dakhabrakha + a new world (music)

My sister introduced me to DakhaBrakha and their unique hybrid of Ukranian folk music (a genre they call "world chaos"), and I became an instant fan. I was lucky enough to see them live a few years ago, and the performance remains in my all-time top 3 best live shows--if you ever get the opportunity to see them, DO NOT MISS IT. If this Tiny Desk snippet whets your Dakhabrakha appetite, you can see a full-length performance here.

PS Raise your hand if you want to decorate your cello with a geometric mosaic now.

anonymous cellists + trap covers 

Secret Cello Society posted this video back in February of 2016, garnered nearly thirty thousand views/gained many fans, and then disappeared from the internet. When are they going to create another cello cover of a hot rap single? Only time will tell.

PS There's a great cello pun in this video. Spot it and collect 150 cello nerd points.

very young people + very interesting musical stuff

My teacher Anne sent me this video of cellist Justin Yu, who is now 12 and studying at Manhattan School of Music. Justin and his young colleagues were trained at a music school that includes singing, dancing, and developing stage presence as part of the curriculum.

on the subject of ten year olds playing concertos

Please enjoy Ifetayo Ali-Landing performing the first movement of the Saint-Saëns cello concerto--at the tender age of 10! Ifetayo is now 17 and studying at the Colburn School of Music.

PS Ifetayo was a Suzuki student in Chicago and attended many Suzuki Institutes to further her cello studies.

vivaldi double concerto + baroque interpretation

Vivaldi's concerto for two cellos in G minor is a classic that almost every cellist I know learned/learns at some point.If you are a Suzuki student, you will encounter the first movement of this piece in Book 6. Since Vivaldi was a Baroque composer, many artists believe the interpretation of his music should be kept in the Baroque style--Apollo's Fire demonstrates that here. Can you spot the Baroque cellos, Baroque bows, gut strings, harpsichord, and the GIANT theorbo?

PS more Vivaldi Double examples to come…

havana (un)masked

The internet has many downfalls, but when I stumble upon content like this I am reassured that the worldwide web can be used for good...or at the very least for silly. Who knew playing in mime gloves was possible to do at all, let alone possible to do quite well?

PS Brooklyn Duo  have quite an oeuvre on YouTube. Check them out if you enjoy pop covers arranged for cello/piano.

bach in the bathroom

I've mentioned Mike Block elsewhere, but if you are unfamiliar with his Bach in the Bathroom series, please do yourself a favor and watch them all. Bathrooms have undeniably great acoustics, and Mike is an undeniably great cellist. Win, win.

kayhan kalhor + kamancheh

The kamancheh is an Iranian bowed string instrument, used also in Turkish, Armenian, Azerbaijani and Kurdish musical traditions. Even though the tuning is the same as a violin (E A D G), to me it feels more like an early ancestor to the cello. A few minutes into the video you can see a close-up shot of the variable-tension bow, meaning that the player controls how tight or loose the bow is as they play.

PS this entire 11-minute piece is improvised!

nadia boulanger

What I knew about French composer/conductor/teacher/pianist/organist Nadia Boulanger is that she taught so many notable composers. Ever heard of Igor Stravinsky, Aaron Copland, Philip Glass, Astor Piazzolla, Quincy Jones? All of them studied under her at some point in their careers. What I didn't know is that she was the first woman to conduct many major orchestras--BBC Symphony, Boston Symphony, and the New York Philharmonic among them--or that she wrote these delightful "Trois Piéces" (3 pieces) for organ, later transcribed for cello and piano.

yo-yo at the tiny desk

Yo-Yo Ma needs no intro. He's played for presidents, appeared on Sesame Street, and become a student of everything from bluegrass to Indian classical music. He's just released his 3rd iteration of the complete Bach Suites for Unaccompanied Cello (1st album = 1983, 2nd album = 1997), which he will play live on 6 continents over the next 2 years. For me, Yo-Yo is the artist we all need: supremely gifted, highly creative, an engaged citizen, and just a really nice human being.

PS Antonio Stradivari made the cello heard here in Cremona, Italy in 1712. Bach wrote his cello suites somewhere between 1717-1723 in Leipzig, Germany. Both creations met in the hands of a French-born, Chinese-American cellist in Washington, D.C., August 2018. DOPE.

quartet on a plane 

In 2013 the Philadelphia Orchestra was on tour in Asia when they experienced a 3-hour delay traveling from Beijing to Macao. Four members of the string section took this time as an opportunity to give an impromptu quartet performance. I love when art occurs in everyday places.

hossein alizadeh + 8ctet

Persian classical music sounds like antiquity, and I mean that as a high compliment. The cello also has an ancient vocal quality, so it fits in perfectly. Hossein Alizadeh is a master of both the tar and setar, which he plays in this composition for jazz trio and cello octet. Fusion abounds, and I dig it.

anne cole + la sirena

Anne Cole (my former teacher/maker of my La Sirena cello) was recently featured on PBS. Anne has been a luthier  since age 11, when she first took her school cello apart and put it back together again. See if you can spot La Sirena's cameo.

weilerstein + golijov

Oswaldo Golijov's incredibly rich compositions are a perfect match for Alisa Weilerstein's relationship to the cello. From a pedagogy perspective, Alisa has reached a point in her artistry that transcends traditional ideas of "ideal" technique. I find it fascinating when tone quality, intonation, and musicality are no longer intimately connected to the exact shape of the bow hold or the placement of the left hand, and yet are still strong and fully formed.

sol + the screen cello 

You could argue that cello-as-projection-screen is a bit gimmicky, but I think it’s really cool for those of us who experience music in a visual way. Sol Gabetta is also never a bad idea.

danish string quartet

Sometimes falling down the rabbit hole of an internet search means being rewarded with a gem like this. I had never heard of the Danish String Quartet, and yet here they are with their unique brand of chamber music from Scandinavia.

kelsey lu

I discovered Kelsey Lu McJunkins via Instagram, and I love her synthesis of classical cello sounds and vocals that come from the guts. Add looping and effects, season with dashes of hip-hop/soul/Bjork-like electro synth pop, and you get an absolutely mesmerizing one-woman band.

world citizens

Young. Yo-Yo. Universal. Artist.

kopecky family band

Some fluffy folky-rock sweetness, courtesy of the Kopecky Family Band.

master classes with alisa

I was pleased to discover Alisa Weilerstein illustrating one point lessons in her master classes with students from the Rudolfinium in Czech Republic. It's really cool to see how much of a change can happen in even a few minutes of concentrated work.

PS Alisa and her husband Rafael Payare are now our musical neighbors in San Diego.

happy haydn

Here are some good wishes in the form of Haydn C major concerto, 1st movement. Brendan Goh plays this piece in an uncomplicated and straight-ahead manner, with an open and sweet sound.  

laura mvula

I didn't know about Laura Mvula until NPR Music introduced me to her--seems to be a recurring theme. The cello is not the star here, but nonetheless plays a simple and beautiful supporting role on these original ballads.

die 12 cellisten der berliner philharmoniker

The Berlin Philharmonic is regarded as one of the world's top orchestras, so it comes as no surprise that they would also possess a cello section of incredible talent and depth. The fact that the section has become its own critically-acclaimed ensemble is really quite unique. As for this combo of Faure's Pavane sung by 12 cellos...stunningly gorgeous. (Now if only they would release their arrangements).

outside listening: ben sollee, solo, soli

NPR Music describes Ben Sollee as a "genre-bending cellist", and his music as "a unique take on folk". I'm not sure what category I'd place him in, but I do know that his voice and phrasing remind me of Paul Simon, and his cello playing makes me think of the rhythmic stylings of bluegrass.

outside listening: two metals are better than one

It's time for a little metal with your cello. Apocalyptica is a Helsinki-based/classically-trained quartet who combine heavy metal, rock, and other styles into a distinctly unique genre. Their cover of Metallica's Fade to Black was on heavy rotation when I was but a wee high school cellist.