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Lucy
Clifford
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User
Posts: 173
(7/2/01 1:29:36
am)
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Popper's
poppin!
I decided that as I'm entering the 'real world' of professional
music, I should 'hone' my technique to new cello-witch surpassing
levels. I am resurrecting the Bach Suites, and also dear old Popper.
No matter what you say, Popper is worth practicing (as well
as excerpts). When I was undergrad. I had to play 1 Popper in each
school recital, and I hated it, but I'm glad that I did. I'm really
enjoying looking over all my teacher's markings in my Hohschule.
deja vu 
I'm
now revising, systematically, the ones which I covered in my student
days, and I intend to learn a couple of new ones as well, before my
job starts up in September!
Anyway, my old fogey's message to
all you students: work on your Popper....yes, maybe nobody will ever
pay you to play Popper, but I'm sure that if you persevere it will
one day pay off
ON
EDITING: what a pompous idiot I sound - it always happens when I'm
in a reflective frame of mind....please don't take it too seriously!
Edited by: Lucy
Clifford at: 7/2/01 1:31:13 am
|
David
Sanders 
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Posts: 609
(7/2/01 8:48:26
am)
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Did you ever
tell us where you will be playing in the Fall?
(This message was left blank)
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mellow
cello
Registered
User
Posts: 26
(7/2/01 3:18:03
pm)
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Popper
Hi, I'm not really 'clued up' on the world of music. I was just
wondering - you all seem to dislike Popper....why? I've just started
working on a piece by him - Gavotte No 2 in D major. I think it's
really good.
Is it the same Popper we're talking about? Have you
ever heard of this piece? Any tips for playing it? tell me what you
think of Popper and what's wrong with him.
Thank you very
much!!!!!!
Love, Hannah xxxxxxxx
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Laura
Wichers
Moderator
Posts: 1040
(7/2/01 4:46:48 pm)
Reply
|
Re:
Popper
Usually when people profess a dislike of Popper, they are thinking
of the 40 etudes in his cello High School book. They can be very
challenging, not to mention frustrating, aggravating, irritating,
nauseating... I could go on. But they can also be very beneficial to
your overall technique.
I like playing Popper most of the
time, but on those days when no matter what I do everything sounds
like crud, Popper is just about the last thing I'll
play.
Laura
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Lucy
Clifford
Registered
User
Posts: 174
(7/2/01 4:54:31
pm)
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|
Re: Did you ever
tell us where you will be playing in the Fall?
Shall we say a fairly large, and moderately illustrious ensemble,
based in the greater London area. I have been 'networking' with
other orchestra members, and have discovered that there are many
other 'offshoot' activities in which I can participate - people
interested in Baroque music, education programmes etc.....as well as
being drafted into a pit orchestra.
|
Lucy
Clifford
Registered
User
Posts: 175
(7/2/01 5:04:59
pm)
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|
the very
one!
Yes, it is the same David Popper. He wrote a whole lot of fun(?)
pieces of a certain 19th Century genre, including the Gavotte. He
wrote a 'bible', called the High School of Cello Playing, (40
'studies') which explore a huge amount of technique. Many start in a
deceptively easy fashion, and the crunch comes about 5 lines in.
IMHO, the hard bits are as hard as anything, but correct me if I'm
wrong.
However, many teachers, myself included, start first
with the Fifteen Etudes with Melody and Harmony (in two parts!)
which are delightful to play, and explore many areas of technique.
Then I move on to the High School - not teaching all of the etudes
from 1 - 40, but picking out certain lines, or pairs of lines, or
segments, which I feel may be helpful to my students at the
time.
My teacher when I was undergrad. and before, used to
give me two lines of an etude per week, which I had to memorise and
perfect. It took time, but I now know several of the etudes by
heart! When I started lessons with another teacher it came as a
shock that they used to issue a whole etude at a lesson, and for a
while I struggled incredibly trying to learn all this awful stuff!
Luckily my previous teacher had made sure that I really loved these
etudes and realised how useful they were, otherwise I'd have
regarded them as a horror and a trial like many of my fellow
students.
Anyway, I really enjoy all Popper. If I have a
'tip' it would be to learn it very thoroughly in small segments, and
really make sure that you almost exaggerate to important points in
each etude.
That's all for now
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bridge
Registered
User
Posts: 140
(7/3/01 9:41:25
am)
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"Enquiring"
Minds Want to Know
C'mon, specificity is a virtue.
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David
Sanders
Registered
User
Posts: 612
(7/3/01 10:41:29
am)
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Re: Did you ever
tell us where you will be playing in the Fall?
As in London, England? Somehow I thought you were in Virginia!
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Lucy
Clifford
Registered
User
Posts: 176
(7/4/01 2:46:37
am)
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|
London,
England
Yes, I do live in those green and pleasant envions. If you are
familiar with 'The Bill', the world's best TV programme, and
familiar with the environs in which it is filmed, you'll have a
pretty good idea of the sort of area where I live.
Sorry -
'inquiring', I always get that wrong in a hurry. As soon as the
website has been updated with my name/bio I'll advise the link
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