Early Music America Winter 2013 - (Page 17)

musings By Thomas Forrest Kelly Guntram Wolf Modern and historic wind instruments Time Traveling with Instruments a sympathetic article want to understand how it works." by Corinna de Fonseca-Wollheim in All of these ﬁne players are switch-hitThe New York Times (Aug. 30; see page 11) ters: they have day jobs on their modern about the potential of period stringed instruments. There are those who feel instruments. What it really was about that real mastery of a Baroque instruwas how well-known players of the ment-or of any instrument-requires modernized versions discovered these exclusivity. Surely, somebody who pracinstruments. It was not, for example, tices and plays nothing but Baroque will about the many perhave a stronger, more Putting period formers who play regularly assured technique and on period instruments or instruments into the style than a part-timer. whose profession is to Well, maybe so. That hands of talented play them or about the sounds like one of those musicians always many modern pioneers "authenticker-than-thou" seems to have the who spent many long remarks once attributed effect of opening a by journalists to members hours ﬁguring out how lock, of letting music of the exclusive "early they work and what they have to teach us about out from somewhere. music movement" but early repertoire. so seldom actually said Many of the discoveries newly made by the real lovers and practitioners of in this article by Carter Brey, Johnny early music. Gandelsman, Matt Haimovitz, and othReally, we should rejoice that musiers, had been made long ago by Anner cians everywhere are taking this music Bylsma, Sigiswald Kuijken, and others. seriously; it is they who are making the music. They bring their artistry and their But that wasn't the point. The point was that putting these instruments, and imagination to the instrument, and try, as we all do, to ﬁnd how best to make their music, into the hands of talented the music beautiful. They discover that musicians always seems to have the effect of opening a lock, of letting music these instruments have much to teach out from somewhere. Of course, it's not about the music they are playing. "Now I'm embracing the human the instrument making the music; it's aspect of it," said Matt Haimovitz, "how the musician. There's a story, usually alive these strings are and how much like told about Heifetz, where an admirer breathing. It opens up for me a whole comes backstage and says, "Your violin sounds extraordinary tonight, Maestro." spectrum of color and possibilities." The superb cellist Matt Haimovitz is a And Heifetz holds the instrument up to his ear and says, "I don't hear anything." special case for me, since I've known Most classical music-making, whether him since he was an undergraduate. He met his wife, the composer Luna Pearl on period instruments or not, is time Woolf, in a course I taught on Medieval travel. We are allowed to hear the and Renaissance instrumental music. thoughts and feelings of someone besides ourselves from a different place They later confessed they held hands and time. It brings the past to the presunder the seminar table. It may be ent in an amazing, real-time way. And that studying early music has more when the instrument itself comes from advantages than we realize. the music's time, it stands to reason that less translation is required. Thomas Forrest Kelly is a professor of music at Harvard University and a board member Mr. Gandelsman put it very well: "I and past president of Early Music America. do it because I love the music, and I I ENJOYED READING North American contact: Henry Skolnick Imports 7477 Hoover Ave. St. Louis, MO 63117 (314) 302-1078 hskolnick@charter.net www.guntramwolf.de I Early Music America Winter 2013 17 http://www.guntramwolf.de http://www.violinbows.net

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Early Music America Winter 2013

Editor's Note
Reader Forum
Sound Bytes
Musings: Time Traveling with Instruments
Profile: Pure Gold: Beiliang Zhu
Recording Reviews
Let's put on a... Zarzuela!
A Banquet of Music 40 Years in the Serving
Honoring Krebs
Book Reviews
Ad Index
In Conclusion: Dido and Aeneas Reconsidered

Early Music America Winter 2013