https://nato.ccNato Plays Violin Alone. Performing Paganini, Ysaye, Bach, Bartok, Prokofiev & More.https://nato.cc/blog/be-a-better-american.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/be-a-better-american.htmlI suppose this doesn’t seem too drastic of a north star to follow, but I feel as though I haven’t really jumped into being an American with both feet up to this point.https://nato.cc/blog/belgium-bonanzas-and-beck.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/belgium-bonanzas-and-beck.htmlIt’s amazing how the lifeblood of music spread from the 1850s Belgium, to modern popular culture in pretty short order.https://nato.cc/blog/goodbye-to-a-legend.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/goodbye-to-a-legend.htmlTruly, Lynch pulled off an almost impossible task with his body of work: something akin to levitation if you ask me.https://nato.cc/blog/kevork.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/kevork.htmlWhen I started the violent second movement of the first Prokofiev violin sonata, he asked: What do you see when you play those notes?https://nato.cc/blog/enumerable-tradeoffs.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/enumerable-tradeoffs.htmlIn a way, I have been defeated by the fiddle. The above has never dawned on me until this year. But it’s not the end of road for all things violin.https://nato.cc/blog/q-and-a-with-anthony-lane.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/q-and-a-with-anthony-lane.htmlTo create a truly beautiful looking and sounding violin the maker must transcend the craft and reach something more. That is the work of a life-time.https://nato.cc/blog/tapping-in.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/tapping-in.htmlBut not a moment later, he started braodcasting a Youtube video of one of the ol’ timers playing something.https://nato.cc/blog/movie-music-isnt-classical-music.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/movie-music-isnt-classical-music.htmlAt best, a John Williams score, say, has great musical moments. And when it’s good, it can evoke emotions not unlike Brahms or Dvořák.https://nato.cc/blog/the-wests-dirty-secret.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/the-wests-dirty-secret.htmlWestern Art has always been about the human experience. And this experience is not pigeon-holed to the West, at all.https://nato.cc/blog/knuckle-gaze.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/knuckle-gaze.htmlI’ll generally resort to anything to get through stressful passages.https://nato.cc/blog/left-hand-looks.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/left-hand-looks.htmlYou’d think that looking at the bows would be best, but for some reason, the finer motor skills in the left is what signals the most information.https://nato.cc/blog/im-training-right-now.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/im-training-right-now.htmlIt’s possible that this off-time practicing is what gets these pieces learned so fully — without it, how long would it take to get a given piece of music up?https://nato.cc/blog/ousterhouts-y-intercepts.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/ousterhouts-y-intercepts.htmlAnd the key thing here I think is that slow and steady is great.https://nato.cc/blog/services-the-lone-trail.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/services-the-lone-trail.htmlAnd somehow you’re sick of the highway, with its noise and its easy needs, And you seek the risk of the by-way, and you reck not where it leads.https://nato.cc/blog/scumbag-brain.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/scumbag-brain.htmlIn a static world, it does seem that the future is pretty bleak. But, we know the world is dynamic and a final eschaton is never possible for creative humankind.https://nato.cc/blog/ten-years-with-jan-spidlen.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/ten-years-with-jan-spidlen.htmlWhen I first got it, the fiddle was warm as could be. I was actually quite taken aback on just how playable this fresh instrument truly was.https://nato.cc/blog/knight-of-cups-part-ii.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/knight-of-cups-part-ii.htmlThe day I quit, I think my body was a good sport, as all I had was a slight pinch in the back of my head. So, not a full-on headache, but something akin to tightness just low of my dumb ol’ brain.https://nato.cc/blog/metal-works.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/metal-works.htmlWith this string setup, there’s a reliable, metallic quality amongst all four strings, but each string is given a distinct personality making it easy to champion the four voices of the violin; especially in polyphonic music like Bach’s ‘Sei Solo.’https://nato.cc/blog/errol-morris-on-j-s-bach.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/errol-morris-on-j-s-bach.htmlA quote from Errol Morris on the ‘Fuck You’ nature of good art.https://nato.cc/blog/eschaton-liner-notes.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/eschaton-liner-notes.htmlAs it turns out, this work, largely regarded as the most significant solo violin work since J.S. Bach’s contribution of ‘Sei Solo,’ would be the last composition Bartók would complete.https://nato.cc/blog/are-violins-good-investments.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/are-violins-good-investments.htmlThat being the case, a violin purchase could actually be a liability, in the worst case, or on average, barely keep up with inflation.https://nato.cc/blog/complex-systems.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/complex-systems.htmlWe’re in constant proximity with complex systems. But I believe most of us think we humans are so advanced that we know how to model, predict and deal with such systems.https://nato.cc/blog/scapegoating-time-past.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/scapegoating-time-past.htmlBut the deeply ambitious act quite differently. Rather than hold the wins of the past fondly, they kill these accolades by downplaying them wholesale.https://nato.cc/blog/mix-master-flow.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/mix-master-flow.htmlIt’s possible for performing artists to tackle mixing and mastering their recordings nowadays. There’s a knack to it, for sure, but with some patience the process isn’t too grueling, and the benefit is a fine final product, as nobody has more incentive to patch up a recording better than the artist themself.https://nato.cc/blog/prep-trifecta.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/prep-trifecta.htmlGetting a concert program in good shape is always a challenge because there’s limited time and energy-resources to get everything just right.https://nato.cc/blog/boats-and-oceans.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/boats-and-oceans.htmlEvery time I head into the practice room, it’s as though I’m a Boatmaker heading into the vast Ocean with my latest crafted vessel. I push off from shore and pray it will hold up in the unforgiving waters.https://nato.cc/blog/the-eye-of-the-duck.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/the-eye-of-the-duck.htmlBy finding the ‘Eye of the Duck’ moments in each work, we can judicially martial the apt tempi so that the glorious moments are more profound, and there is some pacing architecture in place for the music that surrounds such moments.https://nato.cc/blog/haldanes-on-being-the-right-size.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/haldanes-on-being-the-right-size.htmlComparative anatomy is largely the story of the struggle to increase surface in proportion to volume.https://nato.cc/blog/shannons-creative-thinking.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/shannons-creative-thinking.htmlYou have to have some kind of a drive, some kind of a desire to find out the answer, a desire to find out what makes things tick.https://nato.cc/blog/shadows.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/shadows.htmlGood ideas can be scary, and the shadow is the animal-brain trying to shut it out; something new could lead to trouble, after all. But, you can’t uninvite or suppress it: it comes with the package. No matter how many times you fall down the rabbit hole, your audacious idea will always cast a shadow.https://nato.cc/blog/the-genius-of-carnegies-how-to-win-friends.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/the-genius-of-carnegies-how-to-win-friends.htmlI was intrigued. I picked it up, and now it’s a sorry, battered, dog-eared pile of pages due to my constant handling of it. I connect with that book, quite a bit, though over the years I kept hearing about Carnegie’s other book, one much more famous, called ‘How To Win Friends & Influence People.’https://nato.cc/blog/notes-on-scales.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/notes-on-scales.htmlAs I get older and more boring, the mundane seems to get increasingly interesting. Take scales, for instance: at one time, practicing scales didn’t hold a candle next to the drama that were concerti and virtuoso concert pieces.https://nato.cc/blog/why-you-may-want-to-drink-up.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/why-you-may-want-to-drink-up.htmlNobody ever talks about the negative effects from quitting drinking alcohol. Ex-drinkers go on endlessly about the wins of abstaining, but just as important to acknowledge, are the many downsides of rejecting alcohol. Pros & cons: why do the cons always get swept under the rug? Well, I’m not afraid to talk about them.https://nato.cc/blog/artist-classicist-virtuoso.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/artist-classicist-virtuoso.htmlWhen one learns about Ysaÿe’s struggle with imposter syndrome when he sat down to write the six sonatas that were modeled after J.S. Bach’s similar contribution to the form, one gets a sense that Ysaÿe tapped into what he knew best in order to get the work done. So while Ysaÿe may have initially started to craft his version of six solo sonatas with the goal to mimic form and structure of that of J.S. Bach’s, thankfully, he wasn’t too dogmatic about seeing that through all the way.https://nato.cc/blog/girards-innovation-and-repetition.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/girards-innovation-and-repetition.html‘Innovation,’ from the Latin, innovare, innovatio, should signify renewal, rejuvenation from inside, rather than novelty, which is its modern meaning in both English and French. Judging from the examples in the Oxford English Dictionary and the Littré, the word came into widespread use only in the 16th century and, until the 18th century, its connotations are almost uniformly unfavorable.https://nato.cc/blog/capture-y-or-go-and-die.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/capture-y-or-go-and-die.htmlThere’s nothing like a good meme when considering the next year as it lays before you. And while I don’t mean to come off fatalist or morbid when I say artists should ‘capture Y or go & die,’ the truth is that too many creative people never capture any percent (Y) of the dollar value (X) that their artistry or novel idea generates for the world.https://nato.cc/blog/q-and-a-with-monica-chew.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/q-and-a-with-monica-chew.htmlQuestion & Answers with pianist and recording artist, Monica Chew.https://nato.cc/blog/rene-girard.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/rene-girard.htmlIf this sounds familiar, it’s because mimetic desire underlies the human experience, says Girard, and also, it’s the fundamental theme in art & literature.https://nato.cc/blog/czech-mate.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/czech-mate.htmlIn April, I will be performing Dvorak’s violin concerto with the San Francisco Civic Symphony. I’ve had a strange relationship with the work, though my current study of the concerto has solidified my care for it.https://nato.cc/blog/the-creative-supervisor.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/the-creative-supervisor.htmlBut most importantly, the supervisor is the artist: when it has nothing to do because the inner ninja is busy executing with ease, it can subtly guide & shape the humdrum mechanics in a way that is inspired by it, and create, art.https://nato.cc/blog/was-grumiaux-cheating.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/was-grumiaux-cheating.htmlWhat makes Grumiaux stand apart is his clean playing. This clean playing, which of course is just another way to say impeccable intonation is truly unparalleled. So, how does he achieve such fantastic intonation?https://nato.cc/blog/right-hand-intonation.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/right-hand-intonation.htmlPoor right-hand intonation spoils our overall presentations. Since we want to do our best to present our fine interpretations, insist on excellent bow-arm intonation, just as much as you do left-hand perfection.https://nato.cc/blog/dancing-and-shaking-around.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/dancing-and-shaking-around.htmlI was watching Heifetz play on YouTube the other day, and I was reminded how stalwart his composure was. It made me wonder, who was it that started all this dancing around?https://nato.cc/blog/of-rests-in-bach.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/of-rests-in-bach.htmlI recently noticed that Bach’s epic opus for violin alone only has a few rests in it. How few is a few? Well, seven rests to be exact. To give some perspective, the opening of Beethoven’s 5th symphony sports five rests in the first twenty-one measures. Considering there are forty-one pages in this massive violin work it could be said, generally, J.S. Bach didn’t rely on rests one bit.https://nato.cc/blog/ricci-glissando.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/ricci-glissando.htmlIt had been two years after discovering Ruggiero Ricci’s treatise on left-hand technique that I decided I would give him a ring. Something had burgeoned in me after spending such a focused chunk of time with it. I needed to talk to someone about it: why not the author? — I thought.https://nato.cc/blog/well-temperament.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/well-temperament.htmlPianist Trevor Stephenson, from an essay, explains the importance of keyboard temperament.https://nato.cc/blog/some-thoughts-on-ysaye-fingerings.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/some-thoughts-on-ysaye-fingerings.htmlThe given Ysaÿe fingerings lift the curtain on the player, but should not be gold-standard fingerings for us players.https://nato.cc/blog/sad-flower.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/sad-flower.htmlA poem from the 90’shttps://nato.cc/blog/oh-tononi.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/oh-tononi.htmlThoughts on recording with a violin by C. A. Tononihttps://nato.cc/blog/q-and-a-with-eric-funk.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/q-and-a-with-eric-funk.htmlQuestion and Answers with American composer, Eric Funk.https://nato.cc/blog/play-the-violin-videogame.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/play-the-violin-videogame.htmlPaganini 24 sliding game.https://nato.cc/blog/zyg-on-fiddles.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/zyg-on-fiddles.htmlSamuel Zygmutowicz explains the path of the violin.https://nato.cc/blog/concerto-and-sonata.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/concerto-and-sonata.htmlAnnouncement of new recording set.https://nato.cc/blog/a-tribute-to-kreisler.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/a-tribute-to-kreisler.htmlA celebration of the great Fritz Kreisler.https://nato.cc/blog/a-simple-diy-recording-setup.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/a-simple-diy-recording-setup.htmlInstructions for recording professional-quality classical violin.https://nato.cc/blog/kreisler-project.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/kreisler-project.htmlLet’s begin with something beautifulhttps://nato.cc/blog/polyphonic-sketches.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/polyphonic-sketches.htmlExploring great fugues for violin alone.https://nato.cc/blog/big-news-for-fiddlefish.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/big-news-for-fiddlefish.htmlWith some determination, it could be that fiddlefish will have achieved an enormous goal which will give years of insight as I compare the old versus the new up close and intimately.https://nato.cc/blog/some-time-alone-with-del-gesu.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/some-time-alone-with-del-gesu.htmlWhat contributed to its mystique was the impossible story bundled with it.https://nato.cc/blog/zygmuntowicz-delivers.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/zygmuntowicz-delivers.htmlWith regards to antiquing, I have moved from camp A to camp B in the last couple of years. It’s neat to antique, but I find something dis-ingenious about quoting the originals to the finest decimal place.https://nato.cc/blog/ruggiero-riccis-del-gesu-zygmuntowicz-copy.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/ruggiero-riccis-del-gesu-zygmuntowicz-copy.htmlI had a really touching phone conversation with Ricci just last year. And his wife Julia informed me that he, despite being in his 90s, still remains quite unstoppable (though he does not play any more).https://nato.cc/blog/strads-aplenty-at-tarisio.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/strads-aplenty-at-tarisio.htmlHere, now, they have announced the sale of a young Golden Period Strad named Baron von der Leyen.https://nato.cc/blog/kinskis-paganini.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/kinskis-paganini.htmlA look back at Klaus Kinski’s 1989 passion project: Paganini.https://nato.cc/blog/paypal-destroys-fiddle.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/paypal-destroys-fiddle.htmlA dispute over the sale of a violin and its label led to the following as required by PayPal’s terms of servicehttps://nato.cc/blog/samuel-nemessanyi.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/samuel-nemessanyi.htmlI was informed they are “impossible” to find, and the ones that are not fakes now fetch prices close to that of a fine J.B. Vuillaume. It was a subjective statement, but I did get the sense that perhaps I better look for another makerhttps://nato.cc/blog/antiquing-with-the-dod.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/antiquing-with-the-dod.htmlNot understanding how this could be, I decided to write a quick email to the officer attached to the public notice only to have a response in the affirmative.https://nato.cc/blog/contemporary-violin-makers-exhibition.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/contemporary-violin-makers-exhibition.htmlEqually exciting to play on the antiques is finding bright new talents who are on leading the way in perfecting the craft of violin making.https://nato.cc/blog/my-new-fiddle-jan-spidlen.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/my-new-fiddle-jan-spidlen.htmlA commissioned violin arrives from Jan Špidlen’s Prauge workshop to mine.https://nato.cc/blog/no-you-are-out-of-tune.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/no-you-are-out-of-tune.htmlA lament about the difficulties of sub-par fiddles.https://nato.cc/blog/my-new-jan-spidlen-fiddle.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/my-new-jan-spidlen-fiddle.htmlI had commissioned a Guarneri copy and we ended up going with copying the del Gesu “Plowden.”https://nato.cc/blog/lady-blunt-stradivarius-sold-for-usd-16-million.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/lady-blunt-stradivarius-sold-for-usd-16-million.htmlOne-hundred percent of the amount raised for the instrument will benefit the relief efforts of the devastating March 2011 Tsunami in northern Japan.https://nato.cc/blog/ysaye-bridging-eras.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/ysaye-bridging-eras.htmlA peak inside the influence of violinist E. Ysaÿe.https://nato.cc/blog/back-with-my-student-violin.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/back-with-my-student-violin.htmlWhat I cannot understand is how the delta between something good and something mediocre to be so severe.https://nato.cc/blog/jb-vuillaumes-lady-blunt-papers.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/jb-vuillaumes-lady-blunt-papers.htmlIt is my understanding that he aquired the Lady Blunt in Spain.https://nato.cc/blog/lady-blunt-stradivarius-to-be-auctioned-at-tarisio.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/lady-blunt-stradivarius-to-be-auctioned-at-tarisio.htmlI estimate the hammer price to be close to 18 million US dollars.https://nato.cc/blog/doing-time-with-an-infant-violin.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/doing-time-with-an-infant-violin.htmlThe violin came looking as old as some of the Cremonese instruments I have played on; Mr. Phillips has an almost eerie gift for antiquing.https://nato.cc/blog/a-phillips-a-cometh.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/a-phillips-a-cometh.htmlI have never had a role in exploring a fine instrument’s first weeks of evolution and I am hoping to really learn a lot from the expericence.https://nato.cc/blog/molitor-strad-home-in-usa.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/molitor-strad-home-in-usa.htmlI’m a little suspicious how in this economic climate with fine-arts popularity where it is, how this is manageable for any violinist.https://nato.cc/blog/master-or-what.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/master-or-what.htmlCan excellence really be a pure monopoly and does Strad deserve the laurels of True Master?https://nato.cc/blog/del-gesu-the-plowden.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/del-gesu-the-plowden.htmlA little bit of digging on this 1735 Del Gesu revealed that it has mostly been owned my private collectors and violin houses for its entire life-span; never home in the humble hands of musicians on more than a couple of occasions.https://nato.cc/blog/an-afternoon-at-the-met.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/an-afternoon-at-the-met.htmlThe Amati had a small caption that suggested that this violin could be the oldest one in existence; which is highly possible since Andrea invented the violin.https://nato.cc/blog/pique-violin-at-fred-osters.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/pique-violin-at-fred-osters.htmlPique is on a very short list along with Nicolas Lupot and J.B. Vuillaume of master French violin makers.https://nato.cc/blog/vsa-2010.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/vsa-2010.htmlTo put this win in perspective, previous gold medal winners include Sam Zygmuntowicz, whose win catapulted his popularity among soloists in the years that followed.https://nato.cc/blog/record-price-for-strad.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/record-price-for-strad.htmlHe or she will join history as having owned it along side Napoleon Boneparte and the Curtis Institute.https://nato.cc/blog/del-gesu-a-first-encounter.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/del-gesu-a-first-encounter.htmlI have never seen a Del Gesu up close in person before — let alone played on one — so this was one very special day.https://nato.cc/blog/albert-c-barnes-violins.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/albert-c-barnes-violins.htmlA look at art collector A. Barnes.https://nato.cc/blog/an-afternoon-at-tarisio.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/an-afternoon-at-tarisio.htmlIt had a really minature scroll, and comparing it to the Vuillaume Strad copy sitting on the couch next to me, I would say that Vuillaume had done better wood-work relative to this (particular) early Strad.https://nato.cc/blog/the-molitor.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/the-molitor.htmlIt’s incredible how some of these Strads can look like they just dried while having been around for 300 years.https://nato.cc/blog/martigny-switzerland.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/martigny-switzerland.htmlSome time to wander the little town of Martigny.https://nato.cc/blog/patrick-robin.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/patrick-robin.htmlI think we feel that it’s just going to be a long life of upgrades until we have something great.https://nato.cc/blog/arrival.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/arrival.htmlAfter years of playing, I strongly feel that a great instrument is the most important factor in developing.https://nato.cc/blog/gregg-alf.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/gregg-alf.htmlGregg Alf, has just leant me one of his Del Gesu copies for a few weeks as I participate in this year’s Tibor Varga competition in Switzerland.https://nato.cc/blog/first-steps.htmlhttps://nato.cc/blog/first-steps.htmlRecently, it really became apparent that fine instruments have predominantly slipped from the hands of players as their price has inflated well beyond the salaries of the average musician.