This is reflecting on what I was doing when I was 10 years old. Wow! For those of you that don't know, this is like... - This is grade 8...level piece, right?
- Yes. And I got Distinction. - Ohh-ho-ho-ho!!!
- (Brett) Ohh!!! I came into this thinking I would give like, very beginner...type [of] advice, but... All the things I'm thinking are already more like, intermediate/advanced. Travis, how did you feel about it? - Fine.
- Fine? I think it is fine, actually, um... All the notes are there, you play with a...energy, which is really good. I would want to work on a few things, just to, I think, to clean up. The... When you have a tie, like that, right? Right now, I hear a little bit of uh... Yeah. To end the sentence... Before, you're doing a little bit of a... The... Ah, yeah! You...you did the ties really well, but the last one... Do a...diminuendo. Yeah, rather... Because it's the end of a sentence. Right? Like you wouldn't speak like the end of a senTENCE! You go end of a sentence! It's the same thing in music, right? Yeah. Yeah! Better, better! Nice! Can we go on a little bit? The next bit? Wow. Nice. See if you can um... Rather than... Don't...don't have the swell. Yeah. Mm-hmm, keep going. Okay. Awesome. In this little bit, with the...different dynamics, right, I can hear you...making the contrast. To make it even more interesting, try to make the contrast without giving away too early. So for example... Right now, I hear a little bit of uh, you already get softer. And then, you kind of go into the forte... Not too rough though. Yeah. Nice, nice. One more thing I noticed as well... What happens, is because this is... ...three quavers down, right? And then one up. It's sticking out a bit right now. Can you hear the difference? Okay, but you need to get back... Yeah yeah, that was good! Yeah. My main thing to say... ...I really don't have much to say, honestly, is... ...think a little bit about your bow distribution. You know what bow distribution means, right? Okay, so, whenever you have long...down, and quick up, it's easy to... The up will always sound louder, right? So it's a little bit LIKE you're talKING like this, right? See if you can... ...make it sound a bit more smooth. Okay, but, keep the rhythm. Ayyyy! - I think that's all we have time for.
- (Brett) That's it, yeah, it's good. Wow, you sound really amazing. Keep it up. Maybe you'll be playing Sibelius at 10 years old. Nice. Nice! Amazing playing, how did you feel? - Okay...?
- Okay? Well, I really loved like the musical stuff, the phrasing is all there, I especially loved when you get to the Allegro moderato. You went from like, piano to fortissimo on this off beat, the accents. Should we go to the beginning? I feel like it's...Andante sostenuto, right? Maybe we can draw the sound out a little bit more at the beginning. Yeah, okay. That's really good. So, for example, the... I think that E, these... ...can connect together. And Hungarians are very, you know, passionate in their character, so you wanna hear that, in the beginning. Yeah, actually, for this... I would save a bit more bow. So the E has a bit more down bow to it. Yeah, that's good. And then... You need to play these 3 notes, but try to stay as long as you can on those notes. So rather than... ...you want... It's almost like you don't want to leave. Do those 3 notes, but slower, but really take your time, getting the sound. And when you go back... ...that's really quick. Try to think of like a uh...crescendo, on that note. And then the sound will really come out. - It's better. What do you think?
- Um, it's better. It's better? Okay. Uh, let's play it one more time, we'll keep going. Um, for this one, I think you can...do a lot more vibrato on that. Really make that... ...come out a bit more. And... Same thing, kind of stretch the sound. Rather than... The sound just disappears, you want to keep the sound going. When you get to the uh, the G string bar... ...it's like a different character's here now, right? Two people are dancing together, first is the female coming in... ...making a statement, and the next part, the male dancer comes in. To get that sound, I think you could try doing... ...a wider vibrato, yeah? Do you want to give that a go? (Brett) Yeah, can you do it... Can you get it...even wider? Yeah, that's better. Again, the right hand, really don't want to leave. Yeah, yeah. Let's do the next part. What do you feel, actually? What goes in your mind, when you play this part? So the first part is really like, a person's making a statement, it's like, "I'm here." You know, very proffered. But how about this part? It's more...lively. Lively, right? And the person dancing is doing a lot more. That can probably come into your playing too, especially these like accents all around the place, really punch them out. One of my first teachers was a Hungarian, and she's always telling me that, when a Hungarian speaks, it's always like "Pah pah!" I mean, I don't know how a Hungarian speaks. But when she said it's like that, and to her, the interpretation in music, things like the uh, you know the Hungarian Dance? You can feel that...those accents there. So same with these, I think you can bring them out a bit more. Yeah yeah...and now it... Yeah, I think...yeah, keep going. Small detail, I feel like when you go up to this... ...the third position, your sound becomes a little bit smaller. Rather than... But, I understand, 'cause [on] the violin, the higher we play, the less resonance there is, right? That's annoying, so put a little bit more in the third position, and then musically it will sound really nice. That's better, can you hear the difference? Yeah. Does your sound... It sometimes feels like it cuts off a little. Your phrasing there... ...keep that sound going all the way. And these little um, dotted quavers... ...you can sustain them a bit rather than... Keep the bow moving all the way, and especially with the string crossing and shift, the bow shouldn't stop. Yeah. Yeah, again, yeah, and here as well. It's like you're climbing up, right? So... The sound should keep going, rather than throwing an accent in there. Okay, okay. That's fortissimo. Use full bow and biggest vibrato you can do. Yeah, no, very good. Actually, one last thing. The... There's no accent there. Rather than... You want... It's like the end of the dance here. The vibrato can be very, like, sweet. It's very different to the beginning, alright? You want... Yeah. And then I like how you didn't do the accent there. Just take care of that. Did that help? Yes. She's like, "No." Oh, no! Nice. - Oh wait, can I stop you there? Sorry.
- Sure, sure. You sound great. Thank you. I played this piece when I was around fourteen. I didn't play it as well as you did when I was fourteen, but, um... I feel like Wieniawski, - you know, is a Romantic composer, right?
- Yeah. The Romantic aesthetic was all about living life with your emotions, like heart on your sleeve, and trying to express all that feeling. I can definitely see you're trying to get that, but I feel like we could maybe find ways to express even more - Okay.
- through the playing, so... - Can we go again, from the top? Just to actually... Yeah.
- Sure. Eddy: Nice, nice. Just a technical thing, though. Your rhythm is not actually always precise. Eddy: Some of the quavers run a bit. That loses some of the tension. Right now it feels a bit... Christabel: Yeah. Every note... to give that little bit. Can you try that again? Yeah, uh, this one... And the... Try to sing those intervals a bit more. Okay. Rather than... It's a bit too throwaway right now. Yeah. Good, good, good. Can I try one more thing as well? Can you hear the difference between... Versus... Ultimately, the bow... With the bow speed, you can actually kind of create this type of feeling, where it's sustained, right? Yeah. Now... So, that's definitely better. Now, it's hard 'cause you're shifting up and the sound gets smaller, but... Eddy: The F needs to sing as the climax of emotion, right? And right now, it's a little bit... It needs to be a bit more resonant, in my opinion. Keep going. Eddy: Nice. I can hear the growing intensity. I think it could be more. Especially this bit, I always found very interesting. That weird chromatic thing, right? Yeah. It's a bit frantic. There's a kind of like, "the world is falling" kind of feeling. It's the opposite of the beginning. The beginning, I felt the rhythm was not precise enough. Here, I feel like you could bring out that... That feeling a little bit more there. - Okay.
- Eddy: And... that actually leads all the way in so that the forte is like... You know what I mean? Now, the question is how do you do that, right? On the violin. Try thinking of varying your bow speeds. Eddy: Gives that excitement. Eddy: Yeah. Very nice, very nice. You did it better that time. But the overall bar shouldn't rush. So, that... Be careful not to do... Now it feels like it's falling ahead. Yeah. And then... You did it a lot better but make sure to save the bow. Versus... You run out of bow for that C, right? Yeah. Can you just do that again? And then kind of keep going. Eddy: Can you play the beginning? The very beginning. Just the first bar. Awesome. I've noticed that you start that very differently than how you start this. Is it on purpose? Yeah. The first one I want it to be softer and less. - Eddy: Yeah.
- Then the second one is more. Like, a statement, right? Yeah. I mean, I respect that. I respect that. Can we just try something? Okay. To me, it almost sounds like a restart. But then on the fourth bar, it changes. - Yeah.
- Eddy: Right? So in the beginning, sotto voce, you're burning with emotion. But you can't show it, right? 'Cause, you know, we're civilized. It's in here... And you can't help it. It comes out. Back to my... Start again. Now, even though the third bar is the same in the melody, the orchestra part changes the harmony there. So now it becomes a major key, right? Eddy: You change the colors. It's like, oh, something's different now. This time you're more optimistic. There's a bit more hope in whatever you're trying to look for. So, like, um... Need to practice that, but... You can see with more hope and then... And there's more excitement building up to that B flat. So, can we try... think that phrasing? Very nice. Dude, you nailed that. Let's keep going. Really well done. I don't have much to say, honestly. It's a small thing, but here, during the sul G, right? Mm, yeah. The orchestra's got that pulse now. Yeah. You're playing very expressively, melodically, but you need to fit into that pulse. Right now, the rhythm has gone a bit free again. - Okay.
- And I can imagine if you were to play that with an orchestra, it would feel a little bit funny. - So, can we try that again? Just, um...
- Okay. I don't know if I know the orchestra part. I'll try to make something up. Can I try and play your violin for a little bit? Sometimes, if you want to get more sound... This is something that's impossible to teach in, like, the five minutes we have. See if you can think about how you transfer the weight of your bow arm into the string. You're really getting that sinking in with the contact, versus... Can you hear that sound? Yeah. The second one was less resonant. There's a lot more muscular tension here. See the difference between... That, right? Do you see in the hand? Yeah. Versus... That, which is in the arm. Yeah. It will give you that extra oomph that you want when you want to get those big moments, right? - Yeah.
- Yeah. Just maybe go from... You can start thinking about building that weight in. Yeah, it's already better. Definitely work on it, but it's definitely better. - Mmkay.
- Yeah. Personally, I feel like you can keep the passion a little bit more. Sometimes, you do this great job of building up this intensity and you let go a little bit too early. So two parts I think of are like... Go all the way. Rather than... You let go a little bit too early. But I mean... Look, I think that you sound really great. Thank you. - That's all we have time for today but thank you so much!
- Brett: Yeah, okay. - Thank you so much.
- Brett: Alright! Brett. Oh, hello! Maxim. - It's so great to see you. I love your shirt.
- Good morning to you. Thank you. Maxim: I'm sorry I'm way too standard, you know? It's a true pleasure working with you. I've been watching all your wonderful videos. Really fantastic. It's also a pleasure for me. Brett: I've looked up to your playing for the longest time. To be honest, it's been about... a few years since I've performed. I, myself, I lay sometimes pieces down not to be bored with them if I play them too much. Mendelssohn Concerto. Believe it or not, I haven't played for twenty years. Wow. Let's improvise, okay? I look forward. Wow! Bravo! - Phew! Made it. Thank you.
- Vengerov: Bravo, Brett! Fantastic! And in fact, this ballade, I'm so glad you chose it because I haven't played it- you will not believe... maybe for 7 years. I think I'm gonna start, you know, practicing after our lesson. So this sonata, really, you can view it from different perspective as a great solo piece. you can view it as also chamber music because the multi-layered structure of these chords and harmonies. Vengerov: You can easily create dialogues. These triple stops in the end, they should really sound like an orchestra. Vengerov: If we go deeper... It was written during the beautiful Expressionism and Impressionism in art. I very much like to imagine when I play this piece, especially the middle part. It's like an impressionistic painting. Vengerov: so let's- right from the beginning... Let's explore. Perfect! This is wonderful. The beginning has these dark qualities. And I want you to pay attention to your vibrato. Sometimes non-vibrato is a great colour as well. Okay. It all depends where we play. If we're in a big hall, probably we don't need as much vibrato as we're in the... I think your room is... - Yeah, it's quite tight.
- Vengerov: It doesn't have a big ceiling. So you need to still enhance a little bit with the left hand. Vengerov: What is important is your concentration for the beginning. You start, and you draw the audience with you. Explore as if you are reinventing the music, as if you are Ysaÿe composing right now. Ooh... okay. Yeah, stop for a moment. Yeah, let's analyse the vibrato. You started with vibrating, then you stopped. It's random. It's beyond your control. I want you to be in control. Vengerov: If you stop vibrato, you stop it for a reason. Because it's in favour of music. There are many ways how to play it, yeah? No vibrato to start with... Vengerov: But you can also create different colouring, yeah? And you go step by step as if you're climbing something very, you know... A challenge! Yes, I know there is no diminuendo, yeah? But for me, I have this image. Vengerov: The first phrase is like one life cycle. It comes from nothing, and then it goes to nothing. Next phrase, you start speaking. Don't play. Music is just to express your feelings or words. Vengerov: Here, as if you're speaking to someone. You're in a very dark room, and you don't know the answers. Finally, you say... "Okay, I shall try again." You try harder. And this time, you don't make diminuendo. - And that's why this phrase is different.
- Ah... And it has really this dramatic feeling. Yes. Much better, musically. All the intervals must be thought after, not just literally played, otherwise they mean nothing. Second note... ...is unanswered question. The pause is not to stop, but to breathe. Whoa! You know, these pauses are... not because you want to stop, but because you have to. As if you have no... not enough air. You know, you're like swimming... It's very important, breathing here. Yeah, you see, Brett, this is psychological, but it's very important, yeah? So you go improvise and... as if you are in the labyrinth. And you don't know where to go. "Where do I go?" "Where is the exit?" You become desperate at some point. Vengerov: You are losing hope. And after losing hope... "Oh! I've got an idea!" Finally, you found your way out! Light in the end of the dark tunnel. Great! Next phrase. You go out of the dark tunnel. Vengerov: You're starting building something. First floor. Second floor. The third floor. And the fourth floor. Big house! Exactly, yeah. And every time you use different vibrato, different pressure into the string, and different speed of the bow. First step. Second step, I use more bow. See? Vengerov: How different that is, yeah? Vengerov: Then I regroup and start all over. When you get to the top- When you get to Everest, celebrate! And as if, you know, you're skiing. Slow in the beginning, and then full speed! Secret is that you connect all the notes, then it creates the density. Vengerov: And then, you know, from there... you can make the rubato. Little detail here. Brett, you know, there are four positions of the elbow: G, D, A, E. And in between when you play double stops, yeah? So... The elbow has to anticipate. If it doesn't, then you create an accent. Has to be smooth, yeah? Elbow always anticipates. Yeah, fantastic! And now, you are entering a different space. And the energy has to be really wide open. Be really relaxed, you know... Vengerov: Don't stop the bow. And every note... As if you're trying to hold on to something, - Vengerov: but then you're forced to go down, right?
- Mhm. Okay. Think always long term. He gives you the structure and freedom to do anything, improvise. Yet the musician has to create a vision of the phrasing. Do you remember when we all were much younger, we practiced the finale of the Sibelius Violin Concerto? When I finally understood that is about the impulse and relaxation. And this is the same here. These accents, yeah? Vengerov: They have to be really like boxing match, you know. Yeah. Yeah, you're a little too late on the preparation. See? My elbow goes straight there. It relaxes, then... ...then index finger is making the point. And it immediately relaxes. Right. And now, you create longer phrase and the vision. The challenge here is that you have to make an accent, and then go back with the speed of the bow, yet keeping the vibrato electrifying. I play for you, how you play it. With vibrato. Pay attention... It's all good, but it has no progression. Vengerov: It starts non-vibrato almost, and then... ...explodes, in electrifying madness. And every time, more. So he gives you another chance, always. Ah, I can do it better. Finally, you have only one bar to celebrate. So, take it. For the better quality of the sound, always control the landing into the string with the pinky finger, here. It's always soft, yeah? Vengerov: Yes, exactly. You have to have that feeling, all the little joints, phalangeal joint, here, the wrist, elbow. Vengerov: Finally, the whole arm. And if you haven't broken couple of hairs... It's unsuccessful performance. Yeah. Okay. Yeah, don't rush. Connect, music between notes. Literally, you see... Can we go on? Bravo. Here, if you pay attention that, near the frog, you connect beautifully with the same speed, and don't rush. Don't tense up your elbow here. And breathe, breathe. How to practice this? It's very important that you extend always the last notes on the legatos. Vibrate them. More intensely, but relaxed. And also, try to vibrate with the phalangeal joint, and not with the whole hand. Vengerov: There are not a lot of places here where you can show the cantabile. But this is the place. Use it. Same speed of the bow in the right hand, then very smooth connection left hand. You have to bend your phalangeal joint in order to make a smooth change. Much better, you see? You feel better now, right? Brett: Yeah. The flautando in right hand is beautiful. But you can give it more twist. Change the speed of the bow according to the colors that you want to create. For me, this is an impressionistic painting. Every harmony you take, and like painter, dips his brush into the paint, and starts painting. And then, another color. This palette of colors, you have to envision. And this is what virtuosity is. People misinterpret sometimes, "virtuosity" and "most difficult," is when you have to play fast. But it is when you can create as much emotions and connect the notes in different ways that every note has life of its own, but yet it is connected. Like chain of life, if you believe in reincarnation. This is like this. On the practical point... Vengerov: Left hand has to be real like a typewriting machine. And the right hand is totally the opposite. Alright? Shall we try that? Beautiful. It is dolce. Vengerov: Vibrato would be really welcomed, especially in the beginning. Also, there's a lot of pain if you can detect that... And here, as if the sound is rising. Yeah. These crescendos and diminuendos, they are very beautiful, that you can do with the right hand. With the speed of the... Bravo, bravo. This is quite a complex place, yeah? Vengerov: And you nailed it. Now, what would help you, really, is this image of... At least, for me, Edvard Munch. "The Scream." Oh, yeah. Even if you imagine that, it will be not just notes. It will be a message that you're passing on. Now, imagine the human being, our natural temperature. So 36.6, right? I mean centigrade, yeah? The beginning is here, is the 36.6... That's 37. 37 and a half, and... 38! 39! 40! 42! Scream. Wow, okay. Vengerov: Very good, very good. Don't rush. You can take really slow, right? Okay? Can we nail these... Yeah yeah, much better! Now, vibrate with the phalangeal joints here... And then connect with the little fingers here. Using the pinky here. Very little movement, you see? Beautiful! And that's how you practice, extending the second note on the legato. - Vengerov: All right? Yeah?
- Mmhm. So, next section. This is one of the most amazing sections. Vengerov: I want you to think harmonically, as if you don't play the violin but you play the organ. Change the color here... A little bit of Bach, huh? I'm starting to practice this with you now. You sound so good already! Oh, thanks! Don't push, don't push. Connect with the string. In the frog, using pinky... Then... Your elbow anticipates always next string. Fantastic! Let's build it up here. Every bow, more and more speed of the bow. Nobody expects the major, a celebration. So, use strategically. Less amount of bow for the minor, hugely improve on the speed of the bow on the... Yeah? Don't rush. We need to hear this... Even here the, the three steps. Few centimeters. Then more. Full bow! Nice. Here, it's written ben marcato, yeah? So, either you play... Or... Yeah, I'll let you play. Lovely, lovely. Yeah. Even here, I know it's tempting to play really fast, this right away. But, think harmonically... And then... And now you finish that. - You know, "Enough of that," yeah?
- Brett: Yeah. But think harmonically, right? Okay. Use your fingers of the right hand. Very important. Otherwise, you'll have less sound. Bravo! Bravo. - Yeah!
- Vengerov: Fantastic. That was fun! What a marvelous piece that is, right? Yeah, wow, I... It's been so long since I've actually performed, being on YouTube. Well, you inspire me, you know, to practice this some more. Really? Wow! Yeah, I love your recording online too, as well. The Sibelius. Yeah, but that, I... I was 22 or 23. What?! Thank you very much, Brett. Enjoy yourself, I look forward to sometime meeting you soon. Thank you, thank you very much. - Bye, bye for now. Thank you.
- Brett: Appreciate it. Buh-bye!
