Cyril Scott's Bygone Memories by Ann Fontanella at Wigmore Hall, London

[FidlerBrit]

Very nice playing - not to be too nit-picky but the 7/8 measures are meant to be played as written - they are not written as 2 beat measures, 1 of triplets and 1 of quadruplets, but as true 7 beats. The piano part has 7/8 in those measures too. Part of Scott's charm in this piece is his writing of uneven measures changing from 5 to 6 to 7 to 6 to 9 to 8 beats in a measure and drifting .... Proof is in the 10/8s and 5/8s in the last piece of the Tallahassee Suite and numerous other works.

[Annfontanella]

@FidlerBrit , I actually took the signatures to imply that the music should feel very free and have a quality of the improvised...but what's the world without different ideas! Thanks for listening!

[FidlerBrit]

@Annfontanella I see that someone posted a recording of Heifetz playing it a little while back and you can hear he took the same liberties with measures, so I guess it's OK to play it a bit different from the score (who am I to criticize Heifetz ... ) but I'd still like to know how Scott's dedicatee, Zimbalist played it. Personally, I play it in rhythm and I like it that way. The whole suite is really evocative of lazy Florida, which I am not sure Scott ever visited.

[Annfontanella]

@FidlerBrit , that would be amazing. I've checked for Zimbalist playing it on youtube but haven't found any recordings....I live in FL :). It's the Salsa-land!

[peachsm1]

wow amazing XD!! i think this is my most favourite piece that you've uploaded XD!

i admire your skill tis awesome! all of the songs you've played are on my ipod XD!!! hearing you're violin makes me wanna play the violin, you're very very inspiring ! i want to go to one of your concerto's someday, if that makes sense XD :)!!!!

[Adorado31]

Beautiful

[JESUS1John]

I THINK YOU MIGHT BE A GENIUS

[voxhunden]

The violin playing sounds like coming from a 78" gramophone record. Which should be taken as a compliment. Jascha Heifetz would have wished he could paint a musical picture with so much integrity and depth like you can, Ann:) And in such vastly different painting styles as well - how on earth do you do it?

[lvbandmore]

Beautiful double-stop portamento in the B section. Nice!

[gtrs4life]

Very nice! Thanks for the notes in the video.

[supermat87]

Beautiful playing!

[KosteckiAdam]

Really great!

[jadeflowersforever]

This is one of my favorite things to play! You did an excellent jog, dear.

[Annfontanella]

Jade, thanks! How long have you played violin?

[jadeflowersforever]

Since I was 5. How long have you played? You're really good!

[Annfontanella]

Since I was just shy of 6 - a long time! I'm 21 now! :)

[jadeflowersforever]

Im only 16 now, so Ive been only been playing 11 years. No wonder youre better than me! Whats the first peice you learned to play?

[Annfontanella]

Twinkle Twinkle! :) How about you?

[jadeflowersforever]

That was my first, too! I'm teaching my 5 year old brother how to play no, and that's what I taught him first. :)

[Annfontanella]

I guess we all start with the same stuff....though my first teacher made me learn the stupidest rhyme in the world, LOL...I still remember it - Up like a Rocket, Down like the Rain, Back and forth like a Choo Choo Train, Round your face like a great big face, Land on your head, curve your pinky and your thumb :)...!! Ugh!

[jadeflowersforever]

LOL a rhyme would have helped me I couldnt read any knd of music until I was 10, I had always played by ear.

[tuberdaddy123]

its sooooo beautiful! its like a lullaby

to me. Its awsome to hear this song in

the evening. keep up the good work!

[Annfontanella]

Thanks, tuberdaddy! That's the funny thing about impressionism - it really goes with night. I suppose it's partly because they were trying to reflect that feeling of space and mystery you get a nightfall :)...

[FunAsh5ley]

Thank-you for uploading this beautiful piece. I have learned violin for barely an year and a half but i am learing vibrato because of an urgency. My instructor helped me and I did it. However, when I got to the E string, my hands won't move easily. I tried moving it- my mom had to shake my whole arm to help me! Is there any good tips when learning vibrato?

[Annfontanella]

Ashley, are you gripping the neck? It sounds like you are :). Look at your hand - is the whole hand holding on? Easy way to check - try to play a G Major scale without your thumb. You'll know pretty fast! :)

[DonateBooks2Us]

Oh, and a question, how do you keep the bow from bouncing off the strings when you take the bow off in a piece, and out it back on? I'm having a bit of trouble with that... :P

[Annfontanella]

DonateBooks, it's never too late to learn and enjoy an instrument! I'm glad you like my playing. As for your question, that usually happens when you bring the bow back onto the strings too quickly and with too much force. Trying bringing it down gently and then drawing the bow across the strings....

[DonateBooks2Us]

:O You're REALLY GOOD!!!! :)

I just started playing the violin, and I'm fourteen... is that too late??? :(

Anyways, you're exceptional at playing the violin... :)

Keep up the good work!!!

[superspastic33]

same here! this is my study music :)) and i love it :D

[Annfontanella]

I guess it's true when they say that classical music helps you focus! :)

[dane721]

i mean a 100% lol

[dane721]

NEVER take ur stuff down.. I listen to u when i take my test.. It seems to help just got an 100% yay!.. ( sophmore in college) =))

[Annfontanella]

Dane, I'll do my best to please :). And that's awesome!! What subject was it?

[harmonicawai]

Dear Ann Fontanella ,

This is a small piece from Cyril Scott. And you have played great. It was really touching. I know you are a student of Erick Friedman. He has come to Hong Kong in the 60s and he was supposed, personly, the best player of Zeigeunweisen. That's why I think that you are one of the top violionist in this century. Certainly from heart. I knew that you had included Gweedore Brae(my favourite) in one of your concert and hope that you can put this piece in your new CD.

[Annfontanella]

Harmonica, You are right, I did do Gweedore Brae!! Are you from London? That was the big one where I played it....And thank you so much for the kind words....

[puccini4711]

wonderful performance,bravo

[Annfontanella]

Thanks, Puccini!

[minacciosa]

Excellent style and sound for this piece. This is one of my favorite Cyril Scott works. Bravo.

[Annfontanella]

Minacciosa, It's not often I get to talk to a Scott aficionado!!! I am very glad you enjoyed my performance! :)

[calloffthedogs]

Give us some new posts Ann! Good luck in school this year btw!!!!

[Annfontanella]

I'm on it!! :) August is always a little insane; I'm trying to find an apartment, register for classes, pull together as many concerts as I can, given my classes, etc. Argh!!!!!

[calloffthedogs]

Get on it Girl!! I dont tolerate slackers well!! ;)

[Annfontanella]

Told ya I'd get some new stuff up, LOL!! Check out the Beethoven and the Tchaikovsky! :)

[meenjerk]

This is very nice, and you are great!

[Annfontanella]

Thank you, meenjerk...BTW, it is very awkward to write such a username when you're so nice! :)

[calloffthedogs]

this is poetry in motion. lovely!

[FrankMento]

Very beautiful. I have discovered Cyril Scott's compositions only recently and I love his style! Ann, you play very beautifully and I like your timbre.

[Annfontanella]

Frank, thank you....This British form of impressionism is pretty neat, no? :) It feels a touch more restrained than perhaps Debussy....though perhaps that is just cliche talking on my part! :)

[FrankMento]

Ann, thank you for answering my comment. Yes, I agree with you; this British form of impressionism is pretty neat.

[Annfontanella]

Pleasure is all mine, Frank :). Thanks for taking the time to write me back!

[TeleTubeee]

Ann, you look nice with your hair up. Heck, you look nice with your hair down, too. Never mind.

While I'm passing through...

Have you ever played around with country music?

Doug

San Francisco, California USA

[Annfontanella]

Hi Doug, Thanks :) :).....I actually never have done any country - the style is just so different - though I've been recently teased and told I should play Devil Went Down To Georgia!! :)

[rachmaninovpc3dminor]

Thanks for sharing this one Ms. Fontanella; it certainly has the flow, poetry tip-toeing, and romantic flaunting pleasant to daydream with. Rick.

[Annfontanella]

Thanks very much, Rick!

[WatkinsAle]

Thank you so much for your gift!

As you told, this music is filled with "hard to good-bye"...

I listened so, especially Slide 3 and Coda.

[Annfontanella]

WatkinsAle, it's amazing how music can evoke such emotions, no? Just notes - but they can tell a story...:)

[MrPHBarr1919]

I dont play any instrument and iàm totally amateur with music theory and keys and so on but i can appreciate when i hear good music and performance and i can say i found all that in ms.Fontanella`s video.Thank You.

[Annfontanella]

Thanks, MrPHBarr1919....I am very glad you enjoyed it....:)

[thelastnic]

this is beautiful sound you are achieving.

[Annfontanella]

I love the quality that the mute gives this piece - a bit clouded over. I notice that a lot of pieces for the violin from Impressionism do employ it because of that tone it gives.....

[thelastnic]

it is lovely tone. reminds me, only the tone, of something of the maybe 20's or 30's in some "popular" music. the tone might be somethign from an old movie. i have always loved that tone, can be very haunting. i used to play as a wee lad myself... way way back -then the earth cooled and i moved out of the cave and lived with the dinosaurs

[Annfontanella]

I like old movies a lot, too :). Don't laugh at me (too much! :)), but the old Zorro and Phantom of the Opera were staples in my movie diet as I was growing up :)....

[thelastnic]

Those movies were great, I also loved The Thin Man series, yep, I'm a geek...

and I have to admit, I did love "What's Opera Doc?" spear and magic helmet.....LOL

[Paypurrboy11]

U Were The Only Violinist in This Piece??? UN-FREAKIN-REAL!!!!!!! it Sounded Like 2 Violins Weeping 2Gether??? U Must Practice While Sleeping!!!!! i Respect U Very Much... and wish i cud b as Dedicated 2 Music as u are... i Could Hear the Love and Pain - That Comes From Ur Gift... That is Well Worked!!!!!!! {;>})

[Annfontanella]

Thanks, paypurrboy :). Double stops aren't as hard as they sound! Do you play violin, too?

[Ameican87eagle]

the sound of a violin sooth's the soul

is it hard to play the violin

[Annfontanella]

Ameican, yes, I'd say it's pretty tough - especially at the beginning. After you've played for a long time, a lot of things become second nature, but at first, it's very hard :)....

[onehipdawg]

Absolutely, poetry in music!!

[Annfontanella]

That really is the feeling you get from listening to a good impressionist, no?? :)

[gentlerhino]

No words... I just slowly drown in the ocean of emotions your playing evoked.

The creative subscript is a real treasure. Amazing feel and reflection.

[Annfontanella]

The impressionists really could spin such an emotional web....it is amazing...Thanks for listening and taking the time to write me! :)

[scryabin]

Hey Ann, do you like Medtner? He wrote some beautiful violin sonatas and shorter pieces too. His Nocturne in d minor would be perfect for you :)

[Annfontanella]

I don't believe I know of Medtner....! Was he a 20th century composer, as well?

[scryabin]

This is such a gorgeous piece. Cyril Scott is one of my favorite English composers, along with York Bowen. - Reminds me of Paris - ou lala!

Don't forget, we have to play the Poulenc when I can get out to Philadephia :)

[Annfontanella]

Absolutely!!!! Poulenc is quite enjoyable - a little bit of Ravel feeling, I always thought :).....and Thanks! :)

[pavelluiz]

(my ridiculous ps.: playing violin for only 3 months. BUT - THANKS A LOT!)

[Annfontanella]

It would be a delight to play duets if we're ever in the same vicinity :). Bach double?? :)

[pavelluiz]

[smile] sorry, just said: lovely virtuose friend.

And maybe (dream!), we play (someday...) togheter [smile again].

Seu fã brasileiro!

[TheFaustianMan]

I really love your violin's tone. I have heard many that have a shrillness or a little harshness to them. The way yours sounds, combined with your playing, really moves me.

[Annfontanella]

I work a lot on my tone. In large part, that is why I insist on playing with gut strings - it's a warmer tone.

[pavelluiz]

Oh, music... And: my cibernetic friend...Oh, god!

[Annfontanella]

Thanks, pavelluiz...and BTW - being cybernetic feels really cool, like I'm an android or something :-D...!

[bqreus]

You are fully human, my dear. I mean that in the most extraordinary way, of course. Android may seem perfect, but they cannot adjust and express from compound memories, as you clearly do.

[Lucievie]

C'est vraiment très beau ... et pas vraiment facile à interpréter.

Magnifique !

[Annfontanella]

L'impressionniste est si délicat. ..I consent que c'est difficile. Mais je suis content que vous l'avez apprécié ! :)

[julioissk84life]

There are no words I can conger up to decribe this just amazing Bye Ann TTyl

[PerformanceBlack]

This is beautiful.

[Annfontanella]

I first heard it on a live CD of Heifetz, doing radio broadcasts back in the 40s. The CD was entitled Bygone Memories and he played it with orchestra. It was so beautiful it made me cry!

[arstar3]

Ann,

Simply beautiful. Another winner. Thank you so much for sharing your incredible talent.

:)

[mygreenday69]

Well Done!

[ralvader]

talent and beauty together... impressive all your work, thanks for show

[Annfontanella]

It is my pleasure - thank you!

[actsofsedition]

Wow....

[DNAPROTEINN]

Marvelous. What a great talent: Ann Fontanella.

[Violincrazy]

Hey I like the style! Reminds me of Heifetz! :D:D!!!

[Annfontanella]

Thanks, Violincrazy! :-D

[wiar65]

I was in London in April 2008 But I didn't see you there.

Chester

[Annfontanella]

Hi Chester,

This was from a few months before....:)

Ann

[vysehrad]

Do you write the commentary on the music yourself?

[Annfontanella]

Yes, I did....

[vysehrad]

The world needs more musicians like you.

[Annfontanella]

Thank you.....that's just from too much time in comp/theory class, though!!! :-D

[despenla]

vysehrad, you could not have said it any better.

[kavatr]

One simple word....Great

[Annfontanella]

Thanks for listening in, kavatr....:)

[ipmoic]

Thanks Ann,

Since I heard no applause, I wasn't sure that it was a performance.

Don't be so modest next time--leave in the applause!

[Zaphrony]

Beautiful ann :) so relaxing amazing :)

[sisaja]

This is great! :)

[ipmoic]

Is this a concert performance Ann? The balance is terrific throughout. Sometimes your pianist(s) are a bit heavy handed!

[Annfontanella]

It is a concert. It was from Wigmore Hall, in London. I played with Gordon Beck there...:)

[ipmoic]

Ann you have such a feeling for these wistful, elegiac pieces. It's a rare gift. Do you play the Kreisler bon bons as well--as did your eminent teacher Erick?

[Annfontanella]

I do play them. I love The Old Refrain!!

[cardonaedgardo]

This is so beautiful! It sounds like a concert from one the old days. It sounds like the kind of music they used to play in movies a long time ago. Thanks for sharing it with me and you play really good :)

[kadeespatch]

Ja Klasse wie immer :)

[Annfontanella]

Haben Sie vielen Dank, kadeespatch :)....

[meineke11]

Well, this is the kind of mastership that distinguishes the very good ones from the great ones--this is great!! So relaxed, so well sung out, beautiful, bravo!!

[Annfontanella]

Thank you, meineke. I first heard this on an old radio broadcast of Heifetz from I think the 40s. I fell in love with it right then and there!!!

[elegie84]

This is so beautiful and relaxing!Thanks for sharing this video :-)))

[violin03]

It's been a long time that I listened to a piece of music twice in a row.

[Annfontanella]

Thank you so much, violin03...

I suspect that your listening patterns must annoy people considerably less than mine, though! I listen to just about everything until I've got it memorized (NO, I'm not kidding! :))

[Fsbren13]

This Is Nice Beautiful Music, But I Love Your Music.

[SBZ925]

wow simply amazing!!! i wanted to ask you how long have you been playing?

[Annfontanella]

14 years. I started when I was just about 6. I'm glad you liked it!

[slimbullet96]

I love it! Nice quotes to each part of the song too

[Annfontanella]

It's a new idea, but thought it might be fun, since it's a slower piece and therefore less action is up with the performing. I'm glad you liked it! :)

[GreyShinobi]

I don't know this piece, but I like it. It's a beautiful and pleasant piece. Very soothing to listen to. Thank you for uploading it, Ann!

[Annfontanella]

It's one of my favs, Grey....plus, it was politically correct to play a british composer when I was in England!! :-D

[GreyShinobi]

Aw Ann, that's just what they were expecting, lol. Shoulda taken in like, a goth attitude, lol. j/k j/k

It sounds wonderful!

[Annfontanella]

Thanks, Grey...! But I knew I should have done the pasty skin and the overdone liner!!!!!! :-D

[GreyShinobi]

Well, I'm sure you rocked whatever look you chose. =D

[ztefieh]

Very lovely! One of my favorite, short pieces.

[Annfontanella]

Thank you, ahcsaj :D....