yt8RnL

2 The Maccaferri-style violin inspired by Django Reinhardt bit.ly/4dU8GlR