Dear Friends,

Greetings from frigid Indianapolis! I am writing to you this morning from our AirBnB, with outside temperatures of -9 today. (Yes, you read that right: 9 below zero degrees Fahrenheit!)

This week I came across this article in the New York Times, about a project the cellist Yo-Yo Ma has undertaken, called “Our Common Nature.” He has been traveling around the country, playing his cello in unconventional, natural settings, and meeting people from various cultures.

Reading the description of the sound of Ma’s cello intermingling with sounds of nature, I was reminded of the work of John Cage - whose seminal work 4’33” (where the performer sits silently at the instrument) was premiered at an outdoor concert in Woodstock, New York.

For Cage, part of the purpose of writing a “silent” piece of music was to draw the listeners’ attention to the ambient sound that was occurring all around them. Later, Cage said: "[The performance was] full of accidental sounds. You could hear the wind stirring outside during the first movement. During the second, raindrops began pattering the roof and during the third the people made all kinds of interesting sounds as they talked or walked out.”

I remember hearing Yo-Yo Ma perform the complete Bach cello suites at Tanglewood Music Center in 1997, in the then-newly-built Seiji Ozawa Hall. The walls were open to the outdoors, and that evening, rain was pouring down. And yet, somehow the sound of a lone cello carried all the way to the back of the large, packed hall, and the sound of the rain enhanced, rather than interfered with, the performance.

The Times article includes an inspiring quote from Yo-Yo Ma. When some teenagers asked him how he got to be the best cellist, he replied: “If you say what you’re thinking and feeling, you’re good. There’s no best in music, as long as you know what you want to say and you say it clearly.”

Happy Holidays!

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Quote of the Week:

"I wish you music to help with the burdens of life, and to help you release your happiness to others."

- Ludwig van Beethoven

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Today’s Practice Tip - Practice Different Ways!

This month I have been making daily videos as a kind of practice "diary" to help me prepare for the Beethoven concerts next month. In each video, I attempt to formulate some takeaways that the viewer can apply to their own practice.

In my most recent practice video, I demonstrate how I practice a passage in multiple different ways, in order to increase facility and flexibility. Because in performance, things will feel different than in the practice room - and you need to be comfortable playing a passage in a lot of different ways.

This week’s exercise:

Choose a passage in music you are currently working on that is tricky for you. Play it seven different ways, deciding as you go how you will vary each repetition.

Examples of ways you can vary it: play it staccato; play it legato; play it pianissimo; play it slowly; play it with a "sad" character; play it with an "enthusiastic" character. You can vary it according to whatever you feel!
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This is a creative way to practice, and it will also help you build in a more "robust" approach to that passage and move away from becoming too attached to playing it only one way.

Latest Videos

Interview with Justine Cormack

In January, violinist Justine Cormack and I will be performing the complete Beethoven Sonatas for Violin and Piano. I recently interviewed Justine Cormack for my YouTube channel. (She is in New Zealand, and will be arriving here on December 30 to begin rehearsals.)

In the interview we talk about her background, how this project came together, our thoughts on playing chamber music, why we chose Beethoven, and more!

​Click on this link or on the image below to see the interview with Justine.

Upcoming Dates and Events:

Next month I am playing all of the Beethoven Sonatas for Violin and Piano with the wonderful violinist Justine Cormack.

All of the events are FREE of charge and OPEN to the public! I'd love to meet you! If you attend, please stay for a few minutes afterwards to say hi!

Beethoven Sonatas Cycle: January 10 (7:30): Eidson-Duckwall Recital Hall, Butler University: Sonatas 1-4

Beethoven Sonatas Cycle: January 15 (5:00): Eidson-Duckwall Recital Hall, Butler University: Sonatas 5-7

Beethoven Sonatas Cycle: January 17 (7:30): Eidson-Duckwall Recital Hall, Butler University: Sonatas 8-10

Also: Christ Church Cathedral Indianapolis: January 14 (6:30): Beethoven Sonatas 5, 10 and 7

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