Cello Masterclass

At the last minute, I got an email from the CMNC (Chamber Musicians of Northern California) newsgroup about a cello masterclass given by Lynn Harrell in San Francisco on Friday. I dropped the kids off with Leah and Chuck on the way to San Francisco State located on 19th Avenue.


I'm glad I went. It was very inspiring. I got a lot of good ideas.

• It's okay to hold the bow differently for lighter or heavier sound.
• Use the tips of fingers in the left hand for better articulation. Use flatter fingers for espressivo passages.
• Slightly lean forward in the chair to get a stronger sound.
• It's okay to use stronger fingers (1 and 2) when playing loud notes.
• Choose fingerings to bring out the phrasing rather than fingerings that are easier to play. (SM: Of course, then you have to be able to play it!)
• Use flat of bow hair for more sound.
• Use flatter bow hair for bouncier staccato. A difference of a few millimeters is all it takes.
• A bigger faster vibrato in the left hand helps to make a louder sound.
• Coming down, don't always have to drop the left elbow if you are going right back up to the higher positions.
• Practice the hard parts so they become the most familiar, comfortable parts of the piece.
• Silence is powerful because the anticipation of something is sometimes more thrilling than the thing itself.
• Dynamics does not mean volume of sound. For example, in Italian, forte means strong (as in strong coffee) not loud.

Obviously this man has spent a lifetime thinking about how to play the cello beautifully. Inspiring and at the same time daunting. I've got a lot of work to do!

I stayed for the chamber music concert in the evening. Four different groups performed, two professional: Jupiter Trio and Alexander String Quartet, and two college student groups. When I read the program I was prepared to suffer through the student groups, but boy was I wrong. While every group was outstanding, the highlight of the evening for me was the student group Afiara String Quartet playing a contemporary piece Pannonia Boundless (1998) by Aleksandra Vrebalov (b. 1970). A great composition and a powerful, knock-your-socks-off performance. After intermission the Afiara joined the Alexander String Quartet in Shostakovich's String Octet, Op.11. You don't get to hear that every day. What a treat.

Two kids were fast asleep when I got back to Leah and Chuck's. Andrew was just barely awake. The kids had a great time at grandma and grandpa's. Thanks to Leah and Chuck for babysitting!