Kolja Blacher: Bruch – Violin concerto op 26 – I. Allegro moderato

BRUCH, Max

Concerto for violin and orchestra in G minor op. 26 (reduction for violin and piano)

I. Allegro moderato

Kolja Blacher, guest professor

Rubén Mendoza, student

Vadim Gladkov, accompanying pianist

In this violin masterclass, Professor Blacher advises the student to save enough bow for when they want to play with more intensity, and also that they need more volume in general. They work on the vibrato at the beginning of the violin part and the contrast of the attacks with the bow to create different effects. The appropriate tempo helps to create the specific atmosphere of the introduction.
Blacher corrects the body position to achieve a better sound, and in the fast part “un poco marcato” he suggests playing with more precise attacks. Afterwards, they work in depth on the double strings.
In the lyrical part (theme B), Blacher corrects the vibrato and the sound quality. For the high notes it is better to use more bow speed, and the professor also indicates that paying attention to the general score is as important in Bruch as in Mozart: the student should not forget to sing each theme with the violin.  
In general, the student presses too hard when playing forte in the fast passages, and if they avoided this, they would achieve more speed.

Language: English