Antonio Lucio Vivaldi, The Red-Haired Priest, Part 1

Historical Period: Baroque

Nationality: Italian
Born: March 4, 1678 in Italy
Died: July 28, 1741 in Austria
Contemporaries: J.S. Bach, Arcangelo Corelli, Francois Couperin, G.F. Handel, Henry Purcell, Alessandro and Domenico Scarlatti, G.P. Teleman. 
Works: The Four Seasons, Gloria, Stabat mater, cello concertos

 At The Start

     Antonio Vivaldi was born on March 4th, 1678 in Venice, Italy. He was a priest for a short period and then focused on composing and teaching music. He was known to people as “the red haired priest” (il Prete Rosso). Later on, he decided to pursue his passion for music. He created many works and was known for making his music in Baroque style (The Baroque time period was from the 17th and 18th centuries, more here). Vivaldi wrote operas including Bajazet, Motezuma and Orlando Furioso, but was especially known for his concertos.

Vivaldi was very talented from a very young age. His father, Giovanni Battista Vivaldi, taught him to play the violin very well, as his father was a professional violinist himself. At the age of 15 Vivaldi wanted to become a priest in the Catholic church, so he studied to become a priest. He eventually was ordained in 1703, but he quit the priesthood after health problems got in the way of his duties. So Vivaldi focused on his love of the violin. 

Come back for Part 2 next week!

Guest author: Isha, Suzuki Violin Book 1 student

Practice Tips for Little River in Faber Lesson Book 1

    Now that you have been learning Firefly you are ready to start Little River. This two-line melody is an exercise to get you comfortable with legato (playing smoothly).  Here are some tips and focus points that will help you master this piece:

• Prepare your hands: Put your hands in the C position just like Firefly.
• Who Goes First? The right hand starts, as you can see the notes in the Treble Clef staff is for the right hand. The left hand plays the bottom staff with the Bass Clef.
• The Slur: Practice the right hand by itself 3-4 times, then do the same with the left hand. After you get comfortable with the notes, start trying to play the notes as smooth as possible. Do not worry if you cannot play very smoothly at first, it will take time.
• Both Hands: Though it is not written this way, it will be helpful to play through with both hands playing as smooth as possible. Try the song in different positions and different speeds.

What tips do you have for Little River? 

Upcoming Performance April 10th, 2014

On Thursday, April 10, 2014 at 7:30 PM the Louisville Philharmonia will be performing Grieg Piano Concerto in a minor (featuring pianist Nada Loutfi), Faure Pavane, Dvorak Slavonic Dances No. 1-4 op 46. We will be playing at the Harvey Browne Presbyterian Church, 311 Browns Lane, Louisville, KY. The cost is $0, unless you would like to donate. I will be in the 2nd violin section, hope to see you there!

Learn more about the orchestra here

What's the benefit of coming? It is a good way to relax, nice entertainment. Second, it is a good way to encourage your children to keep practicing their instrument, because they get to see it live! This is one of the easiest ways to keep your family inspired musically, so in the long-term it is a good investment. It will also encourage you to keep practicing when you are thinking it may not be worth all the effort you are putting into all of this. Fourth, it will encourage your children to see a different side of culture in society that they may not be used to. 

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky: The Most Popular Romantic Composer

Historical Period: Romantic

Nationality: Russian

Born: May 7, 1840 A.D. in Kamsko-Votkinsk, Vyatka

Died:  Nov. 6, 1893 A.D. in St. Petersburg

Contemporaries: Johannes Brahms, Camille Saint-Saens, Antonin Dvorak, Claude Debusey, Gustav Mahler, Edvard, Grieg, Frederic Chopin, Franz Liszt, Gabriel Faure, Robert Schumann, Richard Wagner, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Modest Mussrogsky, Cesar Cui, Alexander Borodin, Mily Balakirev

Specialist Genres: ballet music and symphonies

Major Works: The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, Sleeping Beauty, Violin Concerto, Piano Concertos, 6 symphonies, 1812 Overture.

     Have you ever heard of The Nutcracker? Or Sleeping Beauty? Or even Swan Lake? Most people have, but they may not know much about the man behind the music. The man is Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky and he was born in Votkinsk, a small town in Russia’s Ural Mountains. Tchaikovsky lived during stirring times: the United States of America was in the Great Depression, Samuel Morse invented “Morse Code”, David Livingstone went as a missionary to Africa, lower and upper China united, Crawford Long uses first anesthetic (ether), Edgar Allen Poe came out with The Raven and Other Poems, and Charles H. Spurgeon impacted England and America with his great sermons from the Bible. 

It was in these tremendous times that Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky played the piano and wrote lots of cool classical music with a Russian twist. Alongside ballet music, Tchaikovsky wrote symphonies, the 1812 Overture, a violin concerto and piano concertos. Tchaikovsky had what many composers living in his time did not: “a sweet, inexhaustible, supersensuous fund of melody.”[1]

His Life & Music

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was born on May 7, 1840.  From a young age Tchaikovsky had an interest in music, but his parents wanted him to study law, just like G.F. Handel. Tchaikovsky was an obedient son and went to law school, but he also kept pursuing music. Eventually,  Tchaikovsky went to the St. Petersburg Conservatory to study music composition and the piano, which led him to be considered one of the most popular classical music composers of all time.

After the St. Petersburg Conservatory, Tchaikovsky was given the great gift of marriage, but he did not treasure marriage. Tchaikovsky divorced his wife a few weeks after they were married, choosing to run away from her and focused on his music. Music was more important to Tchaikovsky, too bad he did not choose to love both music and his wife. He did write a lot of beautiful music, symphonies and piano concertos and a violin concerto and ballet music and tone poems and more. In 1891, Tchaikovsky even came to America to conduct his music for people. And in 1884, Emperor Alexander III and even got a pension (money for retirement). People really like his ballet music, his symphonies and even the concertos for its beauty, deep emotion, lyricism in the Russian style.  As two historians put it, “The music which this unhappy man created was gorgeously colored, sometimes delicate and fairy-like, sometimes almost hysterical in its tragic passion.”[2]

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[1]Harold C. Schonberg, The Lives of the Great Composers, revised edition (New York: Norton Company, 1981), p. 377.

[2]Katherine B. Shippen and Anca Seidlova, The Heritage of Music (New York: Viking Press, 1963), p. 204.

Copyright © 2013 Mircea & Daniyela Ionescu. All rights reserved.

Practicing (with My Child): When?

When is the best time to practice my music (with my child)? 

The short answer: Make sure that it is a time when the musician ( or in some instances parent and child ) are awake and ready to concentrate.

Many people are very concerned with how long to practice but they do not give much thought to the time of their practice. Some musicians, and parents, think you can just shove the practice somewhere in the day and get it done. But this only breeds frustration, slow progress, less enjoyment and may even pick up some bad habits when there is tiredness and distractions for most people.

For young children, the best way to do it is to have the same practice time throughout the week. As William and Constance Starr commented, "They grow to expect practice every day at the same time. Practice then takes on the quality of inevitability. It becomes part of the routine."[1] For example, I have seen parents that practice with their children every day before or after dinner. Other musicians practice during homework time, as a kind of break from the academic work. Still others wake up early and do it before leaving for school. If that does not work, try to have two practice times available to alternate throughout the week. It takes time for children to get used to a more flexible schedule, until then structure is the key to success. Having a scheduled lesson makes things easier for everyone as the child has energy and concentration and is already expecting to do it.

For those of you in high school, college and beyond, find a time that gives you the possibility to make the most of your practice. You do not want to have distractions around or be exhausted from work. You have to be honest with yourself about what time is best.

Remember, practicing is not just a chore to rush through. You want to be able to have fun, enjoy yourself, get through challenging parts of a piece, and many other things. The more you make the most out of your practice time, the better life will be. So, ask yourself: "What am I practicing for?" The answer to this question, the motives that you have, is what will drive your practicing approach.

This is nothing new, but I hope this reminder has helped you realize that it's worth it, keep going!

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[1]William and Constance Starr, To Learn with Love: A Companion for Suzuki Parents (Alfred Publishing, 1983), p. 34.