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In addition to the complete Beethoven and Bach sonatas, Rosand has recorded numerous concertos, specializing in 19th-century Romantic masterpieces. His critically acclaimed recordings of works by Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky, Lalo, Saint-Saens, Chausson, Wieniawski, Rimsky-Korsakov, Sarasate, and Ysay are supplemented by his premiere recordings of concertos by Joachim, Hubay, Ernst, Arensky, and Godard, as well as the complete Humoresques by Sibelius. Rosand is currently The Dorothy Richard Starling Chair in Violin Studies at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia.
Audiocafe.com: Good afternoon from Audiocafe.com. We are very fortunate today to have one of the premier violinists of our century, Aaron Rosand, talking to us about his violin playing, classical music, and the MP3 phenomenon on the Internet. Good morning, Mr. Rosand.
Aaron Rosand: Good Morning.
Tell us a little bit more about these traditions of violin playing. What does this mean to say that you "carry on the traditions of two schools of violin playing" and how is that you've developed in two traditions simultaneously?
At the turn of the century, the great violinist Eugene Ysaye (he was a Belgian) began the trend of expressive violin playing -- that was with the use of vibrato and "emoting," so to speak, with the violin, and being very poetic about his interpretations. This tradition was carried on by subsequent violinists. One of my early teachers, Sametini, was a student of Ysaye, and I was weaned on the particular style of Ysaye -- that is, until the age of 17, when I began to study at the Curtis Institute (Curtis Institute of Music) in Philadelphia with the great violinist Efrem Zimbalist, who was of the Russian school, having studied with Leopold Auer. Now Leopold Auer produced the greatest violinists of this century -- namely Jascha Heifetz, Nathan Milstein, [and] indirectly even David Oistrakh (one of his students), and [Mischa] Elman as a few examples.
Now the Russian school of violin playing became very, very popular because of the sound, the thick sound that was produced. All of this has to do with -- in technical terms -- how to hold the bow, and how to draw the hair on the string to produce that thick and rich sound that I'm talking about. So, in my way of playing, I actually incorporate both of these schools, depending on what I play. If it's music of the French tradition, then I'll adapt the lighter approach to playing. And if it's music of Russian origin, or Brahms, or things that require a heavier touch and more pungent sound, then I employ the Russian school.
Now are these the two dominant schools, or are there other schools as well?
These are the dominant schools in violin playing, basically, today.
Let me ask you a very general question which I've often wondered. Why is it do you think that Russia, and Poland, and mostly eastern Europe, have been so dominant in the production and development of both works for violin and violinists?
It's difficult to say, because things are certainly turning around now -- many very fine violinists are coming from Asia for the first time. I think at the turn of the century most of the great violinists were Jewish, and in order to, you might say, attract any attention and get out of the ghettos if they became a great violinist, they somehow managed to open doors. I think that was part of it -- it's my own theory -- but it has carried on up until the mid-century.
Do you think it would be fair to say that more than any other instrument, the violin is able to express sadness or tragedy, and that perhaps this is why, given the history of Jewish oppression in the late 19th, early 20th centuries, that Jewish musicians were so drawn to the violin?
Well, I think that you have put it very well. The tone of the violin is the closest thing to the human voice: in terms of vibrato, expressivity. That's, I guess, the key to it, and why the violin is probably the most beautiful of all instruments.
Now you yourself are a great authority, both, I think, intellectually and in terms of your playing in romantic violin music. Why is that you specialize in that?
It came about inadvertently, really. I discovered somewhere in the mid-'60s that suddenly there was a trend of -- puritanical trend -- getting away from all of the virtuoso music written for the violin by the great violin masters of the past. I decided at that time to even put on a Carnegie Hall recital only with music of the great violinists. It was just a gimmick because, when you get right down to it, no one knew how to write for the violin like a master violinist. There's a difference between great music and great violin music, and that's basically the approach that I took. Now I began to play Sarasate, Wieniawski, Ysaye, and many of the 19th-century composers that were sadly neglected at that time. I also recorded some of these works that I began to play: there were forgotten concertos by Joachim, who was the direct influence of the Brahms Concerto, and [Jeno] Hubay, [Anton] Arensky, [Benjamin] Godard, and others. So, suddenly I became typed as a romantic virtuoso [laughs]. I really never thought of myself as a romantic virtuoso because my first recordings and true loves were recording Beethoven and Bach. The first recording I ever made was Brahms sonatas.
We're very lucky on Audiocafe.com that Mr. Rosand has given us a couple of his best known pieces to be encoded with MP3, so that everyone listening to this interview can also listen to some of his work. I'd like you to comment on those two pieces. The first is a piece by Corelli, "La Folia." Could you say something about that? Both in terms of the release and what you were trying to do in the music itself?
Yes, the "La Folia" is one of the first sets of variations ever written. Corelli was a violinist of the 18th century. It is a very moving piece, and a very simple melody. I've always loved music of that period. And, of course, the subsequent arrangements that have been made to even embellish what had originally been written. In this particular case, it was done by a famous violinist of the 19th century -- his name was Leonard. So this is the arrangement of "La Folia" that you will hear. The second work, I believe is...
Just to remind our listeners that Vox will be re-releasing this CD in the next 6 months so that people will actually be able to buy it. Is this correct?
I certainly think so.
And the second piece is by Sarasate. Is that right?
Yes. The "Gypsy Airs." Well, what can I say about "Gypsy Airs"? It's probably one of the most popular of all the violin pieces. Interestingly, I have in my collection of old things that I have done a recording of "Gypsy Airs" when I was 10 years old. I must say [laughs] it's a little interesting item. But the "Gypsy Airs" is a wonderful virtuoso vehicle, and I do hope it's enjoyed.
This was one of your first discs (which was released in 1959) which is now is continually re-released. Is that right?
I think so. The Sarasate recording -- it's an old Sarasate disc -- has been one of the best violin sellers, one of the best CD sellers, I believe, since the advent of LPs in the 1950s.
What's your opinion of CDs? Do you think that they are a major advance in sound quality on LPs?
I think it's extraordinary.
I know that when CDs first came along, the classical-music industry seemed to be the first really to embrace it -- certainly more than the audiophile industry.
Yes.
I think it really allows people much greater access to good quality music. What's your opinion of 20th century violin music, particularly contemporary violin pieces? Obviously, your specialty is in the 19th century, but I'm assuming that you still listen, and come across a lot of contemporary works.
And I have done a number of contemporary works. Few of the works written today are what I would call suitable for the violin. Without lyricism, and without a melodic line, I don't feel that the music is going to last.
Do you still think it was possible to write credible, lyrical music in sort of the beginning of the 20th century? It seems as if most of the work done in the mid-to-late part of the 20th century has rejected lyricism.
Well, I think it's still possible to do something that has logic. I see many of these contemporary works jumping from top to the bottom of the violin, and just gaps and holes all over the place; I just don't see that as music. Don't get the impression that I'm not involved in contemporary music; I've even recorded a very fine concerto of Klaus Egge (a Norwegian composer) not too many years ago, and, of course, I've always played works such as the William Walton [concerto]. Walton, I guess, is old-fashioned now because that was written about 1939-40. But there have been many contemporary works that I have actually done.
Would you regard the violin works of Soviet composers like Prokofiev and Shostakovich as lyrical?
Yes they are, and they are old-fashioned by today's standard.
What's your opinion of performances by a group like the Kronos Quartet?
Well I think they are very, very interesting indeed.
Although they don't tend to sort of focus on very much lyrical music. Would that be fair to say?
Hmmm...I'm not fairly familiar.
One thing that maybe you could address which is connected with this issue of lyricism is the popularity of classical music. In the last few months The New York Times, in particular, has run a series of articles about crises in classical music. Not only are you a very distinguished player, but I know you are also a teacher. How is classical music to be revived with mainstream music lovers, particularly young people? What are your opinions on this?
I think the basic problem is that young people are not exposed to listening to classical music. Even certain, say, rugged individuals will enjoy Beethoven, [but] amongst their peers they are considered weirdos -- in the current jargon. When I was a lad I recall -- of course, these were the days in the 1930s after the depression and so on -- they had the orchestras (they were called the WPA orchestras). Every two weeks in our public school auditorium we had a symphony concert -- the symphony was actually there. As a result of it -- well I, of course, was involved in music -- classmates that were not involved in music became very much involved in classical music as the years went by -- they developed a taste for it. That's why the Chicago Symphony is such an affluent organization even today.
Now, I think young people should -- well, it's not the young people; television doesn't do its share in putting on enough programs that deal with classical music. And the way it's presented is, I'm afraid, a little bit off-putting. So, you'll always have this kind of voice that scares you off whatever is going to be played, and there's just something about the presentation that becomes austere, something that is not quite heartwarming or reaching the audience -- I guess it all has to do with marketing today.
One statistic that is very interesting that might speak very positively for the future of classical music is that the most popular MP3 site for music is one run by a man called Richard Morris, who recorded Beethoven's "Moonlight" sonata. The New York Times is suggesting that over 100,000 downloads of this piece of music were completed just in the last month. So, perhaps MP3 and the democratization of music -- it's wider availability on the Internet -- will also spark a rejuvenation in the popularity of classical music.
I certainly hope so. It's a very exciting thing; in fact, it's extraordinary, and I can't believe it even now.
Would you like to say something about the issue of the Recording Industry's hostility towards MP3 because it has allowed so much piracy of music?
Well, I can understand their point of view. It's an amazing thing, but of course it's going to hurt record sales; there's no question about it. And that is basically their objection to the entire project.
But it does allow much more access to music for most people, and it allows people like yourself to reach people much more effectively. Isn't that fair?
Well, yes, I agree with you. I think it will probably work in favor of the record companies over the long run. I think it's the short-term view that they're looking at.
Right. And short-term is not really the healthiest way to look at it. Would you agree?
Not at all. They are afraid that's going to hurt the immediate business and sales, and it probably would for about a year, but afterwards I think it would affect much greater interest and sales in classical music.
Well I want to thank you very much for this extremely interesting and informative discussion. Good luck with all of your recordings, and we'd like to talk to you again very soon.
Well, thank you very much. It was a pleasure speaking to you, and all of the best in this new venture.
Thank you.
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