The Many Women of
Violin
Many women have
contributed to the world of violin.
They all play different types of music too, such as classical, baroque,
jazz, and Celtic. I am proud to play the instrument that so many
great women play, and I have just realized how much they have
all influenced my playing in some way.
Three classical violinists that I have
had the opportunity
to hear are Midori, Hilary
Hahn, and Annie-Sophie Mutter. The
most well-know of these three is probably Midori (who I heard
perform and give a lecture). She is not only well-known for great
technique, but also for her work with children in New York City
Public Schools. Hilary Hahn is wonderful to watch
play. She seems
very comfortable with her instrument and her body. The music
just seems to flow out, and she looks happy. She also interacts
with the orchestra, which a very good trait for a solo violinist.
The third violinist is Annie-Sophie Mutter (my
grandma loves her!).
I really like how she plays with her pianist. When they play it is like
they are joined together and made into one person. It is really great
to listen to. When Anne-Sophie Mutter plays, she
wears strapless
gowns, which give her a very elegant, European presence. It is nice
to see!
Two other classical violinists that I will
see this year are Leila
Jorelowicz and Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg.
I am very excited
about seeing both of them, though I am excited for different
reasons. I am excited about seeing Leila Jorelowicz
because
I am playing a piece that she has recorded, so I have her cd,
and I want to see what she plays like live. I am also excited
about Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg because I have heard
her
play on television, cds, and her documentary movie, so I want
to see her live. Another reason to be excited is that I will be at
Interlochen when I hear her!
An earlier form of classical music that
I really like is music
from the baroque area, such as music by J.S. Bach. One of the
people who introduced me to this area of music is my teacher,
Cheryl Trace. She plays in a baroque ensemble called Apollo's
Fire and the Old West End Baroque Group. When I first began
violin, I used to go hear her and her group, and I liked the music
and decided that I wanted to play it when I got better. Another
person who plays baroque music is a woman called Rachel
Podger.
My mom and I have a couple of her cds. She has two cds of the entire
Bach Unaccompied Violin pieces, and I have studied how she plays
them a lot since I am doing some of them. She has had a big influence
on how I play them.
Baroque music began as part improvisation
and part written
down. After many years another music which is very similar and very
different to baroque music is jazz. I especially like jazz violin, and a
woman who is a wonderful jazz violinist is Regina
Carter. One thing
that I really like about her is her vibrato. It is a slow, easy sounding
vibrato, but let me tell you, it is not easy to do. I am constantly trying
to do that vibrato on jazz tunes that I play, but it never comes out
quite right! So, she has influenced me in that way!
Last, and one of my all time favorites,
is Celtic music. I just
really love all of those jigs and reels; they all sound so pretty and fun!
There are so many wonderful women who play Celtic music. Some
of these women are Eileen Ivers (a former Riverdance
player), Bonnie
Rideout, and Liz Carroll. Each one of them
has a different style of Celtic
music from the others. Eileen Ivers is a lot of
fun to watch. I have never
actually seen her in person, but on TV she seems like a very fun-loving
person. I always try to think of her a little when I am playing, which
means that I try to loosen up a little and not be so nervous and stiff.
When she plays she's always moving, smiling, and having a good time.
Bonnie Rideout is someone that my mom and I happened
on by mistake.
We were looking at violin books and we say hers, so we bought one and
brought it to my lesson. Now, a couple years later, I have four of her
books and the cds to go with each one of them. At every concert I
always play one of her pieces. The last Celtic violinist is
Liz Carroll.
I began to like her when my mom and I went up to a Celtic festival in
Michigan and heard her play. I really liked it, so we got her cd. She
was the first person who I had ever heard live playing Celtic music.
She is the person that got me hooked on it!
I have never really given that much thought
to how much
listening to all these different people and different types of music
has influenced how I perceive and play music. I am very happy
that I have gotten the chance to actually hear so many of these
people live. It is a whole different ball park when hearing and
seeing them live than when you hear them on a cd or on TV.
I am very glad that I am so cultured with the different kinds
of music!