Great old videos of some of the titans of conducting. Every orchestral musician should watch this.
Ustad Zakir Hussain
Good musicians access (and communicate using) their innate sense of speech rhythms and their linguistic/rhetorical mind. Watch, in particular, from 37:00!
My suggested bowings and fingerings for the audition excerpts required by the Carnegie Hall National Youth Orchestra (NYO):
http://bit.ly/Qtq56Q (PDF file)
- Brahms: Symphony No. 2, Second Movement
- Mendelssohn: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Scherzo
- Beethoven: Symphony No. 5, Second and Third Movements
Alistair MacRae
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This is a video of Bruce Lee doing a screen test at the very beginning of his American film career.
[video was removed, but can now be found at http://mysp.ac/11kRjje]
Watch especially from about 4:30, when he starts demonstrating kung fu. Notable details: speed, fluidity, and economy of motion; stillness and ease in the parts of his body not in use; balance and poise: a true master of himself. Also interesting is his description of kung fu starting at 2:00: images of water and flexibility that, in my opinion, apply well to playing the cello. Bruce Lee’s deep study of martial arts led him to many truths of self-mastery. A fantastic read: http://bit.ly/TaoOfJeetKuneDo
“πάντα χωρεῖ καὶ οὐδὲν μένει” καὶ “δὶς ἐς τὸν αὐτὸν ποταμὸν οὐκ ἂν ἐμβαίης”
“You could not step twice into the same river; for other waters are ever flowing on to you;”
or (variant translation):
“No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man.”
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| — |
Heraclitus of Ephesus as quoted by Plato in his Cratylus |
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau sings “Mondnacht” (Schumann). A great musician to hear, imitate, and internalize.
David Finckel on the variable and excellent vibrato of the renowned baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
A habit cannot be tossed out the window; it must be coaxed down the stairs a step at a time.
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| — | Mark Twain |
