Schumann Cello Concerto: Oliver Aldort (13-year-old)

[CelloPlayer258]

Although this is a good rendition of Schumann, I must say it's unnatural for a cellist to be exposed to this caliber of music at such a young age. I myself have been told I'm quite a good player, but none of my teachers have ever said, "Here, play this," and handed me something like this. It's not because I'm not capable - for example, I taught myself the Elgar concerto - it's because they don't think it's right. The maturity and the emotion should be much more evident than they are here.

[Aldort]

 It is a matter of teaching philosophy. There is no one right way. Oliver ran out of repertoire. There is much value in playing early and not perfectly, growing with the music. Should babies not talk until they can really talk well? Check Oliver later recording of the Schumann concerto at age 15, and also

other later videos you can find through his site, including Elgar and Dvorak concertos.

[CroCellomania]

@Aldort

What fascinates here is maturity in phrasing, sound, excellent intonation... While listening, one forgets that he is only 13. There is a point in what celloPlayer258 says but it does not apply in this case. Oliver is special!!!

[ringwraith2021]

Thanks for your quick reply, and I was just wondering if 13 year olds who play Schumann are common

[Aldort]

@ringwraith2021  No, they aren't common. But it is how you play it that matters.

[ringwraith2021]

i have a question- how does oliver get known for his talents, other than wwhere he lives?

I am 13, the same age as him in his performance, and im playing this song for mtna 2010 along with frescobaldi's toccata...

played since age 5

[artvalidator09]

thougn tecnique and sound are undoubtly perfect ..I think he's not adult enough to express the music " words" in emotions of this concerto...

[purple0rhino]

ooooh the orchestra were out of tune at the start. eww :S

[rachelwdougz]

I know that guy

he is unatturaly good

[xXScheZeLLaXx]

I wonder what he likes best..playing the piano or the cello ^_^

[tsvika10]

is he jew?

[librarymaniac1o]

Hey, I recently just went to the Academy Music of NW at Benaroya Hall. It was my second time seeing Oliver perform the Shumann Concerto, and he never fails to amaze me :) I believe there's another concert in May, right? I'm definitely attending that one to see Oliver play! I'm a friend of one of the violinists in his group; it's amazinggg :D

[pigsrcute4]

wow...that was awesome

[jmartinezcanas]

If Robert Schumann could hear he would smile.

[pyrioni]

Wow!

[cloud9x1004]

wow....thats all i can say...wow

[standasone37]

The first and most important quality that I payed attention to in this video was that this young man had the ability to tune his cello by ear- "Pay more attention to pitch, and the intonation of an instrument, "but do not judge an artist according to their "skill" or technique level." Listen with open ears and heart, and throw out the stuffy politics inbetween. I agree with cellogirl96-Cello's Rock!

[Xycondetsu]

Are you serious? Everyone tunes by ear. He was excellent though.

[standasone37]

Yes I am serious, condetsu. And in response to your comment you replied to my own, NO, everyone does not tune by "ear." I've seen beginner students allow their teacher's to tune their instrument for them- When I first began playing cello in middle school my Orchestra teacher checked behind all of his students to make sure we were in proper key. Not everyone can tune with just their ear alone. Yes, you are correct, the 13 year old was an excellent young cellist. Enough said.

[Xycondetsu]

Rwar.

[DJAceofChaos]

@standasone37

You generally tune by ear when you're accompanied by one or more instruments. Tuning by ear refers to any type of tuning adjustments that have nothing to do with an electronic tuner.

[cellogirl96]

cellos rock this guy is good xxxxxxx

[vergalhapreta]

The boy rocks and I am pretty sure he is very gifted boy that already came with something special cause this is not "just" work of a good teacher, I am sure he's got a fine one but he's got something else. I hope he won't be spoiled when he gets older!! May GOD guide him and his tutors.

[dvii253]

his teacher is Lynn Harrell *gasp* *pauses in reverence*

[A2Sauce]

where is skagit? just curious

[NaomiAldort]

North of Seattle WA

[luv4cello195]

smoon, obviously you doot play an instrument, if you do the you are at a low skill level (sry not trying to be mean) In a rare few of millions of cello players in the world do you get a even a tiny spark of intellect in a instrument that is "inplanted" this kid i can gurentee you you has a teacher who knows what hes doing as well as strict enough (and rich enough) parents who care very much about his future!

[drakeiii44]

im pretty sure that hes home-schooled and only practices about 2 hrs a day each cello and piano, but you really need to have to apply yourself and be committed! good job to him! im 13 and im still learning this one and the saint saens one now

[TioBillyPateCabra]

¡Te Felicito! ojalá sigas creciendo como músico...eres un ejemplo a seguir para niños de todas las edades! Great!!

[smoon825]

Ok uhm dude youre on crack. If this gift isnt something he was born with, how in the heck is he so amazing at age thirteen? In NO WAY was this stricting from his teacher and his own practice. there was something already there...

[Hugh4You]

good playing for a 13 yr. old, but this orchestra sucks!

[radostsguy]

Well, he does play better Cello at the tender age of 14 than I do at the not-so-tender age of .... oh never mind!

Another Yo-Yo Ma in the making? Sure could be! Give it your best, Aldort! :)

[Aldort]

He is 13 in this concert.

[lucassakaki]

esse garoto e genial

[cellolover94]

amazing.

[th0ma5laxc]

haha it's so funny how every video he always takes a long time to set up on stage lol. but then he's obviously amazing.

[blubbafisch]

totally agree. I was a bit irritated that it takes him so long but when he starts playing its really amazing.

[demix500]

wow!

and I agree that practicing too much doesn't help. :P

[gajek1]

Im astounded bud. I wish you would have went into the Summer string academy though, well, maybe next year. keep it up pal.

[smoon825]

I believe that no prodigy needs suggestions about their playing. God gave them this amazing talent to be enjoyed, not fixed. AMAZING!

[proggoth]

There is always room to grow musically. That's the joy of it.

[zeuge77]

I'm sorry but you clearly know nothing about musicians - he's awesome and certainly extremely talented but someone taught him how play and without that (obviously very good) instruction he would not sound anywhere near as good. That's just how it works. God doesn't implant in people's brains the knowledge of how to play an instrument at this level any more than he implants a comprehensive understanding of nuclear physics... at the same time, I think his teacher has got it under control Rigger.

[riggser2007]

This is very good playing, two quick comments...when playing first or second finger in the left hand, do tighten the rest of the hand, you have no landmarks if you you constantly collapse your hand and some of your shifts are really good, others are too fast and risky...you hit them, but there is too much chance involved...other than that keep up the good work

[klavigen]

This gift for mankind should touch everyones heart. He must draw his musical emotions and talent from a cosmic source. Additionally there comes hard working and concentration to fulfill the skills. I hope many young poeple will be motivated to study good music. I´ll show this video to all my pupils.

[Zfunksta87]

I refuse to believe that you can practice 2 hours a day and play arguably the hardest cello concerto almost perfectly..even with natural talent..beast performance though

[osnhao]

it's not about how many hours you practice. it's about how many hours you can focus. I took a master class with Aldo Parisot once and he told me the human's only capable of 45 minutes of intensive focus. I think it's definitely possible. practicing 8 hours a day, won't help you improve, it'll just wear you out. 2 hours of intensive practicing can do the trick. plus the fact that the kid's a genius helps

[Blinx482]

Well, great quote "Its not about how many hours you put in, its what you put into the hours."

[hsgualekili]

I would love to hear him play the Barber Concerto (cello), and the Pathetique Sonata (piano).

[TheOriginalEntz]

I wish I had his ear :(

[tribalzbakla]

if you practices 2 hours a day for cello, how long does he practice the piano?

is he home-schooled as well?

[Aldort]

Oliver practices very little piano. Not everyday, and between twenty to 30 minutes. He finds it very easy.

[vegetablet]

I'm from Australia... I play cello too (and i'm 13 lol!). I've been playing the cello since i was 4.. I'm interested to know how long this boy has been playing cello for.

[Aldort]

He is 13 and started at age six. He practices two hours per day.

[mousynicola]

his is gifted with an amazing ear. he will go far

[csSpetzNaz]

his ear doesnt make up all of his skill. the fact that he can hear music and the pitch if its in tune or not doesnt exactly give him the technique and the skill. just so u kno

[mousynicola]

i know. i play violin and piano. i just didnt fell like writting a very long post, thats all. just felt like giving one compliment

[zzzxtreme]

i listen to this piece by rostropovich many times

this kid's vibrato is very good, consistent

[as334]

THIS ISA WORLD CLASS PRODIGY! wE´RE watching a rare talent. Such maturity at such an early age... My God!!! Bless you! Keep it like this forever kid! Don´t let stupid teachers let youdown or drive you crazy. Always be yourself!

[LittleSmile007]

it´s so great to play this concert with a cellist... and this one is really good, but he has to look for a better orchester...

[RenardTaquin]

I totally agree ! So many mistakes of the orchester for this play and its cellist !

[bridgetchang]

Nice playing! Next time maybe try tuning offstage and then onstage just lightly tap the strings for a slight check.  But this is definitely a difficult concerto!

[Frogprince21]

Such an emotional performance by someone so young.Can not wait to hear more from you.

Salute!!!!

[YouveStolenMyEyes]

The vibrato's great, better than mine. great performance.

[dustinzev]

you're too good to be playing with these wanna-be professional orchestras. You should be playing with the NY Phil. or the Cleveland Symphony. These guys hold you back too much...they're beneath you.

[Etupalho]

Birds of a feather flock together.

[zeuge77]

Dude, first of all there is no Cleveland Symphony, (it's The Cleveland Orchestra), second he's a little kid and musically he is not mature enough for that, the NY Phil doesn't just play with every little kid that happens to be good, third, this is not that bad for a non-professional orchestra - these kinds of orchestras give young people a chance to learn the rep before they are put in front of nasty international audiences. He'll get there soon enough.

[cellodude1]

13!!! very impressive...

I look at other great cellist likle Rostropovich, duPre, Casals and they were playing great pieces like this at young ages also!!!

A lot to look up to!!

VERY GOOD!!

[cembyseb]

It doesn't matter though. The music is the most importnat aspect.

Not weather or not you could 'take him 1-1' hes a brilliant cellist, sounds like you maybe as well, i can play this concerto to, and i adore it. I also adore the way that he plays it, hes superb.

[sschnoebelen]

wow im way better. not jk at all i could own you at 1 on 1

[Jurobei]

So why aren't you touring the world as a renowned teenage cello prodigy with a world famous symphony?

[CarolinensisAnolis]

Haha nice joke you retard.

[sschnoebelen]

i wasnt joking i really am just as good as him i might not be better but I stand a good chance of playing that same peice just as well

[jwilson9567]

That's wonderful. Why don't you post an example of your playing so we can see too. There is room for more great musicians in the world. Aldorf is a superbly talented musician, it's very rare to play cello and piano at the level is does by anyone. Not even Yo Yo Ma can do that. This boy will become a very

big star in the music world. His musicality, his ability to focus, retain the sounds and create emotions within us is astounding. He is a gift to us all.

[mattgasm]

you don't "own" people in classical music. save that talk for videogames or something.

[inaned]

Such depth for a 13 year old.....