The Best Paganini Cadenza - Philippe Hirschhorn [Live, 1967]

By Daniel Kurganov, Violinist

Niccolò Paganini. Hirschhorn had an amazing combination of intensity, sensitivity, taste, obsession and elegance. Things to notice: - Look at how low his right arm is, especially when acquiring the G string. Made even more extreme by the fact that his instrument is very flat on his shoulder. I think he's the most extreme of anyone I've seen in that regard. Notice how his hand/fingers "sink" into the string as a result of this right arm anticipation. - Is he tense or is he loose? Of course, he's loose, otherwise, you wouldn't hear what you hear. But, look at how immovable his violin appears. On first glance you might think he's tense and gripping the violin for dear life. After all, there isn't much in the way of 'organic swaying' up/down/sideways with the instrument. The violin is sitting on an immovable cloud, and then hands are dancing around it in perfect harmony. You can see the result of an absolute obsession with the fundamentals of technique. Putting everything in its place without force. Live recording with enhanced audio. Brussels 1967, after he won the gold medal at the Queen Elisabeth Competition.

Harry Potter’s Tom Felton was ‘desperate’ as a child to become a professional violinist

Tom Felton starred as Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter film series. Picture: Alamy/Classic FM

By Sophia Alexandra Hall, ClassicFM

@sophiassocials

 

Tom Felton shot to stardom as a child actor in the Harry Potter film series, but prior to the big screen, he was a violinist and local chorister.

British actor Tom Felton is best known for his portrayal of Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter films.

The child star made his big screen debut in 1997 as Peagreen Clock in The Borrowers, four years before he joined the cast of the first Harry Potter film, but prior to his first acting gigs, he had another performing arts interest.

In an interview with The Guardian, Felton, 34, revealed that “a few months before acting, I was desperate to be a violinist”.

Abacus Agency represented Felton when he was cast as Draco Malfoy in the Harry Potter films, and his agency card included his prowess in both violin playing, and singing.

Though the actor has shared videos of his singing throughout the years, fans are yet to see a video of his violin skills.

Felton picked up the guitar aged 19, and began sharing his own music as a singer-songwriter on YouTube via a channel called ‘Feltbeats’.

In March 2009, Felton was interviewed by ‘Feltbeats.com’ ahead of the release of his six-track album, In Good Hands.

Felton shared that as well as the guitar, he also plays the piano, violin, bass guitar, ukulele, harmonica, and the drums.

Adding to that exhaustive list, he was also in his local church choir for five years and was “actually offered a place in a big cathedral choir.”

 Felton’s Harry Potter co-star Rupert Grint, who played Ron Weasley, is also a singer, and recorded the track ‘Lightning’ for the 2014 Postman Pat Movie.

Maybe we’ll get a Grint x Felton musical collaboration in the future, and Felton can finally show off his classical violin flair for the fans.

Violinist Joshua Bell marries opera singer Larisa Martínez...

... in New York home ceremony

Joshua Bell and Larisa Martínez. Picture: IG: Larisa Martinez

By Helena Asprou, ClassicFM

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Classical music power couple, Joshua Bell and Larisa Martínez, have just tied the knot – here’s everything you need to know.

It has just been announced that violinist and conductor, Joshua Bell, and opera singer, Larisa Martínez, were married in their New York home last Saturday.

officiated by New York Times columnist David Brooks, the ceremony is a happy milestone for the classical music power couple – who over the years, have won multiple awards between them.

Born and raised in Bloomington, Indiana, Bell fell in love with music at an early age after hearing his mother play the piano and he soon developed an interest in the violin.

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When he turned five, they began teaching him how to play the strings and by age 14, he appeared as a soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Bell studied under Indiana University professor Josef Gingold and in 1985, made his Carnegie Hall debut aged 17 with the St. Louis Symphony. Since then, he has performed with some of the greatest classical orchestras and conductors in the world.

In 1993, the gifted virtuoso won a Grammy Award for his beautiful recording of Nicholas Maw’s violin concerto, and in 2000, he was honoured as an Indiana Living Legend for his contribution to the state.

Joshua Bell. Picture: Getty

His wife, talented soprano Larisa Martínez, is an opera singer and often praised for her warm voice and unique timbre.

In 2010, Martínez made her operatic debut as Luisa Fernanda in the zarzuela – a Spanish traditional form of musical comedy, at the Centro de Bellas Artes de Puerto Rico.

In the years that followed, she quickly rose to fame after singing as Corinna in Rossini’s Il Viaggio a Reims, Musetta in Loft Opera’s 2014 production of Puccini’s La Bohème, and Isaura in the 2016 world premiere of Mercadante’s Francesca da Rimini.

Martínez, who has a masters degree in music from Mannes the New School for Music in New York City, is a winner of the Angel Ramos Foundation Award and the Metropolitan Opera National Council Audition PR district 2016.

She also collaborated with Joshua Bell on Medici TV’s Christmas Special, Joshua Bell and Friends.

Congratulations, Joshua and Larisa!

How Nigel Kennedy Changed Classical Music Forever

By John Brunning

If it wasn't for a spiky-haired Nigel Kennedy’s 1989 recording of Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, you and I might not be listening to Classic FM today. Here's why I think one album changed the classical world forever. 

It's a bold statement, I know, but think about this: in 1989, the classical world was marking the end of an era with the death of Herbert von Karajan. Then Kennedy burst onto the scene and launched a new one. He was the polar opposite to every expectation we had of classical musicians: scruffy, cheeky, spiky-haired, foot-stamping, ‘Mockney’ speaking; he called us ‘cats’ and ‘monsters’!

Agreed, The Four Seasons  was the first time that a classical artist had been given the full pop marketing treatment. There was a promotional ‘single’, billboard posters, TV and radio commercials. But there was more to this phenomenon than marketing - Kennedy is a brilliant violinist and performer.

His full throttle version of Vivaldi sold more than three million copies worldwide, held onto the No.1 spot in the classical chart for more than a year, and entered the record books as the best-selling classical recording ever.

I'd spent my youth playing in bands and I vividly recall hearing Kennedy's album for the first time and thinking 'This guy knows how to let rip!' I'd never heard baroque that sounded like rock before - and Kennedy looked the part too. If you need a reminder, join me on Classic FM Drive  after 6pm to hear a track from the classic recording. 

And I'd say that Classic FM, launched three years later, probably would not have had such a phenomenal launch and success if it weren’t for Kennedy. He, along with the arrival of the Three Tenors the following year, demystified classical music, showing that it wasn’t just for a knowledgeable elite. He didn’t dumb it down and he didn’t ‘cross-over’, he just put it out there. And in doing so he laid the foundations for the next 25 years and a public who had been awakened to the joy of classical music.

(C) 2014 by ClassicFM