For more classes like this one, please visit the Benjamin Zander Center - www.benjaminzander.org/ Kate Arndt, violin Dina Vainshtein, piano Interpretations of Music: Lessons for Life with Benjamin Zander Dave Jamrog Audio/Video
Everyone always comments on the main player but having seen many of these videos with Maestro Zander, it is clear that unless it is unaccompanied violin (or cello or flute, etc), these are duets and the pianist is just as important. In this case, as in the others, this lady at the piano is exceptional. Her name should be included in the narrative and she should be showered with as much praise ... and more, in my humble opinion.
I agree completely. In fact, I don't know why you say "main player". There's no such thing; from composition, Beethoven treats both parts equally (unlike Haydn or even Mozart)
I phrased it like that so readers would know what I meant, but you are correct in that it takes two hands to clap in every duet and one hand shouldn't be singled out for more recognition than the other since they both produce the sound and one cannot do so without the other.
Not to mention that Beethoven calls those Sonata for the Pianoforte and Violin and not simply Violinsonata which gives you a clue that this is a work for partners. I have to say though that I'm not a fan of them omitting the repeat in the first movement. Beethoven is all about structure. You don't mess with repeats in his music. They are not up for debate, they need to be played. Just as Brahms is on record saying: "I have my reasons when I write a repeat."
I am no musician myself. I do not even understand half the directions he give. But i am keep watching Benjamin’s class. The energy. The interaction. The influence. All is so amazing and inspirational. I wish i can meet such a great teacher in my life.
I am at a loss for words. Mr. Zander is able to transform talented performers into beautiful storytellers in a matter of 20 minutes! I must also mention that Kate is an amazing violinist and it was a pleasure to listen to both of them play this already wonderful sonata!
I love watching and listening to this! Kate Arndt is such an accomplished Musician! Benjamin Zander is a wonderful inspiration as a Conductor and Musical Director! It's an honor for anyone to be in his tutelage!
What an absolute and beautiful treat. So needed in these dark days. Thank-you Maestro Zander for bringing such joy, love and life to this classic. Your laughter, intelligence and knowledge while exploring this music is exceptional. Both players are fantastic, such a sweet interpretation. I’m here because of Year of Wonder by Clemency Burton-Hill, highly recommended.
I dont ussually like piano accompaniments and prefer solo sonatas, but in this piece I actually found myself enjoying the hell out of the piano. They made a fantastic duo, these two. I love watching these since I discovered them yesterday (9/20/19). This man is s great leader and he has so much fun doing his work that it's contagious. The violinist, besides being a virtuoso, is also very beautiful.
Dina, you're the best! Really beautiful piano playing. I love how the master changes everything while telling his student she doesn't have to do it. But of course you have to do it because he's right. It's magic how in every lesson Zander identifies the things that don't work, changes them and then everything is much better, more expressive and meaningful. The maestro is always joyful, pleasant and good humoured. He's a model of good nature and also a force of nature. Kate plays so much better after being energized by the maestro !
Listening you again Kate! I have to repeat and repeat to search the relation between your face expresion and the music and I certainly find it. You are a magic violinist and there is not note which is not in concordance to your divine face. Your eyes, your forehead, your brows, your chin... all of them go in perfect line with Beethoven idea. I beg the music spirit continue to grow with your soul so I can attend a concert or watch a video with Kate as a brilliant soloist playing Chaikovsky, Beethoven, Brahms, Saint-Saens and mainly Sibelius violin concerti. May God continue to guide you in the path to perfection, Kate!!!
Kate and Dina together are simply superb. I love the way Kate's facial expression mirrors the mood of the music, excellent! Real musicianship is still alive.
I hardly know where to begin! This should be seen by anyone who enjoys music as it is full of the joys, not just of playing music, but of making music. I always love that moment when you know that the performance was so beautiful that Ben couldn’t possibly have anything to say. Yet, here, as always, he’s able to come up with a suggestion that, in my opinion, transforms this from a lovely piece of music to a great piece of music.
I'm so glad the you guys went to the effort of putting some decent quality in this recording, its because I'm listening this lessons and I jumped when Benjamin screamed on my HS8's
These to ladies are fabulous. The subtle differences that the maestro suggested made a huge improvement in the feel of the work. It went from great to unbelievable, Impressed.
Yes yes, no doubt that here's the Spring, La Primavera, of course Kate : The Spring is you, sweety, yes you Kate. Congratulations for you and for the lady who plays the piano with total excellency too. Perfect Duo for Primavera. Thank you!!
The accompanist is fantastic, and the violinist was receptive and really was open to the coaching and the result sounded so much more Beethoven I really feel that this isn’t far from professional sounding really lovely
I do not mean to be annoying, but it worth mentioning that he is just working on the interpretations and not technique or other matters, so it is not really a master class.
Jeris Kaso I dont think it's the violin necessarily but yes if the violin is good you should play better but generally speaking the two are seperate violin and player and a bad player cannot bring "life" into a good instrument but it should always be a joy to play a good instrument but in reality the two things are completely seperate and it comes down to state of mind, really that is the glory of the man or woman.
Gosto do Bethoven porque ele coloca todos os instrumentos que tem a disposição para solar, mesmo que o instrumento principal estava solando. Gênio dos gênios.
Beethoven violin sonata feels like almost a duet piece for piano and violin. I guess this is why Benjamin gives so much directions to ‘accompanist’ as well.
Be sure: The things which you reflect and do, that what really matters for you, has a strong influence on your appearance. Devoting your life to music by studying an instrument as seriously as these people do will not only change your personality but, believe it or not, even make you physically attractive. Some people make the same observation as you did and take a completely wrong primitive conclusion: that only beauties are admitted to an important stage, only "cuties" and "hotties" can make a musical career. What a nonsense. Top musicians develop a particularly subtle sensitivity, externally expressed in all of their facial expressions, gestures, movements. Great to have them. Now look at our politicians to see the difference.
@@Pitborn That’s an interesting point, and I agree there’s probably some validity to it. I would also like to just throw some considerations out there that might contribute to the conversation. Attractiveness is highly correlated with high socioeconomic status. Basically, if you’re wealthy, you’re more likely to be good looking, and vice-versa. Moreover, being wealthy (or being from a wealthy background) significantly increases ones chances of becoming a successful musician. If your family is worried about where their next meal is coming from, they can hardly afford to pay for a piano instructor when you’re five years old, or send you to a prestigious university when you’re 18. Not only that, but they’re less likely to have developed an appreciation for the arts, and therefore less likely to have passed it on to their child. Financial stability means people can enjoy the finer things in life, develop a taste for classical music, and put in the many hours required to master an instrument. Being from a poorer background makes all of those things harder, and, to tie it to back to my original point, is also negatively correlated with physical attractiveness. Therefore, I guess I’m saying my hypothesis, if you want to call it that, is that so many musicians are attractive because they come from wealthy backgrounds. Or more specifically, being a successful orchestral musician is positively correlated with being from a wealthy background, and being from a wealthy background is positively correlated with physical attractiveness. I haven’t given any examples or explanations as to the correlation between economic status and attractiveness as I think it’s pretty self explanatory, and also because there is so much clear evidence of this in the literature a quick google (or better yet google scholar) search will return more evidence than you can poke a stick at.
Such great music, with such helpful ideas to improve the over all performance of the piece. Yes, like the comment below me, yes indeed the lady playing the piano is amazing, and yes her name should be mentioned with the others.
The difficulty with making the second lower statement of the theme quiet is that the lower string requires more pressure to make it sonorous. Perlman solves this by making the first statement extra expressive.
Your right. The second bar is less than the first bar. Everyone that I’ve played with does it the other way. And that’s wrong but I could never convince them otherwise. This is true for many pieces. Downbeats get more than off beats, and the second bar is an off beat so to speak.
Lol... Mr Zander basically is giving the piano accompanist a fine lesson (dont get me wrong, i think they are 99% perfect already but the accompaniment treated the score as a piano score instead of quartet/orch)
