Close-up of title page to the first volume of Singende Mse an der Pleisse, a collection of strophic songs published in Leipzig in 1736, by “Sperontes”, Johann Sigismund Scholze. JS and Anna Magdalena Bach may be the couple pictured. Martin Jarvis decided, as a 19-year-old violist, that the famed cello suites didn’t sound like J.S. Bach. Certainly in the first suite, the movements are short and very simple, in comparison with the first movement of the violin works.  read more »

One of the world's preeminent cellists is residing in Fort Collins this week, having already dished up one-third of what he refers to as a "soiree" of savory classical music to residents eager to see and hear ...

...to find a concert anywhere I go! Bought Time OutBarcelona last night (which is not in Spanish, but Catalan; I hope you are impressed) and found a little concert in La Pedrera. Seems to be a building designed by Gaudi, so its all swirls and no corners, I would hate to have had to plaster the ceiling in the concert room!  read more »

Professional musicians, as a rule, are not known to be rocket scientists. Perhaps all those hours spent practicing since early on and lack of good general education are partly to blame. Before my generation becoming a musician simply meant that you couldnt do anything else for living. The profession was often compared to working in a circus and was bunched together with a vague title of entertainer with actors and clowns alike. A concertmaster from my home country was in love with an army officers daughter. In spite of the suitors stable job with the state-owned radio orchestra, the father of the young woman would not tolerate the prospect of such a serious involvement with a mere musician. So, she was sent out to the far corners of the globe but the fellow in love was persistent and followed her. Eventually they got married but, if my memory serves me correctly, they didnt live happily ever after, ending up divorcing like so many others. A couple days ago marked the 31 st anniversary of my immigrating to the United States. Although I have often questioned the wisdom of that move, at the time I had no options as my first wife had promised her dying father to return. During the first year in Los Angeles I went to my local branch of Bank of America on Larchmont Boulevard to discuss the possibility of a loan to buy a Vuillaume violin from a retiring colleague. At first the banker was very friendly and misunderstood me, taking my accented musician for a magician. No problem, she said, but when she finally learned of my true profession, her smile froze. No, they didnt lend money to buy furniture, especially to a musician. To no avail, I tried to convince that a violin was not like a piano collecting dust in someones living room. Well, I found another bank with a better attitude and took my business elsewhere. Luckily I was able to pay the loan off in no time. Since I grew up with top musicians coming to help in my fathers orchestra, I soon learned about the peculiar characteristics players of different instrument tend to have. I have a soft spot for oboists as my favorite guest artist was the principal of the Helsinki Philharmonic, those days known as Helsinki City Symphony. Asser Sipil was not only a great oboist but a wonderful man. As he was also a beekeeper, he would always bring honey for me. For some reason, he preferred it to be packaged in tubes. I watched him make reeds and even learned the technique of continuous breathing from him, how to blow air out with the muscles of the cheek while inhaling. In addition to him, principals came as needed from Helsinki, occasionally from Lahti, to play the rest of the wind and brass family. Also, string instrumentalists would often come to play as soloists. All in all, I met with a whole bunch of different top musicians over the years.  read more »