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John Sloan
Online CG Writings, 1997-1999
(These articles are also online at the Edmonton Classical Guitar Society web page.)
I was looking at old files earlier tonight and came across this. Thought I'd repost my review of what was, for me and many others, a memorable evening with a remarkable artist. JS
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Review of 1998 Concert by Fabio Zanon
As I sat in the second row of the rapidly filling Muttart Recital Hall on the campus of Alberta College in Edmonton last week, with the stage empty but for a single piano bench and footstool, I relished the thought that a few hundred people were gathering to hear one man play the guitar. Such is the magic that results when a virtuoso is in town to bring our favorite instrument to life. Mr. Zanon's reputation had preceded him, and the excited buzz of conversation among the arriving throng rose in pitch and anticipation as the clock crept slowly toward the hour of 8 pm.
A man rushes down the aisle just seconds before the hour, taking a seat his family had been saving for him in the front row. They exchange excited greetings and hugs. He points to his watch, and though he speaks in Spanish I guess from the triumphant smile on his face that he must be saying, "See, I told you I would make it on time!".
Finally, the overhead lights in the hall dim and the stage lights go on. Conversations hush and there is a short silence before we hear approaching footsteps. Fabio Zanon appears from stage left and walks confidently to center stage where he bows slowly, acknowledging the applause.
He settles onto the piano bench, tunes
his guitar quietly for a moment and then speaks to the audience, introducing the
first piece he will be playing, Mertz's "Opern-Revue Op. 8, No 3 Lucia di
Lammermoor by Donizetti". In a baritone voice that carried well Fabio said
that Mertz's works were among the best written for the guitar, but that they had
been sadly neglected. He said that it was common for composers in the first half
of the 19th century
to write pieces taking the themes from operas of the day. Fabio said he imagined
Mertz coming come home after seeing Donizetti's opera, and writing this piece
with the inspiration of the opera still fresh in his mind.
Then, he played. I mean he PLAYED!!!! What a heavenly interpretation! Zanon played with his eyes closed much of the time, his face changing expression as the music moved along, first a deep soulfulness, then happy, then his brow furled as he attacked some loud basses. His swayed to the music, sometimes sitting straight up, other times leaning over his guitar to embrace it and the music.
The audience was entranced ...... all, that is, except a small 2 year old boy in the center front row who wanted to talk and play with his mom. His playfulness had gone unnoticed in the din of conversation prior to the Zanon's appearance on stage. It was a distraction that many performers might have scowled at. Fabio seemed to take no notice until he finally looked directly at the child, without missing a note, and ..... smiled! He understood children. Naturally they make noise. No big deal. For a few seconds the child was held by his friendly gaze and was completely silent. Then Fabio sank back into the rapture of his music and finished the piece. The child went back to his playing.
Great applause followed the end of the piece, while Zanon held his pose and let the final note ring to completion. He got up slowly, the applause continuing, and walked a full circle around the back of his chair until he was back front and facing the audience, where he took a deep bow. While walking that circle he appeared to be "letting go" of the music and bringing himself back to reality, almost as if coming out of a trance. (He did this after most of the pieces he played - it always seemed to take him a few seconds to "come out of it").
After the applause had died away, and just before Fabio sat back down, the father of the little boy did the honorable thing and started to leave with his child in hand. Fabio noticed and rushed to the edge of the stage, kneeling without concern for the clean knees of his trousers, to say something to him. He pointed up to the back rows, and from his smile it seemed that he was telling the man not to worry about it and that it would be fine if they sat further back .... a private moment between them in front of 250 people which revealed in a very public way that Fabio Zanon has a big heart. After that the audience was HIS!!!!!
So went the entire recital, with Fabio introducing each piece, telling amusing and interesting anecdotes about the music and the composers. He drew quite a laugh when he told us about D. Scarlatti, who was under the domination of his father and the church until well into his 50s. Then his father died and Scarlatti married a 16 year old girl. After that, said Mr. Zanon, Scarlatti didn't write as much for the church (much laugher), but did write his sonatas for harpsichord.
Technically, Mr. Zanon's playing was excellent. He holds his right hand in a somewhat unorthodox way, with the "m" finger out in front and the "i" finger often directly behind rather than beside it. He did most of his runs alternating "i" and "m". His "a" finger, much more so than can be seen on his video, was often curled into the palm of his hand while in repose. He never had a problem, however, when it came time to use it in trills, runs, tremolos, arpeggios and ornaments. He had a marvelously dexterous thumb, which he moved sometimes from the base joint, other times from the tip joint, sometimes from both.
His stage presence was marvelous, and his rapport with the audience was complete and intimate. The mysterious "high-brow" barrier that often exists between performer and audience in classical recitals was non-existent. He spoke to everyone between pieces as if he was conducting a casual masterclass. He went to start one of the Scarlatti sonatas and a terrible, horrendously dissonant noise came out of his instrument. Everyone in the hall winced, including Fabio. He took a few seconds to "tune" his guitar and then played the piece flawlessly. After the applause had died out he looked at the audience, shrugged his shoulders, smiled and said, "Wrong fret!". Another priceless moment.
The most difficult piece that Zanon played, from the audience's point of view as listeners, was the Ginastera Sonata, Op 47, the last piece on the program. This hurdle was made easier by Fabio's very clear explanation of what the composer was thinking when he wrote it and what to listen for. Fabio said that this Sonata is one of the most important works in the classical guitar repertoire. He played it brilliantly (by now, no surprise to the audience), and he was rewarded with a standing ovation that called for encores.
For his second encore Fabio played a tremolo piece by E. Saniz De La Maza, "Campanas del Alba". With the smoothest, silkiest tremolo I've ever heard he made it into one of the most beautiful and touching encore selection you could imagine.
What a future Fabio Zanon has ahead of him!
DAVID RUSSELL IN EDMONTON by John Sloan (1999)
There is an odd little sign hanging on the wall in the Choral Rehearsal room 1-29 at the University of Alberta. It says, "No Singing." It was strangely out of place in a room devoted to making music; obviously someone there has a sense of humor! There was no sign forbidding the playing of the guitar, however, nor could anyone have stopped the diehard fans and devotees who gathered in that room on the evening of April 27th for Mr. Russell's masterclass (one performer travelled all the way from Winnipeg just for this class!). Despite David Russell's reputation as one of the world's greatest guitarists, only about 2 dozen people attended the masterclass. This was a plus for those who did, because it allowed for an intimate atmosphere. We all got to sit "up close", a major treat. Mr. Russell encouraged the audience to ask questions at any time during the class, and spoke freely to all on a variety of subjects dealing with the classical guitar and its repertoire. He even told a joke or two.
A violist and a pianist went to a piano recital together. During the intermission, the violist asked the pianist, "What was the name of that delightful piece that started with the trill?" The pianist couldn't remember which piece that might be, so he asked the violist to hum a few bars. "Oh," replied the violist, "it went like this: 'da da da da daa da dee dee dum ...' (here, David played the opening bars of Fur Elise on his guitar) [much laughter from the audience]. David's sister is a violist, he explained, and they kid each other back and forth, exchanging viola jokes by email.
A David Russell masterclass, if this one was any indication, is relaxed and enlightening. He put everyone at ease from the start, smiling warmly and treating us all by playing a few short pieces as part of his warmup, playing with a silky smooth tone. What a sound he makes!!!! It's one thing to hear him on the concert stage in a large room, but to hear him close up is extraordinary.
There were five performers for this class, and all played well and all received much good advice. David treated each performer with a great deal of respect, always a great value to the student, and his comments on everyone's playing were perceptive and to the point. The class was too long (3 hours) to summarize in this short space, so here are some of his words of advice:
"Sometimes our fingers play more for us than our minds." David encouraged the performers to play according to the music, not just with their reflexes. Don't let your reflexes accent a note, for instance, just out of habit, but because the music requires it.
When playing Baroque music involving a lot of counterpoint, use a crisper tone so that all the voices are heard. Save the "warmer" tone for Tarrega, he said. David gave us a nice analogy for this. If you spoke in a deep, husky tone, it would be difficult to make yourself understood to someone standing at the back of a crowded room. But, if you use a brighter voice, the people at the back will be able to hear and understand you. Since so much Baroque music has a lot going on at the same time, you need the brighter tone to make everything heard.
Overall, David emphasized musical interpretation in his comments to the performers, with some advice on technique. Perhaps the most "profound" insight he offered that night was about what makes a virtuoso. Why, for instance, does someone like Manuel Barrueco stand out among players with equally good technique? Russell's answer: attention to detail. Better players, said Russell, demand more of themselves. They go that "extra mile" in their practicing to make a piece just right. It's not just better technique that separates them from everyone else, but because they are more focused, and more deliberate in knowing how they want a particular piece of music to sound.
David's recital the next evening, unlike the masterclass, was played to a full house! The Robertson-Wesley United Church was a perfect location, with wooden floors and walls, giving great acoustics. Russell played without amplification and was heard throughout the church.
Think of all of the most wonderful adjectives you can, and they would describe his playing: magnificent ... virtuosic ... sensitive ... dazzling technique ... accomplished musicianship ... personal warmth ... beautiful tone ... Clear, precise articulation and expressive musicianship were the hallmarks of his performance. David Russell came to Edmonton with a world-class reputation and showed that it is well deserved. The highlight of the evening was the "Six Traditional Celtic Melodies" that closed David's program. Not only is he a great player, but he's also a talented arranger! You could tell that he enjoyed this part of the recital the most, because he moved more while playing these pieces - not sitting as straight, but swaying a little bit more as the Celtic tunes under his fingers entranced the audience. A perfect ending to a perfect evening (he also did two encores) Thanks to all who made David Russell's visit to Edmonton possible!
John Sloan
Note: this essay is as much, or more, about reading in general than sight-reading in particular; however, I'm too lazy to go through and change every "sight-reading" to just "reading." :) JS
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AN INTRODUCTION TO SIGHT READING by John Sloan (1997)
The ability to sight-read music must be counted as one of the most valuable skills for the classical guitarist. It is a key to becoming familiar with the repertoire, which is already extensive and growing constantly.
For our purposes here "sight-reading" will refer to physically playing music on the guitar, and not necessarily hearing music in your head while looking at a score without guitar in hand (though this is an important skill as well, and an aid to sight-reading in general).
Sight-reading can be compared with
reading a book. To sight-read well is to see and play what is written in a music
score without having to think very much about the basics of music notation or
where to find individual notes on the fretboard, in the way that you would
normally read a book without stopping to look up all the words in the
dictionary! Both presuppose a working knowledge of the language you are reading,
as well as the skills
needed to interpret it.
There are some differences between
reading music and reading a book, however. To read a book you don't have to do
so at a preset tempo, there are no key signatures (though "context"
might be a similar concept), nor do you usually have to engage in a physical
activity at the same time. You could, though, if you were reading a book telling
you to perform a particular action - "After adding vinegar, shake well to
blend then put in the
refrigerator...."
However, while doing this few of us would be thinking: "Now my right hand fingers are closing around the bottle. My other hand is approaching the lid to open the bottle, making sure that the fingers grasp the lid with more pressure between the thumb and index finger, the middle and ring fingers staying relaxed and in the rest position....". If we did, it would take us 5 minutes to open the bottle (just try tying your shoes this way)!
Similarly, if we thought this way while playing a piece of music:
"In measure one there is an A Major chord which I am playing at the second fret with fingers 1,2, and 3 of my left hand. I'm strumming with the right hand in an up and down motion, taking care to use the "a" finger to accent the open e string.... Hold it! What's my little finger doing sticking out there? Gotta relax it! ....", and on through the piece.
Unfortunately, many people DO try and play the guitar this way, which may be one reason they have problems with sight-reading. The more fluid your technique, and the less you have to consciously think about and control it, the more likely you will sight-read well.
Most music doesn't have such explicit instructions written out for the performer (there are exceptions), because these actions are part of the "repertoire" of skills that the music presupposes. In the same way, a recipe doesn't tell you how to open a bottle of vinegar because you already know how to do that!
To summarize so far: Sight-reading for the guitar relies on skills of technique as a prerequisite, and an understanding and familiarity with the written language and symbols of music. These are the basics, the alphabet and grammar of sight-reading. Fluent reading is only possible when basic skills are automatic, so the guitarist is free to concentrate primarily on the music itself. Some experts would even include the ability to play without looking at the left hand as a prerequisite skill for good sight-reading, and there is considerable merit to this opinion.
Sight-reading relies on physical and mental skills, and both need to be practiced separately.
Physical skills are best improved with technical exercises and drills aimed at this purpose. There are many of these available in various publications today (one good system and set of exercises for developing general technique can be found in the four volume SERIE DIDACTICA PARA GUITARRA by Abe Carlevaro).
Then there's the mental side. Perhaps most problems with sight-reading begin here.
First and foremost: if you don't know the notes on the entire fretboard, COLD, you won't be able to sight-read. This is an absolute. It should be possible to see any note on the staff and instantaneously know where it is on the guitar (you can't play them if you can't find them!).
A good drill is to look at single notes and try to play them on every part of the fretboard they can be found. For example, a "c" might be played on the 2nd string, first fret; 3rd string, 5th fret; 4th string, 10th fret, etc. Practice like this until you can play any note in all its positions without pausing to find it first. When you see a note you want your HAND/FINGER to respond and find it immediately without hesitation.
After this comes recognition of groups of notes: triads, clusters, six-note chords, scales, runs, etc. Again, the goal is to be able to see the notes on the staff and to know right away where to play them on the guitar, without hunting around. A good guitarist will be able to play the same chord or group of notes at several different places on the fretboard, depending on which sounds best for the particular piece of music being played.
Then there are all of the other parts of music notation you should be familiar with, including rhythm, key signature, tempo, dynamics, etc. PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!
Mental training is very important, and some of the best practice for this is reading through music WITHOUT guitar in hand. In other words: air guitar. This will help develop the "instantaneous recognition" habit (as opposed to the "instantaneous coordination" which comes from physical practice).
Take a new or unfamiliar piece of music that fits your present playing abilities. Some of the Segovia transcriptions are good, because they make you look at notes outside of conventional "positions", such as playing the melody on one particular string instead of on several strings in, say, the first position.
Practice visualizing, as clearly as possible, how every part is played and where the hands will go, both on the fretboard and for plucking the strings. FEEL yourself playing everything. DO NOT PASS ANYTHING THAT YOU CANNOT FULLY VISUALIZE! All chords, all runs, etc. must be completely understood. Don't be "fuzzy" about anything. That goes for right hand fingerings, too (reverse this, if you're left handed).
Do this with many different pieces and after a while you'll begin to develop a "mental repertoire"; not of memorized pieces, but of recognizable patterns. You'll start to recognize chords quickly, without having to break them down note by note. You'll be able to see runs and melodies as wholes, rather than one note at a time. You'll get into the good habit of noting key signatures, changes in key signatures, tempo markings, dynamics, accidentals, repeats, rhythm, and all the other information that is part of a musical score. This is all practiced without the guitar.
Once you've done this for a while and your technique is developing, you can start reading through new pieces with guitar in hand to work on your hand-eye coordination. Practice making what you see quickly in your mind happen just as quickly in your hands. Do this with fresh material.
IMPORTANT RULE: always preview any new
or difficult piece of music WITHOUT
guitar in hand before sitting down to play it on the guitar. This alone will
make sight-reading much easier. People who have chronic trouble sight-reading
probably rarely or never do this; good, proficient sight-readers usually do.
To make this more enjoyable, use music that you like and will want to eventually play. There's no reason EVER to take the fun out of playing the guitar!
As you become proficient, practice in
different keys and with different tunings. Chet Atkins transcriptions are a good
source of pieces in unconventional tunings (with my apologies to the classical
purists out there!). Also, don't neglect tablature! There are centuries of
beautiful
music there, and tablature is far easier to read than standard music notation
(but not always a desirable substitute).
Another tip: practice sight-reading piano scores to get out of the habit of only reading "guitaristic" scores. This will make reading atonal and other modern music for the guitar, which is full of surprises, much easier.
The value of sight-reading cannot be
over-stressed. Without it the guitarist is limited to playing by ear (some of
the greatest in the world do this with great results, however, few of us have
their talent), or crawling at slow speeds through new scores. Imagine being an
actor but not being able to read scripts. How would you learn your parts? How
many parts or roles could you study and expose yourself to? So it is for
musicians and sight-reading. It
is the key to becoming "functionally literate" as a musician.
One final note about sight-reading. With few exceptions, it does not mean sitting down and playing through any piece of music perfectly the first time, any more than an actor reads through and performs a play by Shakespeare perfectly the first time.
Sight-reading doesn't mean not making mistakes, and it doesn't mean never having to slow down and look carefully at difficult passages, or even break them down to a note by note analysis on occasion. Music comes at all levels of difficulty, so you will be able to read something's quickly and easily; other things will take more time.
Sight-reading has an undeserved mystique surrounding it, probably because so many guitarists sight-read poorly and slowly. Yet, these same people read books easily enough, so why not music, too? It should be a natural and easy process. If sight-reading is stressed as a skill from early training, and practiced as such, most any guitarist should be able to become a good sight-reader.
Have fun!
(Note - articles are presented here by permission from the author.)
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