Chevalier de Saint George

Joseph de Bologne (Chevaliere) de Saint George was a French violinist, harpsichordist, composer, conductor, military leader, and champion swordsman, born on December 25, 1745 (Bach was 60 years old.)  He was never what one might call a touring concert violinist.  He is remembered for being part of the French aristocracy and military prior to and during the French Revolution, despite being the son of a slave (his mother.)  As early as age 18 (1764), he obtained the position of Officer of the King's Guard.  He was also one of the first Black Masons in France.  In 1787, he beat Charles De Beaumont (the infamous French spy, diplomat, and transvestite) in a famous fencing duel.  It has been written that he was a highly skilled athlete who excelled as a swimmer, pistol shooter, dancer, ice skater, runner, and horseman.  His first teacher in music was his father.  Later on, after age 8, he may have studied violin and composition with Jean Marie Leclair in Paris.  It is thought that by 1771, he was concertmaster of the orchestra known as the Concert des Amateurs (the title is deceiving.)  It was thought to be the best orchestra in Paris and perhaps all of Europe.  By 1773, at age 28, he was its director.  Mozart was then 17 years old.  He also frequently played his own violin concertos with this orchestra.  Composers of the time, including Antonio Lolli and Carl Stamitz, dedicated works to him.  In 1779, at her request, De Saint George, began performing for and with Queen Marie Antoinette at Versailles.  In 1787, De Saint George, with a different orchestra, premiered Haydn’s six Paris Symphonies (82-87.)  Mozart was in the city between late March, 1778 and late September, 1778 but it is unknown whether he ever met de Bologne or heard any of his music.  (In fact, De Saint George has often been called the Black Mozart.) De Saint George wrote at least 15 violin concertos, 12 string quartets, 9 sonatas for violin, 10 sonatas for harpsichord, 3 symphonies, 8 symphonies concertante, and other works, among them an opera and other works for the theatre.  One of the violin concertos has been recorded by Rachel Barton.  Other than that, his music is now almost never played.  However, YouTube has a six-part biography of him as well as several videos of his music.  Joseph De Saint George died on June 10, 1799, at age 53. (Marie Antoinette was beheaded on October 16, 1793, at age 37.)

Elena Kharitonova

Elena Kharitonova is a Russian violinist born on September 12, 1964 (Heifetz was 63 years old.) She is presently one of the top chamber musicians in Russia. She graduated from the Tchaikovsky Moscow State Conservatoire, class of Professors B.Belenky and O.Krysa and completed postgraduate studies in quartet class under Professor A. Shishlov - the first violinist of the Shostakovich Quartet. She was second violinist with the Glazunov Quartet for eight years. During her studies at the Moscow Conservatoire, she won All-Union quartet's competition and received diplomas of the Shostakovich First International quartet's competition and the Sixth International competition of chamber ensembles in Tokyo. From 1998 to 2008, she was the second violinist of the Glinka Quartet, whose repertoire ranged from Bach to Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Borodin, Shostakovich, and all the rest. She is now the second violinist of the New Russian Quartet, which is barely two years old. I do not know if she has ever played in the U.S. She has also recorded more than 12 CDs.

New Russian Quartet

The New Russian Quartet is the resident string quartet of the Moscow Conservatory.  Established in January, 2008, it is already one of the world's best string quartets. Its members are also all graduates of the Conservatory.  It is more or less the equivalent of the Juilliard Quartet in the U.S.  Julia Igonina is the quartet's first violinist, Elena Kharitonova plays second violin, Alexander Galkovsky is the violist, and Alexey Steblev is the cellist.  Except for Julia Igonina, who is actually a brilliant concert violinist, they are all seasoned chamber music players.  As their website indicates, the name of the ensemble implies that the musicians  remain faithful to the Russian performing tradition as they also explore uncharted areas in chamber music.   Their core repertoire consists of the standard literature by Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, Tchaikovsky, Borodin, Bartok and all the rest but they also perform contemporary works composed specifically for them.  They have collaborated with such outstanding artists as Jessie Norman, Vladimir Spivakov, Alexander Rudin, Yuri Bashmet, and Shlomo Mintz (playing viola.)  The New Russian Quartet frequently performs in Russia’s best concert venues and participates in music festivals throughout Europe and Asia.  As far as I know, they have not yet toured the U.S.  The members of the quartet perform on Italian instruments from the Russian State's collection.  They also have many superlative videos on YouTube. 

Emmy Storms

Emmy Storms is a Dutch violinist born on December 22, 1988 (Perlman was 42 years old.)  She began violin lessons at age five.  She has been studying at the Royal School of Music in The Hague since age 8, where her principal teacher is Koosje van Haerlingen.  In 2005, at age 16, she took first prize at the Davina van Wely Competition and in 2009 a third prize at the National Oskar Back Violin Competition, playing the Tchaikovsky violin concerto with the Orchestra of the Conservatory in The Hague.  Many in attendance felt she deserved the first prize at that competition.  Since 2006 she has taught at the Conservatory in The Hague.  It is just a matter of time before she is discovered as a world-class talent, justifiably belonging in the top ranks of violinists – alongside Hilary Hahn, Leonidas Kavakos, Leila Josefowicz, Gil Shaham, Maxim Vengerov, and Pinchas Zukerman. 

Nahan Franko

Nahan Franko was an American violinist, conductor, and concert promoter born (in New Orleans) on July 23, 1861 (Brahms was 28 years old.) He made his New York debut in 1869, at age eight, and then went on to study with Joseph Joachim and August Wilhelmj in Europe. Instead of embarking on a solo career, he played in professional orchestras most of his life. He became the concertmaster of the Metropolitan Orchestra in 1883, at age 22, and stayed until 1907. On November 30, 1904, at age 33, he conducted Mozart's Marriage of Figaro, thus becoming the first American conductor to conduct at the Met. He subsequently conducted there more than sixty times, though not all of his performances were opera productions. As an assistant conductor and concertmaster he was being paid what would be about $96,000 in today’s dollars. (Today’s concertmasters earn about $350,000.) In 1908, he was one of the first to present open air concerts in New York City. An interesting piece of trivia about him is that he was (briefly), the brother-in-law of the owner of the New York Yankees (Jacob Ruppert.) Franko died on June 7, 1930, at age 68.

Custom Violins

I will soon be ordering a custom violin - my very first. It will be a replica of the Paganini Cannone. I am not yet at liberty to disclose the maker but in time I will. I expect it will be a fabulous violin. It will not play itself of course, but playing Mozart and Beethoven on it will be that much more pleasurable. Perhaps Prokofiev and Poulenc as well.
I have long believed that 60% of the sound of any violin comes from the player - the violinist's bow arm. The rest comes from the instrument. If you don't believe me, go hear a concert by the San Francisco Symphony. The current concertmaster is playing Heifetz' Strad. I think it's the Dolphin. It does not sound the way it did when Heifetz had it. It has nothing to do with the technique because Barantschik is a great player. It is all bow arm and that comes from intuition. A great violin however, makes it that much easier to get the sound out - your sound.

Fleximusic

OK. Listen carefully ladies and gentlemen. I found this new site which produces music editing and writing software. Its name is FLEXIMUSIC. You'll know how to find it on the WEB I'm sure. (Fleximusic.com) I am about to try its software because I like writing music. I will then compare it to the other programs I have. You know what those are - Sibelius, Cakewalk, Finale, etc.. Now, you'll be able to write music to rival the works of Beethoven, Mozart, Haydn, Vivaldi, Stravinsky, and maybe even Bernstein. Or, if not, you'll have fun trying.