Paganini Caprice IX

[juglarlocogmail]

wtf !

[Amarynthine]

how about a CREATIVE performance? excellent don't always mean squeaky clean

[Amarynthine]

2:44, makes it sound like a real flute, i bet it was on purpose

[DrMontague]

@Amarynthine Do Indonesia flutes sound horrible and shrill?!

[Amarynthine]

@DrMontague I was thinking ship whistle or steamboat whistle...

peace...

[Amarynthine]

@DrMontague PLUS, I don't think he's just playing to sound "nice", that's why music needs imagination, all depends how the interpreter perceives it

[Flaminggential]

just want to point out ..he needs better bow control on the D + G string double stops ..teh bow was sliding all over the place to the finger board..n then harmonics.. i think his bow was way too close to the bridge it make it ponticello

[VietFiddle]

I believe that it is intentional.

He bows very closely to the bridge, very slightly pressing down, and moving the bow accross the strings. Applying 3 obove techniques, the scraping sound is easily generated.

Between 2 sentences of scraping sound, he plays a sentence of true acoustic sound, that produces the echo effect, as if someone echoes the same sentence from a far distance.

[stradivari87]

Big musician Markov!

[Kurtyoungblood]

2:44 so on purpose.

[xchrisbobisx]

there is no way a violinist like markov would screw up those harmonics, i will just say its the crappy audio recording. because even in the beginning the audio sounded sub par.

[DrMontague]

I have this cocert in dvd quality, it's stil the same. I also have recordng of this caprice played by othe great violinists. Non have a scraping sound. It's not a mistake. I simply believe that he hit a dry spot on his bow and string.

[silversil824]

I like this style~ bravo:)

[Silkmeister]

Peters Edition has ossia of artificial harmonics.

[Chandrita86]

I have heard the last section played straight, with ponticello (aka the "horrid screechy scraping sound" as DrMontague put it) as well as with harmonics (Heifitz of course). Wish I had the extension to do the harmonics....

[DrMontague]

Harmonics are not indicated in the music. If that was supposed to be harmonics then I'm a Japanese Sumo wrestler.

[noonescrying]

Fantastic, except that part 2:44.. Armonics? ...

[zum323]

GREAT VIOLINIST!!!

[DrMontague]

I agree this guy is not improvising. I agree with your view of what constitutes improvising. I maintain that the horrid screechy scraping sound was merely a hazard of giving a live performance. No one with a musical ear would have deliberately put that horrible screechy scraping sound into to an overall excellent performance. Would you have?

I have the full DVD of Markov playing the 24 caprices. He by in large follows the scores of each caprice. There is certainly no horrid scraping.

[calloffthedogs]

I think it was intentional. Whether it was musically imprudent, who knows, but it was no accident.

[manideep245]

i loveh ow this song starts out sweet then rips you apart then goes back to being sweet then rips you up in to pieces at the end

[cchengviolinist]

his double stops are superb!!!BRAVO!!!!!

[demix500]

Oh my god. Marry me. :P

[memurmelit]

I feel so sad. I would like to play like that but I know I'm never able to. I startet to play at the age of nine.

[DrMontague]

Don't give up unless your 70 yrs of age.

Forget the shit that they fill you up with i.e. that you're too old.

[theViolinDreamer]

to memurmelit: Never speak like that.Back in my country ,one of the students from the Art Institution I was attending started learning violin at the age of 12.She had the luck to do it with a good teacher ,and she worked hard. In highschool ,she was already winning competition over competition ,and she ended in one of the best conservatoires . So ,you can see ,it is not that much about when you start ,but more about the dedication and soul you(and others) put into it.

[DrMontague]

agree. The joy of playing music is that you can actually start learning fairly late in life, you are not hindered by having to be super fit such as being a professional footballer. We can all reach a very high standard by following your advice. I was 18 when I started playing Irish Traditional, at 25 I turned to classical. I can now play Bach's Fuga from Sonata I. I might not be the worlds best but it's still a very high standard. I can play better then most who started at age 10.

[DrMontague]

I should add that I have never had a teacher (was always skint), I collected videos and analyised technique. Later I sequenced music and played along with (it allows you to slow fast music down) We now have YouTube and there are several music sequencers (I use Noteworthy Composer) available as an aid to practice. So get to it. Never say die.

[theViolinDreamer]

That is impressing . I like the way you think.

[memurmelit]

Yeah, I know it's that. I've finished w. violin already, not because of this reason but because of my philosophical mindset. I found I'm not an artist nor I'd like to be. I've always had a kind of scientific view on the music - and I think I can't go on by following musical path because that's not for me and I don't think that have ever been, no matter what people have said about it. But yes, it's a matter of passion and skills rather than the age.

[poman265]

It's officially been 1 year since this video was posted up.

[mohawkmeat]

That has to be one of the hardest instruments to play. Compared to that anything fretted is like cheating.

[scimmya]

argh!!at 1.19-1.20:what does he play??--

MI LAAAAAAA MI DO LA. why LAAAAAAA with 4th finger???hihihi mistake!! that isn't live!!;)

[violaplayer1995]

uhm..finger octaves. its not out of tune i heard it...he plays the first note on one string with the index finger .then on the next highest string plays the higher octave with the 4th finger. of course all of this at the same time.

[scimmya]

of course he is in tune! I only told that is impossible to play octave LA-LA(at 1:20) with 1st and 4th finger (1st and the sound is 0??)

1st and 4th finger when the audio is 0 and 3th finger in 1st position:)

It's a mistake in the VIDEO.I know he plays good!;)

[violaplayer1995]

srry i dont get what ur saying. its finger octaves.

[KoganSvetlanov]

he's playing fingered octaves on D and A string , 4th position.

[scimmya]

no,it's mistake in dvd.you can listen clearly he playng laaa octave 2nd string 0.

[KoganSvetlanov]

anyway, who cares ?

[Zvax]

It's also possible that we're just not seeing what he's really doing

cause all the video is perfect in sync

he's maybe doing a second finger on the upper A, and the fourth being over the string makes us believe he is using it

[Velioz]

Ne ploxo! Muchas gracias! ;)

[tiradojj]

This caprice is so beutiful, A. Markov play's perfect the caprice nO. 3 Too

[montserrat85]

LO ADOROO!!

ME FASCINA...!

[ppppplllll555]

In 02:44, why does it sound like that. It's weird. It's like a scratchy sound. Is there something in the music piece written that it's supposed to sound like that? Someone Please tell me. I'm going crazy in here

[DrMontague]

It's not a mistake. He hit a dry spot on his bow or the resin has become encrusted on the strings. It's not in the music. This proves that he played all the caprices with out doing retakes or the video being doctored.

[ppppplllll555]

Thanks doc, you've helped me a lot. I wish there's some way I could repay you

[DrMontague]

No prob. Watch his bow when he plays the doubled stopped low notes, he positions/moves his bow towards the finger board. On the the two high double stopping notes he moves the bow very close to the bridge and the strings don't vibrate as they should do.

[DrMontague]

His bow is doing what I think they call 'skating'.

[mshakhz]

I dont like his articulation on the "horn part" in the beginning...

Besides that it is verry good..

[hutch44uk]

'sul ponticello' is the technical name for it, it's yeah skating or brushing the stings cos playing over the bridge the strings can't move as much with the bow, cool effect, see Ysaye solo sonata 2!

[violaplayer1995]

no there are ppl that do that. you just play really close to the bridge almost touching it.

[sonofagitar]

i don't know if anyone has said it, but its called ponticello. I don't think he hit a dry spot on his bow. Essentially ponticello is when the bow is very close to the bridge to produce a wispy tone.

[DrMontague]

It's certainly not indicated on the music score. I heard other vioinists play this and it sounds clean. That scratching sounds terrible. It simply one of the hazards of giving a live performance.

[sonofagitar]

well that's what i thought, but he does it twice. And if you look he clearly moves the bow towards the bridge. There's no way he would move his bow towards the bridge and put it in the same part twice - unless it was deliberate. I agree, it really isn't a pleasant sound x]

[fiddlinmatt]

definitely on purpose

While I don't think it sounds terrible (actually I think it is strange but unique twist) YOU are right that it is not in the score, and I've never heard it that way. I'm suprised that he didn't play the last section in harmonics though, as many people do. And his violin could certainly sound brilliant with the harmonics... maybe the sul ponticello was a strange and unique work around? One thing's for sure. this caliber of player is almost always in complete control onstage

[dkurgano]

who cares about the score? its PAGANINI. the whole point is to be virtuosic, extroverted, eccentric, funny. Markov does it well here. whoever said the ponticello is accident of live performance is truly an idiot.

[DrMontague]

Look Mr know all. I heard this same piece by several violinists. No one plays that segment with a horrid scratchy sound. The whole idea of the caprices were as a test piece for violinists. According to your logic you might as well improvise like Grappelli. However the caprices themselves are a challenge to the violinist. Improvising could be considered cheating! This is why all follow the score in order to show their skill.

Logic dictates that he was unfortunate that rosin encrusted the string

[dkurgano]

there is no logic in your arguement.

he is NOT improvising AT ALL. you dont know what the word means. Improvising would be changing notes and or rhythm. he does NEITHER.

[dkurgano]

eg: he plays parts legato that are written spicatto, would you call that improvising? hell, maybe if he's playing mp instead of mf he is improvising! you're dumb.

the ponticello is a JOKE. you dont know shit about paganini, he joked around like this ALL the time, there are numerous accounts. he is the LAST person whos score we should swear by. he was a genius performer not, beethoven...

[winrx]

Dios mio!! He played all 24 caprices in one concert?? OMG

[surfinthetube]

He is the greatest I have ever seen - And I've studied with Delay at Juilliard. He has a special something that none of us have. He truly is the best at Pag in the world - at least from this juillard grad.

[DrMontague]

Markov in his interview states that he wanted to give his audience a feel of seeing the actual Paganini i.e to take them back in time, he's acting the part of Paganini as they might have experienced him. Hope u grasp what what I mean.

[michaelloved]

easily the best rendition ive seen with paganini in my mind

[bryanmurray]

if you think hes over dramatic than you must HATE maxim vengerov

lol

[DrMontague]

I will post it. u can buy dvd of this concert at amazon

or visit Markov's website.

[chepepepe]

but the problem with the number 5 is the poor quality of sound...but yes, he is a master!

[verdecillo]

I don't know what everyone is talking about; I think this guy is great. You should see the clip of him playing caprice no. 5!

[genmaximus110]

I usually love his style. So far, all his caprices have been better than anyone else, but I don't care for this one. Caprice 9 is my favorite. I prefer James Ehnes for this one.

[guyincognito84]

His dramaticness is a big part of why people including myself love him so much...better watching him than some guy playing it with a straight face...it is paganini afterall!

[Murphyalex]

There is something I don't like about this guy, he is way too over-dramatic and it sort of ruins it for me, but very good piece, I attempted to play this for my music A-level about 2 years ago, ATTEMPTED, he plays it well, though I do have an mp3 I like a lot better than this recording. Great violinist though.

[Gabbew89]

The thing you call "over-dramatic" is for me feeling.. A stiff violinist relies on technique, but an "over-dramatic" violinist put feeling in the music he plays. Therefore, the better violinist is the "over-dramatic" one...

[TheForestEnds]

I agree.

How do you think they played back in ye olde days?

[DrMontague]

Difficult to know how they played we can only go on the what we see in the written music and what the critics of that time wrote about the musicians. It could be argued that some violinsts of today can play better than Paganini as thay can record and listen to themselves and so improve on technique.

[TheForestEnds]

But raw talent?

Isn't that even quantifiable?

I mean, I understand that to be edgy now, the edgiest thing out there is considered 'elevator music'(as a lot of what most people consider music has been done) but there are very few composers today as innovative and harness such raw talent as they did way back when. I dunno. That's just what I think. I've been out of the classical scene for awhile though, and you seem to know a good deal of the such. What do you think?

[uswmwd44]

Don't forget that since there were no recordings, they rarely ever listened to other great players. There is something to be said for the progenitor of a musical masterpiece. It's sort of like Einstein. I can say "E equals MC squared" but I didn't come up with it so the meaning is lost somewhat.