Page 149 - PDF Flip TR Program Demo

Baroque music. Then slowly came in Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Stravinsky, Shostakovich, Mahler, you name it. And here we are in the 21st century playing Gubaidulina. Of course, the violin as an instrument has physically adapted to the demands of the modern repertoire. We use different strings, the bridge is different, the angle of the neck has been changed, the neck itself has been changed. It’s amazing to think that the violin was built in 1690. We’re now in 2018. The builder could never dream that his violin would make sounds like it does now. I think the violin shows the genius of the maker. One of the indications of the genius is being able to be ahead of your time. A gentleman in Cremona, Italy in 1690 built an instrument that is used for three-and- a-half centuries after that, and meets demands that were unthinkable at the time. I think it’s extraordinary.
DH: Has your playing changed because of the instrument?
VG: The violin inspires me, and I’ve been playing it now for 21 years. The violin has character, has personality, has opinions and moods. It’s like a relationship with a human being. Do you dance? That’s the only parallel I could give you. It’s feeling your partner and being able to lead while following, and vice versa. It’s being able to find greater depths of sound, each and every time you play. By depths I don’t necessarily mean volume. I mean shades of colors and degrees of intensity. The intensity could be a whisper that is overwhelming. It could be a scream that is barely heard. I know that I’m not the same player I was 20 years ago in many ways, thanks to the instrument.
2018 Summer Season 149