Episode 81: Yes You Can! How to Easily Make Your Own Arrangement of a Rock or Pop Song for String Ensemble

Upcoming Events: August 13 – master class for the Sphinx Performance Academy at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, August 17 and 18 – Paganini 24 Caprices at the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, IL, August 26 – chamber music by Chinese composers at Millennium Park in Chicago

Inquiries from my Inbox: David asks: “What is the best thing about performing unaccompanied violin music? What are three of your favorite moments in the violin literature?

Random Musical Thought: A modern violin in a historically-flavored work of art is as out of place as if someone were wearing blue jeans.

Main Topic: Rachel explains how to make your own arrangement of a rock or pop song for string ensemble. Includes tips on how to get the tab as a reference, choose your aesthetic, figure out the structure, decide who plays which part, pick a key, experiment with orchestration, add in the “drums,” figure out the bowings, pick a tempo (or tempos), add some dynamics, work on the guitar solos, and get performance-ready. Adapted from her class at the Mark Wood Rock Orchestra Camp – for more information, please visit www.mwroc.com.

Total playing time: 00:55:38

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Violin Adventures with Rachel Barton Pine is produced by Windy Apple Studios www.windyapple.com

Episode 80: Hale be Your Heart! Hale Be Your Fiddle!

Upcoming Events: July 30-August 4 – guest teacher at the Jink and Diddle School of Scottish Fiddling in Banner Elk, NC, August 10 – memorial tribute concert for luthier Carl Becker in Chicago, August 17 and 18 – Paganini 24 Caprices at the Ravinia Festival in Highland Park, IL

Inquiries from my Inbox:  Catherine from Australia writes: “Could you do a podcast on the features that Paganini brought to the world of violin playing? What is it that he did differently that challenged the status quo?” Emily asks: “Have you ever played the Conus violin concerto? I never heard of it until my teacher suggested it for me to play, I instantly fell in love with it and am really enjoying practicing it! I wanted to know why not as many violinists play this concerto anymore.”

Random Musical Thought: Wouldn’t it be amazing if you could magically hear some of the great repertoire again for the very first time?

Main Topic: A conversation with master Scottish fiddler Dr. John Turner. Includes recordings of “Panmure House / Timour the Tartar” from “Favourite Scotch Measures” and “Lament for the Death of King George V” from “The Wanderer’s Lament: Fiddle Music of Scotland.” For more information about the Jink and Diddle School of Scottish Fiddling, please visit www.jinkdiddle.com.

Total playing time: 00:41:00

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Violin Adventures with Rachel Barton Pine is produced by Windy Apple Studios www.windyapple.com

Episode 79: Making Fun WITH the Music: Aleksey Igudesman

Upcoming Events: July 16 – faculty performance at the Mark Wood Rock Orchestra Camp in Olathe, KS, July 20 – Earthen Grave at the Metroplex Heavy Fest in Dallas, July 21-24 teaching at Le Domaine Forget in Quebec, July 28 – Vieuxtemps 5 for Music in the Mountains in Durango, CO, July 29-August 4 – teaching at the Jink and Diddle School of Scottish Fiddling

Inquiries from my Inbox:  David from Nebraska writes: “I wonder what suggestions you have for developing skill with harmonics.” Delaney asks: “When you're performing, what kinds of things do you focus on or think about while you're playing? Do you ever find your mind drifting to random thoughts?”

Random Musical Thought: Is Bach the only great composer whose music is still satisfying to hear even if done metronomically and without expression?

Main Topic: A conversation with violinist/composer/comedian Aleksey Igudesman. For more information about his many projects, please visit www.alekseyigudesman.com

Total playing time: 00:58:12

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Violin Adventures with Rachel Barton Pine is produced by Windy Apple Studios www.windyapple.com

Episode 78: Impromptu – Lullabies and More

Upcoming Events: July 5 and 6 – recitals with pianist Arnon Erez in Israel (Bach, Achron, Bloch, Franck), July 10 and 11 – Vieuxtemps Concerto No. 5 and Vaughan Williams The Lark Ascending with the Israel Chamber Orchestra in Tel Aviv, July 13 – Vieuxtemps Concerto No. 5 at the Masterworks Festival in Winona Lake, IN, July 14-20 – teaching at the Mark Wood Rock Orchestra Camp near Kansas City

Inquiries from my Inbox:  N-O asks: “Where does your inspiration come from? What sets you apart from other artists? What can people expect to hear or see from you this year?”

Random Musical Thought: Sir Edward Elgar said, “My idea is that there is music in the air, music all around us; the world is full of it, and you simply take as much as you require.”

Main Topic: Rachel Barton Pine and Matthew Hagle perform live on WFMT on June 20, 2013. Repertoire includes Brahms Wiegenlied, Ysaye Reve d’Enfant, Rebecca Clarke Lullaby, Faure Berceuse, Rebikov Berceuse, Gershwin Summertime, Schwab Berceuse Ecossaise, Betty Jackson King Lullaby, William Grant Still Suite (African Dancer, Mother and Child, Gamin).

Total playing time: 01:07:13

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Violin Adventures with Rachel Barton Pine is produced by Windy Apple Studios www.windyapple.com

Episode 77: Writing Women Back Into Music History!

Upcoming Events: June 20 – performance with pianist Matthew Hagle for WFMT’s Impromptu; June 22 – with Earthen Grave for Days of the Doomed near Milwaukee, Wisconsin; June 28 – master class for the Birch Creek Music Performance Center in Door County, Wisconsin; June 30 – free children’s program at the Swedish American Museum in Chicago

Inquiries from my Inbox:  Vanlal asks: “How do you play period works a half step low?” Brian asks: “Have you ever played ‘Ashoken Farewell?’”

Random Musical Thought: Are your instruments your friends, your family, your harem, your menagerie, or what?

Main Topic: A conversation with Karen Shaffer, author of “Maud Powell: Pioneer American Violinist” and Pamela Blevins, author of “Ivor Gurney and Marion Scott: Song of Pain and Beauty.” For more information about the Maud Powell Society for Music and Education and the magazine “Signature, Women in Music,” please visit www.maudpowell.org.

Total playing time: 00:45:28

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Violin Adventures with Rachel Barton Pine is produced by Windy Apple Studios www.windyapple.com

Episode 76: Yes, It Really Existed! Meet the Shoulder Cello

Upcoming Events: June 14 – Bach Six Sonatas for Violin and Keyboard with harpsichordist Paul Cienniwa at the Boston Early Music Festival

Inquiries from my Inbox:  Robert asks: “Is the page turner the only ‘on stage’ position in the music industry that it is proper to totally ignore?”

Random Musical Thought: Can one claim to have truly heard a piece of music if they’ve never experienced it performed live?

Main Topic: A conversation about the violoncello da spalla with luthier and violinist Dmitry Badiarov, including recordings of the instrument played by Badiarov, Sigiswald Kujiken, and the Bach Collegium Japan. For more information about Dmitry Badiarov and his instruments, please visit http://badiarovviolins.com/. To read an interesting article about the violoncello da spalla, please visit http://sscm-jscm.press.illinois.edu/v12/no1/wissick.html.

Total playing time: 00:53:54

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Violin Adventures with Rachel Barton Pine is produced by Windy Apple Studios www.windyapple.com

Episode 75: To Memorize or Not To Memorize, That is the Question

Upcoming Events: May 25 – Six Bach Violin Concertos for the Montreal Chamber Music Festival, May 30 – Bartok Concerto No. 2 with the Gottingen Symphony in Germany, June 1 – recital with pianist Matthew Hagle in Montpelier, Vermont (sonatas by Beethoven, Mohammed Fairouz, and Strauss, and lullabies by Brahms, Ysaye, Rebecca Clarke and William Grant Still)

Inquiries from my Inbox:  A student at a master class asked, “What is your favorite time of day to practice?”

Random Musical Thought: If children dress as ballerinas to attend the ballet, why don’t they dress as concert violinists to attend the symphony?

Main Topic: A conversation with harpsichordist Paul Cienniwa about the pros and cons of performing with and without sheet music. To learn more about Paul, please visit www.paulcienniwa.com

Total playing time: 00:51:59

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Violin Adventures with Rachel Barton Pine is produced by Windy Apple Studios www.windyapple.com

Episode 74: Violin Lullabies, part 2

Upcoming Events: May 9 – performance on WGN’s Noon News, May 11 – Vieuxtemps Concerto No. 5 and Saint-Saens Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso with the Illinois Valley Symphony, May 17 – Trio Settecento in Ames, Iowa (works by Stradella, Marini, Legrenzi, Corelli, Geminiani, Locatelli, and Veracini), May 18 – recital at the Music Institute of Chicago in Evanston, IL (Beethoven Sonata No. 3, Liszt Grand Duo Concertante, Strauss Sonata, lullabies by Brahms, Ysaye, Clarke, Still, Rebikov, Gershwin, and Strauss), May 19 – children’s concert at the Old Town School of Folk Music in Chicago

Inquiries from my Inbox:  Bob asks, “Would it peeve you if, at a classical concert, during a pause, someone shouted out, "Play "Devil Went Down to Georgia!"”

Random Musical Thought: Could we have a photos section (silent and flash-free) at classical concerts?

Main Topic: Part two of a tour of Rachel Barton Pine’s new album, Violin Lullabies. Includes excerpts of cradle songs by Ysaye, Still, Schwab, Rebikov, Sibelius, Clarke, Beraud, Stravinsky, Montsalvatge, King, Schumann, Grieg, Strauss, Brahms, and Gershwin

Total playing time: 00:34:32

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Violin Adventures with Rachel Barton Pine is produced by Windy Apple Studios www.windyapple.com

Episode 73: Violin Lullabies, part 1

Upcoming Events: April 27 – Mendelssohn Concerto with the Lafayette Symphony in Indiana, April 28 – Biber Mystery Sonatas No. 5 and 10 for the Bloomington Early Music Festival in Indiana, May 2 – recital for the San Diego State University’s Jewish Studies Program in California (works by Bloch, Achron, Yale Strom and more), May 5 – violin/cello duo recital with Mike Block in LaGrange, IL

Inquiries from my Inbox:  Janis writes, “For an easy-to-use, much safer heavy hotel mute, get a couple earth magnets and clap them together around the bridge near the center, over the heart cutout.”

Random Musical Thought: Wouldn’t it be interesting if the audience didn’t know the “set list” for a recital until they were actually at the concert?

Main Topic: Part one of a tour of Rachel Barton Pine’s new album, Violin Lullabies. Includes excerpts of cradle songs by Beach, Durosoir, Faure, Respighi, Schubert, Iljinsky, Ravel, Reger, Sivori, Viardot, Antsev, Falla, and Hovhaness.

Total playing time: 00:37:05

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Violin Adventures with Rachel Barton Pine is produced by Windy Apple Studios www.windyapple.com

Episode 72: No Guts, No Glory: Master Stringmaker Dan Larsen

Upcoming Events: April 12 and 14 – Vivaldi Four Seasons and Vivaldi Concerto in D Major for Viola d’Amore with Boise Baroque in Idaho, April 13 – lecture on the history of the violin at Boise State University, April 16 – master class at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, April 20 – master class for Sigma Alpha Iota at the Oak Park Public Library in Illinois, April 22 – adjudicating the finals of Northwestern University’s concerto competition

Inquiries from my Inbox:  Anmajumdar asks, “Do you use first knuckle and wrist for your vibrato?” Peter writes, “I have a full-blown arm vibrato, which only makes me clamp down on the violin with my neck... do you have any tips to help me learn a 'wrist' vibrato?”

Random Musical Thought: Why do so many people fail to realize that my Birthday Variations are supposed to be a parody?

Main Topic: A conversation about the art of making early music strings out of gut with luthier and stringmaker Dan Larsen. For more information, please visit http://gamutmusic.squarespace.com/

Total playing time: 01:07:39

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Violin Adventures with Rachel Barton Pine is produced by Windy Apple Studios www.windyapple.com

Episode 71: Barely Controlled Chaos – Maestro Michael Morgan

Upcoming Events: April 4 – master class and viola d’amore lecture/demo for the Juilliard School’s Historical Performance program

Inquiries from my Inbox:  Philip writes: “I honestly believe that the modern violinists exceed both the musical and technical abilities of the old (I am sure you have heard of the wax recordings of Brahms and Sarasate, etc.).”

Random Musical Thought: How is it possible to enjoy the musical interpretations of someone whom you don’t like as a person?

Main Topic: A conversation from 2008 with Michael Morgan, conductor of the Oakland East Bay Symphony and Sacramento Philharmonic. Maestro Morgan offers words of wisdom for orchestral string players, including to use less vibrato, play with more slides, have your own opinion and don’t be afraid to take risks. For more information about Michael Morgan, please visit http://www.morganorch.com

Total playing time: 00:48:53

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www.rachelbartonpine.com

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Violin Adventures with Rachel Barton Pine is produced by Windy Apple Studios www.windyapple.com