The Cello Bug

 

 I was very pleased to have been able to have this interview with Andrei Ionita after his performance of the Dvorak Cello Concerto with the CSO in March 2023. Such an honor to be able to talk to him in regards to the Dvorak Cello Concerto, Shostakovich cello concerto/sonatas, his inspirations, etc etc. 

I was very pleased to have had an interview with Zlatomir Fung recently after his recital at the University of Chicago! It was a huge pleasure to have him on the new interview portion of the blog as our first guest! As we discuss his performance at the University of Chicago at the start of the clip, here is the repertoire he played (in such order):  Shaporin: Six Pieces for Cello and Piano  Sokolov:  Romance , Op. 19  Ornstein: Six Preludes for Cello and Piano  Glazunov: “Entr’acte” from  Raymonda   Shostakovich: Sonata for Cello and Piano   in D minor, Op. 40 

  Santiago Canon Valencia Haydn performance link Santiago Canon Valencia is a special cellist. Out of all the great modern cellists (ex. Zlatomir Fung, Brannon Cho, Kian Soltani, etc) I think he by far has the most unique technique. I think to his technique there are some incredible, great aspects to it, however there are also some negatives. Before we get into an analysis of his performance of the Haydn Cello Concerto at the 2017 Queen Elisabeth Cello Competition, I believe we must take a look at his technique. Firstly, when one looks at Santi's technique, what is usually most striking is his bow grip.                                                                       I have so many questions... Santi's bow grip is incredibly unique, I really have not seen anything identi...

Kian Soltani Schumann Cello Concerto performance When one asks me who my favorite modern cellist is, my answer always seems to vary on what time it is, what kind of breakfast I had, what concerto I listened to the night before, etc etc. It is constantly fluctuating from cellists like Zlatomir Fung to Santiago Canon Valencia; I really adore all these drastically different musicians. However, one cellist I can consistently call my favorite out of all these cellists is Kian Soltani. See, with cellists like Santiago Canon Valencia and Andrei Ionita, they are very very good at a few specific aspects of the cello repertoire, however in terms of other aspects they can often fall short (Santiago's otherworldly virtuosic left hand technique makes him amazing at the likes of Paganini, Piatti, Kodaly, and many other solo cello works, however due to his unorthodox right hand and limited vibrato he falls short when it comes to repertoire like the Dvorak Cello Concerto, where a cannon like sound...

  Zlatomir Fung Tchaikovsky Rococo Variations I was first introduced to the cellist Zlatomir Fung after he won the 16th Tchaikovsky Cello Competition in 2019. Right off the bat, I was wooed by his simple yet extremely clean technique, his mature musicality (for his age), and his great interpretations of basically all the repertoire he played. However I was most delighted and impressed by his performance of Tchaikovsky's Rococo Variations in the final round (in which he played alongside the second Shostakovitch Cello Concerto). Sadly however I could not find an available full video of that performance on YouTube, so I decided to rate and critique one of his other Rococo Variations performances (this one at his also winning round of the Schoenfeld International String Competition).                                                Zlatomir at t...

Truls Mork Dvorak Cello Concerto Performance I absolutely adore the new young cello soloists rising today. Cellists like Kian Soltani, Pablo Fernandez, Andrei Ionita, etc are all tremendous musicians in their own right and are immensely gifted, however no modern cellist has really struck me as particularly dominant over the other in overall music (like how Rostropovich was in his time, and how he still is today). However, with Truls Mork, there seems to be what I have been looking for.  Rostropovich is the greatest cellist of all time and my favorite cellist of all time. The range of vibrato and the sounds he could produce from his cello (from the quietest pianissimo to the loudest forte) was unmatched, as well as his technical virtuosity. With Truls Mork, I see the mark of Rostropovich in his technique; perhaps this was due to one of his teachers being the legendary Natalya Shakhovskaya (one of the greatest students of Rostropovich who also had similar sound/technique to him)....

 Rastrelli Cello Quartet Tchaikovsky Andante Cantabile performance The Rastrelli Cello Quartet holds a very dear place in my heart. My mother (cellist Seongheui Jeon) studied alongside three of the cellists out of the quartet including the great Kira Kraftzoff, under the great teacher Anatoly Nikitin at the great St. Petersburg Conservatory. As I grew up listening to the very ‘Russian’ sound my mother produced from her cello, I realized it was shockingly similar to the sound produced by the Rastrelli Cello Quartet. The thin, wispy, melancholic yet warm sound was familiar and beautiful to my ears.                                                                         My mother, cellist Seongheui Jeon       St. Petersburg conservatory alumni This extr...

Andrei Ionita/Seong-jin Cho Bach Arioso link For the enco re piece of Andrei Ionita and Seong-Jin Cho’s performance at the Verbier festival in 2018, they chose Bach’s Arioso (Ada gio in G) from Cantata BWV 156. With the general trend for the past few years of playing anything baroque/ Bach with extreme lightness and a baroque bow hold (Compared to the heavy romantic-ness of Bach in Rostropovich’s time) we can see Andrei using a baroque bow hold and playing very lightly with many adornments/embellishments and Seong-Jin playing lightly with barely any pedal. Although light and beautiful, this piece is brought to life by Andrei’s musical intensity (which in my opinion is the greatest aspect of his playing), however a critique might be that it can get too romantic at times (however ultimately stays baroque). His right hand/bow is masterful in this piece, breathing with every phrase and really letting the Bach stay moving without feeling too airy. It's refreshing to listen to. His vi...

Gautier Capucon Saent Saens Concerto link Gautier Capucon is quite literally the best ever at Saent Saen's first cello concerto. Nobody in history in my opinion has surpassed his playing, in regards of technique, musicality, etc. for this concerto. The specific reason for this is because I believe that the inherent technique for both Capucon’s right and left hand is perfectly tuned for this concerto. To elaborate on the specifics of this, Capucon’s left hand consists of an extremely big and slow romantic vibrato. This is good and bad, as although it is perfect for a piece like the Saent Saens Concerto, it would be too romantic for something more classical like Haydn. Not to mention Capucon is technique wise one of the greatest living cellists, holding impeccable intonation as well in his left hand. With his right hand, Capucon holds one of his most defining features, the use of his shoulder and back when he uses the bow. Capucon uses his shoulder and back to create a huge and power...