An interview with 17 year old Dutch cellist Ella van Poucke

Ella van Poucke turned 17 in April.  Since October  2011 she is a new member of our group of Young Soloists for Kronberg Academy Masters. The professor who will be taking care of her musical development is cellist Frans Helmerson. Last week, shortly before our conversation, Ella had finished a masterclass with Canadian cellist Gary Hoffman, who is also a  permanent Professor in Kronberg.

Asked how to run this interview, Ella smiled and said “My first language is Dutch, second is English and regarding German I can understand quite a bit, speak a few words, but it isn´t enough to let the interview flow in German.”  So we switched to English.

Before we entered Studio 1 in the KAM facilities at Kronberg´s Streitkirche, we took a look at her cello. “It looks quite old“, I remarked.  “No, it isn´t! It was made in 2009, but I would love to have an old one” answered Ella, smiling.

Ella has two brothers and a sister. Her parents provided for a good musical background. Ella´s father is a trained trumpet player for Netherlands  Radio Symphony Orchestra (NRSO). Her mother used to play viola but in recent years she has turned to cooking, professionally and in the family.

Following is a short conversation with Ella, who grew up in a little city near Amsterdam.

1 ) How do you feel in Kronberg?
Ella: It´s a big honour for me to be here! Staying with the best teachers for string instruments and being part of that group of so talented young musicians is very inspiring. It´s a prestigious place to study music.

2) How did you just arrive in Kronberg?
Ella: Well,  I took the train, which is so convenient. I like train rides a lot! There I can sleep,
read and eat! It takes only about 5 hours from Holland.

3) Are you here for the first time?
Ella:  I was in Kronberg last year for the cello masterclasses in September which was a great experience! It all started when I was 15 and taking classes with  Frans Helmerson in Cologne for about a year. He mentioned Kronberg Academy and proposed that I should opt for an audition.  So, during  2009 I travelled to Kronberg the first time and met with Stephen Potts, director of Kronberg Academy Masters. Then I had my first audition. Also I travelled to Kronberg only some weeks ago for attendance of the masterclasses with Gidon Kremer and Volker Biesenbender. Volker lectured on improvisation and Gidon Kremer spoke about music and musicianship. Two very different personalities and styles. Both masterclasses provided a wealth of information.

4) What did you know about KronbergAcademy?
Ella: I heard about the Academy from a friend when I was nine. Later I looked at Kronberg Academy´s homepage on the internet and I found it very appealing.

5) How did your love for playing the cello evolve?
Ella: I started at age 4, taking violin classes. Honestly, I didn´t like it so much,  it was kind of weird. I quit the classes when I was five and a half. Later at age six I discovered the cello and this is what I liked a lot! Then my parents sent me to the Utrecht music school. Looking back I must say the classes became more enjoyable for me and when I was eight it really became more serious and it was fun. I began practicing for myself and at age twelve I was attending the Amsterdam conservatory. Prior to Amsterdam I was also taking classes at Den Haag for about a year. When I was ten I joined a group of young violinists called the “The Fancy Fiddlers”, founded by one of my teachers at the time, Mrs. Coosje Wijzenbeck. There were 20 players in that group and we began to perform concerts.

6) How was musical life in your family?
Ella: I liked to play chamber music. Throughout the day, while at home I also listened to music from my brother and my parents. One of my brothers listened to hip-hop and pop music, my father is a great Jazz fan and he likes the Beatles very much and of course Jazz singers such as Ella Fitzgerald and Billie Holiday. This kind of music I do like as well. In earlier years my mum was playing viola. So I am used to hear her viola sounds from time to time. But in recent years she has concentrated on her cooking job and music became a side activity. On the other hand her vegetarian cooking style is very good for my health. So, overall, music was ubiquitous in our home. And I was exposed to different styles of music.

7) Who was a strong influence for you?
Ella: As I had already mentioned the “The Fancy Fiddlers” were founded by my teacher Coosje Wijzenbeck, and she had a very strong influence on me. Playing together under her leadership was great fun. We often rehearsed string quartets. Another great influence was and still is British cellist Colin Carr, who is a very good friend of my parents. In fact, I very much loved his way of playing, very different from what I learned through Coosje Wyzenbeck. I play with Colin from time to time in famous concert halls such as the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. At age 13 I played with him Vivaldi´s Double Concerto in that hall. Another influence was Godfried Hoogeveen, whom I met during the Amsterdam Conservatory years. Godfried is a great player, he told me all about music, not technically but rather aspects related to emotions, musicality and various musical styles. He was a student of renowned cellist Gregor Piatigorsky and became my mentor. Attending the cello masterclass at Kronberg Academy in September 2011  was also a great experience. And not to forget: at age 13 I joined the Amsterdam Chamber Music Society and I am still a member of that institution. There I met Christian Bor who was a student of violinist Jascha Heifetz. Christian as well as Godfried Hooogeveen influenced me over the years quite a lot.
While I was attending the Verbier musical festival in 2009 I had the great opportunity to attend masterclasses with Bernard Greenhouse, about 3-4 lessons, an hour each. Mr. Greenhouse told me so much about phrasing. This was very inspiring for me.

How do you relax ?
Well, I love cooking, walking and jogging. Especially jogging is something I enjoy so much. Also right now. Jogging is hard to do here in Kronberg because of the various hills. So it is quite challenging. When I am at home in our house in Holland I enjoy the great kitchen that we have and do cooking activities with great enjoyment.

Which type of music do you play with great enthusiasm? And what kind of music do you listen to, today?
Ella: I listen to a lot of chamber music. Dvorak´s Cello Concerto performed by Colin Carr is something I like to listen to,  over and over. And I listen to a lot of CDs, mostly classical music. And I like to listen what other fellow musicians play.

Playing and rehearsing daily, how many hours a day do you play and how much of sacrifies does this mean?
Ella: Currently I am playing 5-6 hours a day. The act of rehearsing is fun, I enjoy it! I can´t think of any sacrifices. I am really happy when I am playing, every day! But after so many hours each day other things are getting painful. Like carrying the cello case uphill, biking with the cello or sitting long hours in really unhealthy positions. Those things can be a bit of  a burden, but I can´t call them sacrifices.

10) Which expectations do you have with view to your enrollment with “Kronberg Academy Masters”?
Ella: I am working hard! I will learn things that I need to change in my playing. One can never play complete or perfectly. There is always room for improvements and changes. I want to become a solo cellist and play chamber music. But I also could think of myself as becoming a teacher in the future. All Young Soloists know each other and together with the members of the Kronberg Academy team we belong to a family. This is stimulating. We are inspiring ourselves and the lessons and all the work are quite intensive. The good thing is, all is very well organised by the team. The Academy is not just a music school, it is an institution where so much help is available all the time. I am not waiting here for big things to happen, I concentrate on my work and continuous improvements of my playing.

11) How do you use the internet, how often and how long are you online?
Ella: I am not a typical young internet user or TV person. What I like is using Google for searches. I check my email every day but I don´t stay long online. I am on facebook and using this means staying connected with my friends – this is a good thing. And for background information and easy questions I go to Wikipedia. But otherwise the internet is a waste of time. I am not a heavy internet user,  I see the stupid part of it.

Ella, thank you for this interview!

Michael Heinz/Kronberg Academy

Kurz vor dem Start: Begegnung mit einem großen Musiker

In Kronberg steigt die Vorfreude auf besondere musikalische Ereignisse am Tag der „Verabredung mit Slava“ – am 27. April.  In Erinnerung an den großen russischen Cellisten Mstislav Rostropovich, von seinen Freunden Slava genannt, veranstalten wir nun zum 4. Male einen kleinen Festakt an der Büste des 2007 verstorbenen großen Künstlers. Für Raimund Trenkler und das gesamte Team der Academy ist es ein Herzenswunsch, mit diesem Tag den Geist dieses großen Künstlers und Humanisten wieder lebendig werden zu lassen.  Seine Begeisterungsfähigkeit und seine Lebensfreude waren sprichwörtlich und viele Menschen auf der Welt konnten dies bei seinen Konzerten und bei seinen zahlreichen öffentlichen Meisterkursen – nicht zuletzt in Kronberg- hautnah miterleben.

Das musikalische Rahmenprogramm für den 27. April bringt neben dem Mädchenchor “Shchedryk” aus Kiew (hierüber werden wir separat berichten) zwei anerkannte Cellisten nach Kronberg.

Da ist einmal Rostropovichs letzter Meisterschüler Ivan Monighetti zu nennen. Monighetti, Jahrgang 1948, gebürtig aus Riga/Lettland wird die gute Tradition fortsetzen, nämlich einen Satz aus einer Bachschen Cello-Suite nahe der Büste von Rostropovich zu intonieren ( in den 3 Jahren zuvor taten dies bereits David Geringas, Misha Maisky und zuletzt Natalia Gutman).

Es ist überliefert, dass Monighetti einer der Lieblingsschüler des großen Russen gewesen war. Inspiriert von dem großen Lehrer betrat Monighetti internationale Konzertsäle und begann auch intensiv Musik auf CDs einzuspielen. Hierbei wurde er mehrfach bei verschiedenen Labels weltweit mit bedeutenden Preisen ausgezeichnet. Das Schweizer Fernsehen RTSI widmete dem Balten 1999 zwei Dokumentarfilme: “Ritratto a Monighetti” und “Monighetti: storie di famiglia”. Ivan Monighetti lebt zur Zeit in der Schweiz, wo er eine Professur für Cello an der Musik-Akademie Basel bekleidet Als engagierter Lehrer steht er in der Tradition seines Lehrers Mstislav Rostropovich. Einige seiner eigenen Meisterschüler sind international auch bereits anerkannte Künstler-Persönlichkeiten. Im abendlichen Benefizkonzert zugunsten der Rostropovich Cello Foundation werden Ivan Monighettti zusammen mit dem Pianisten Pavel Gililov zu hören sein.

Im 2. Teil dieses Konzerts wird die Kronberg Academy den jungen russischen Cellisten Alexander Buzlov präsentieren, der zusammen mit Anna Naretto am Klavier zwei Werke zur Aufführung bringen wird ( Benjamin Britten´s Sonate in C, op. 65 sowie Rostropovichs Humoreske für Violoncello und Klavier op.5). Alexander Buzlov gewann im November 2010 in Berlin beim international anerkannten Cello-Nachwuchswettbewerb „Grand Prix Emanuel Feuermann“ den Hauptpreis. Der junge Cellist ist Jahrgang 1983, geboren in Moskau und derzeit als Assistent von Natalia Gutman am Moskauer Tchaikovsky Konservatorium tätig. Natalia Gutmann war Schülerin von Rostropovich und so betrachtet, könnte man den jungen Alexander Buzlov auch als “Schüler-Enkel” ansehen.

Seit seinem bemerkenswerten Debüt in der Carnegie Hall von New York im Jahr 2005 verfolgt der junge russische Cellist eine internationale Karriere als Solist und Kammermusiker. Er konzertierte bereits mit namhaften russischen und westlichen Orchestern u.a. unter Leitung von Leonard Slatkin, Yakov Kreizberg, Valery Gergiev, Alexander Vedernikov.

Die Einnahmen dieses Konzerts werden der Förderung junger Cellisten zugute kommen, und damit dem lange verfolgten Ziele Rostropovichs dienen. Rostropovich hatte die Idee zur Gründung einer Stiftung unter der Obhut der Kronberger Academy bereits Mitte der Neunziger Jahre und wollte dem Cellisten-Nachwuchs erweiterte Ausbildungsmöglichkeiten bieten. Die Rostropovich Cello Foundation existiert seit 1997 unter dem Dach der Kronberg Academy.

Keine Frage, dass wir von der Academy angesichts der Klasse der auftretenden  Cellisten und Begleitmusiker auf ein bestens besuchtes Benefiz-Konzert hoffen.  Mögen alle Zuhörer und Freunde von Rostropovich einen unvergesslichen musikalischen Ausklang in der Kronberger Stadthalle erleben, ganz im Sinne der leidenschaftlichen Begeisterung für Musik, so wie wir dies häufig mit Slava erleben konnten.

Michael Heinz

Feuermanns immerwährendes Credo: ein singendes Cello

Im vorherigen Blogbeitrag hatten wir uns mit den Vorstellungen Emanuel Feuermanns zum Thema Lernen und Üben befasst.

Jetzt sollen mehr die  künstlerischen Qualitäten des Cello-Spiels aus seiner Sicht beleuchtet werden. Es sei nochmals in Erinnerung gerufen, dass in den Augen vieler berühmter Musiker-Zeitgenossen die Meisterschaft im Cello-Spiel durch Feuermann ungeahnte Höhen erlebte. Zur Verdeutlichung ein Zitat des ungarischen Cellisten Janos Starker über ihn:

“I place him as the most important figure for 20th century cello playing . . . . [While] Casals was responsible for establishing cello playing of the modern age, [it was] Feuermann who showed us the way to the next development. The cello was no longer an instrument to be excused because of its difficulty. He overcame all the difficulties which before his time were considered almost invincible obstacles.”

Die Beherrschung des Cellos

“It is surprising how few rules and principles there are and still more surprising how completely they change the entire style of playing. Believe it or not, my dear friend, the really outstanding string players, whether Kreisler, Casals, or Heifetz, are similar to each other in the way they use their muscular systems and handle their instruments and bows. The main differences lie in their different personalities, talents, and ideas, and only to a very small extent in their techniques, for which, again, physical differences are accountable.

Very simply, these rules are not demanded of the performer, but demanded by the instrument. Please understand this point thoroughly, because this is the basic fault of your approach. You have to know your instrument, cello and bow and how to handle them, the demands of the music and your mental and physical abilities and weaknesses to be able to recognize your mistakes, the inadequacies in your playing and to try to correct them. Analysis, patience, and endurance are the main requirements for your development.

One small example: when a cellist plays fast detache notes on the lower strings, you can hardly speak of the sound he produces, rather, you could call it a scratchy noise. The reason? You can only get a good sound from a string if it vibrates. Bring the string to vibration and one of the worst handicaps of the cello disappears. A very simple fact, certainly not a miracle, easy to remedy, yet still not recognized as the source of one of the ugliest and most prevalent ills of cello playing”.

Keine Note ohne Ausdruck und Artikulation

“As in a written sentence the only guidelines are the single words, commas, periods, question marks, etc., so in music notation we have only the bar lines, the bowings, the pitch and length of the single notes, and expression marks (accents, crescendi, etc., play quite a special role). What meaning can there be in a story recited in a monotone? Very little. The words may be recognizable, but there will be little real sense.

When you played for me, I showed you how little attention you have given to this way of looking at music, to this kind of approach, the most important one for a performer that I know of. Of course, partly by chance, partly because we have more to lean on in musical notation than in language, and partly because you have a musical education outside of cello playing, and lastly because one cannot practice and play for years without achieving something, you quite often understood the meaning of the music.

Let me try to explain to you what I mean by approach. Except for groups of fast notes where a given number of notes are one single rhythmical unit, there is not a note in music that should be played without expression or articulation. It can be compared to speaking, in which every syllable has its rhythm and phrasing within a sentence, according to its desired meaning. So, every note must be played according to the intended expression within the musical phrase”.

Musikalität und Spieltechnik

“Here technique, there musicality – an ancient comparison which is senseless and has done great damage to the perfection of playing. There should be a three-part division: mechanism, musicality, and technique, which when used musically is the mechanism.

What should the goal be for a performer, that is for the interpreter of a composition, i.e., the musical expression of another person? To interpret as closely as possible the composer’s intentions, at least what the player believes are his intentions. How can one best accomplish this goal? First one should recognize this goal as such and then control the means that are absolutely necessary for its accomplishment.

In my opinion, a war exists between technique and musicality. It brings with it only confusion, and makes a great performance virtually impossible. If one understands that by musicality is meant that one recognizes the intentions of the composer, then the other half of the term-”technique”-can be explained as possessing the real means necessary for bringing these intentions to fruition……. virtuoso includes: the greatest ability, respect for a piece of art, and the ability to fit one’s personality to the art work. How many of us have this? How many of us believe we have it, and are mistaken about it? And how many could have it if they were guided properly during their development?”

Persönlichkeit und Interpretation

“We must make it clear to ourselves that it would do great harm to Beethoven’s music if each musician were allowed to maintain the essentiality of his own personality for the shaping and molding of Beethoven.

This arrogant attitude does great damage to both music and public. The personality cannot be excluded, but the musician must try to live up to the composer and not bring the composer down to his level. We must take it for granted that of the two, the composer is the greater. The goal which I consider as the most important for the player is: abandon vanity, and ability, if there is any thought behind it at all, will come forth”.

In dieser Blog-Reihe zum Grand Prix  Emanuel Feuermann sind bereits erschienen:

Zeit zum Erinnern

Bernard Greenhouse remembers

Der Lehrer und Pädagoge (1)

Michael Heinz

Fordernd und ambitioniert  – die andere Seite des Emanuel Feuermann (Teil 1)

Emanuel Feuermann wurde von den bekanntesten Musikern seiner Zeit als genialer und begnadeter Musiker und einer der besten Cellisten seiner Generation gefeiert. Seine Plattenaufnahmen und seine Konzert-Auftritte waren ebenso herausragend und die Zeitzeugen bezeichneten seine Konzerte als unvergessene Erlebnisse. Die Lobreden stammen von vielen Musiker-Kollegen seiner Zeit sowie Künstlern, die ihn auch als Lehrer erlebt haben. Ein Blick auf seine Überzeugungen und Ideen als Pädagoge und Lehrer stellen ohne Frage eine weitere Facette seiner Musiker-Persönlichkeit dar. In diesem Blogbeitrag werden einige Kern-Aussagen und Gedanken aus der einzigen erhaltenen Schrift, die Feuermann eigenhändig verfasst hatte, vorgestellt ( die Originalsschrift ist betitelt „Notes on Interpretation“).

Hieraus wollen wir einige treffende Passagen auswählen und wiedergeben, um Appetit zu machen, sein Spiel und seine Sichtweise hinsichtlich der Aspekte Talent und Persönlichkeit, Praxis und Üben, Musikalität und Technik weiter zu vertiefen, um so den jungen Nachwuchs-Cellisten einiges von der Einzigartigkeit seiner musikalischen Befähigung und seiner Talente als Lehrer spüren zu lassen – gewissermaßen ein Wissenstransfer über die Zeitläufe hinweg.

Die folgenden Gedankengänge und Reflektionen des großen Meisters sind gewiss an Klarheit und Deutlichkeit für Lernende kaum zu übertreffen. Diese Statements stellen aus unserer Sicht einmalige Zeugnisse seiner Rolle als Lehrer und Pädagoge dar. Hier also einige ausgewählte Passagen in der Originalsprache Englisch, um jedwede Verzerrung oder Inkorrektheit zu vermeiden. Die englische Sprache, in der er diese Gedanken zu Papier brachte, war von enormer Überzeugungskraft und Präzision im Ausdruck – eine weitere Fähigkeit dieses Multi-Talents.

Feuermanns Ideal-Vorstellung von einem Lehrer

“My ideal is for the teacher to watch the student during practice. Where would the comparison to painting lie? How and where would it be possible to carry over the art of teaching painting to music? The teacher could work with his students in the same building; in this way students could always have their teachers as “ears” and the teacher could go from room to room, correcting pupils while they are practicing. This would be Utopia! Not only because of the question of room. Candidly, teachers are not always inclined to lend their ears to their pupils for any longer than thirty, forty, or sixty minutes. A significant question remains, whose answer is hardly in the affirmative: how intensively or meaningfully do the teachers themselves practice?”

Das A und O des Cellospiels für junge, ambitionierte Cellisten

Let us take one example of inadequacy in a cellist for an explanation; from the very beginning to the very end, scales play a big role in a cellist’s life. For the beginner the scale is an aid in getting acquainted with notes, intervals, positions, and intonation. After this, scales still remain a daily practice. It is my custom to ask for scales when someone plays an audition for me.

Cellists who play for me are usually considered accomplished, who, as for instance you did, come for some advice, for the “last touch.” But not once have I heard a scale played from which I could have assumed that the player knew even in the slightest the fundamentals of the scale. What do I hear, uncertain intonation, uneven fingers, awkward string crossings and position changes. And what do I like to hear? A scale made up of clean tones, the fingers going down in such a way that the unequal strength of the fingers is hidden; a scale in which audible string crossings do not exist and in which the position is changed so quickly that the difference between a finger placed on the string and a change of position can hardly be felt; thus a row of notes of uniform strength, perfect in intonation and without disrupting, extraneous noises, these are the fundamentals of a scale, the ideal!

How does one approach this idea? Just by playing a scale over and over again, believing everything is done if the scale is played fast and approximately in tune? No. By having such an ideal, an imaginary, perfect, bodyless scale in the mind and in the ear, every cellist can overcome the difficulties of the instrument to a surprising extent.

Die Mühsal des Übens und worauf es sonst noch ankommt

One of the most interesting topics in music and the teaching of music is practice. Here, as in everything, lack of forethought and interest commonly dominate. The pupil receives his assignment, he returns for the lesson, the teacher points out false notes here and there, changes a few fingerings, perhaps suggests more freedom of playing or scolds because the pupil has not given enough time to his lesson, and with this it is over. Even an untalented pupil will with this customary kind of instruction make progress over the years and reach a certain degree of facility.

Counter to this way of teaching is one in which one single method dominates. One teacher constantly emphasizes “technique;” the pupil must practice long hours; above all he must practice difficult pieces, must concentrate on intonation and speed. The mechanism which is so necessary for the beauty and elegance of music is not practiced, but it must be played quickly and clearly. Its melodic qualities and its phrasing are hardly touched; and the real precision work on the instrument, which is as enduring and gratifying as the inside of a watch or as the work of a smithy, does not exist.

During the lessons the student will be constantly reminded of the seriousness, the majesty, the nobility of the artistic profession. Technique or mechanism will be regarded with contempt, with the result that after years of such instruction, the young person, who believes himself an artist, an exceptional person, is sent out into the world, often conceited and arrogant, without being capable of conveying even a vague notion, whether true or false, of art.

Talent und Künstlertum, Amateure und Profis

It is the mechanism alone that is necessary for the juggler, sharpshooter, or maker of fine instruments; on the other hand a “musical” person because of his musicality, his knowledge about the music, or his love for music is still not necessarily an artist.

There are many amateurs who have more sensitivity to music than some artists. There are non-professional people who are experts in the field of music. I knew a French general who had the most amazing knowledge of Bach.

If there is no fitting definition for talent, there is also none for an artist. I believe that an artist is a person who has an inexplicable longing for music, who has a knowledge of the music, combined with mastery of the mechanics of his instrument.

I daresay that it is not any more difficult to play well than to play poorly. Talent plays an important part in how well one plays, but talent alone, unless combined with intelligence, effort, and persistence, is not enough. How often do we meet people, especially in the arts, of whom we can speak as wasted talents. The real talents find their way anyhow. And by these very exceptions, one can say with good conscience that the better balanced one can keep talent and general intelligence, as well as specific intelligence, the better one will play.

Die gesamten Ausführungen kann man unter dieser Web-Adresse abrufen..:
Quelle: http://www.cello.org/heaven/feuer/contents.htm

Bisher sind folgende Blogeiträge bei Kronbergzweinull zum Grand Prix Emanuel Feuermann erschienen:

Zeit zum Erinnern

Bernard Greenhouse remembers

Michael Heinz

Das Cello-Festival nähert sich mit riesen Schritten. Deshalb möchten wir vorab wissen, welche der unten stehende Cellisten Ihnen bekannt sind.

Die Abstimmung dauert höchstens zwei Minuten. Gezählt werden alle Stimmen, die bis morgen früh 9.00 Uhr abgegeben werden. Das Ergebnis werden wir dann hier in Kürze bekannt geben. Wir freuen uns über eine rege Teilnahme!