Cello Technique

In my performance practice and pedagogy, I approach the inter-related elements of playing the cello – technique, interpretation and performance – as a single integrated domain. This article seeks to elucidate this notion, highlighting the inherent continuity between the development of the cello’s technical and expressive capacities. Within the broad area of ‘technique’, I believe that traditional and contemporary technical styles can evolve through a fluid process of interactions – a ‘dialogue’ that is enlivened by tensions, transitional turns and mycelial exchanges.

Focusing on Nomos alpha by Iannis Xenakis – one of the most complex works for solo cello of the twentieth century – the article investigates the dynamics of these interactions and how the traditions established in the course of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries might support the expanding domain of new techniques and approaches to the cello. I argue that the extended and ‘extreme’ techniques employed by Xenakis to convey the sound architecture of Nomos alpha must be viewed as a part of a global perspective on the traditions of cello playing.

By juxtaposing the orthodox cello method by David Popper (Hohe Schule des Violoncello-Spiels Op. 73) with contemporary studies compiled and edited by Siegfried Palm, Pro musica nova: Studien zum Spielen neuer Musik: für Violoncello and the set of Ten Preludes by Sofia Gubaidulina, the article explores the interactions, interrelationships and interdependencies that exist in the superficially different approaches to cello technique.

Nomos alpha by Xenakis is one of the most significant late twentieth-century compositions that embody this predication. For the performer, the discovery and the process of mastering the work marks the beginning of a re-evaluation not only of the particular cello techniques involved in the piece, but, in many ways, the fundamental questions of interpretation and performance. Xenakis had a fresh perspective on the instruments – their sonorities and potential for colours and textures. With Nomos alpha he ‘invented’ a ‘new’ instrument, ‘reconceptualised from the ground up’, which, however, contains the ‘memory’ of the traditional cello in its physical shape and attributes with traces of identifiable cello sound and the player’s gestures. Except for the innovative scordatura method, Xenakis employs the cello in a conventional manner, i.e. eschewing non-instrumental means for sound production employed by some of the composers of his time. He creates the sonorities and percussive timbre, for example, by the battuto bowing, sul ponticello and pizzicati, extending and combining these techniques in a distinctly new way. The cellist is required to step beyond the learned instrumental habits and techniques, venturing on a journey of developing her/his personal perspective on the singular playing mode. Yet, the conventional technical methods are part of the Xenakian cello’s history, as they continue being rediscovered and renewed. It is my belief that the process of mastering the radical system of physical responses in Nomos alpha must be supported by the instrumental foundation that has been ingrained, at the earlier stages of instrumental learning, in the cellist’s subconscious mind and muscle memory. Developing Xenakian cello methods refine the visceral connection to the instrument by experimenting and expanding the traditional technical and practice procedures. Xenakis’s writing challenges the cellist to develop the ‘extended’ practice that encompasses the elements of pure physicality, intellect and imagination, towards the level where they converge into an integrated domain of the philosophy of cello technique. At the beginning of the journey, an intellectual grasp of the score requires much research and study. Later, the uncommon physical intensity involved in practising and performing Nomos alpha becomes the most pressing issue to resolve. In the course of five years of my close study and practice, a number of live performances (in different venues, experimenting with various formats) and recording, two elements have chrystallised: 1. The importance of continuous training rooted in the established norms of playing that is also directed towards advancing the technique further, far beyond these norms.  2. The increasing role of the intuitive and interdisciplinary paths in investigating Nomos alpha’s interpretative space. This chapter focuses on the two domains within the broad areas above: a singular philosophy of interpretation and technique embodied in Nomos alpha, and the Associative Method – an extended approach for internalising the composition. In this regard, I will discuss some of the distinctive imagery and artistic concepts of the cinematographer Andrei Tarkovsky evinced in his film Stalker (1979), and their relevance to the development of Nomos alpha’s interpretative space in my extended practice.

Composer virtuosi since the 19th Century frequently arranged and transcribed popular masterpieces to expand the repertoire of their instruments. Perhaps Franz Liszt’s paraphrases are the most well-known examples. However other famous performer/composers, like Sergei Rachmaninoff, Fritz Kreisler, and Ferruccio Busoni to name a few, also used this compositional technique. Recognized as one of the leading cello virtuosi of the 20th Century, Gaspar Cassado also followed this tradition.
This scholarly paper is a comperative analysis of Cassado's Concerto in A MInor and Schubert's Arpeggione Sonata ; the first research and analysis on Cassado's Concerto.

La prima parte del libro, «Intorno a Vivaldi», costituisce un'ampia indagine sul contesto in cui Vivaldi componeva per violoncello, contrabbasso e viola da gamba. Dopo un chiarimento terminologico che prende in esame i molteplici usi localmente diversificati, riunisce dati biografici sugli strumentisti che potrebbero essere entrati in contatto con Vivaldi e aver influenzato la sua immagine degli strumenti bassi ad arco. In particolare vengono rese pubbliche per la prima volta le biografie delle figlie della Pietà; ma anche su altri violoncellisti, contrabbassisti e violisti la ricerca ha portato alla luce molte informazioni biografiche finora sconosciute.
Segue una panoramica sul repertorio italiano per violoncello e per viola da gamba, utile a contestualizzare – talvolta relativizzare, talaltra esaltare – il contributo vivaldiano, e a portare alla luce non poche scoperte e novità su attribuzioni e destinazioni. Vengono poi discussi gli aspetti tecnico-strumentali di ognuno dei tre strumenti (posizione esecutiva, tecnica della mano sinistra e dell'arco etc), verranno offerte risposte ai molti dubbi sulle possibili accordature e infine raccolte informazioni sulla costruzione degli strumenti e i liutai che operavano in Italia.
Va evidenziato che questa ricerca è sempre circoscritta al contesto vivaldiano, evitando di appesantire la trattazione con excursus in campi cronologicamente e geograficamente distanti e cercando le risposte anche alle domande più difficili perché meno documentate quanto più possibile nelle testimonianze appartenenti ai luoghi e ai tempi di Vivaldi.

La seconda parte del libro è dedicata alle opere di Vivaldi: si esamina tutto il corpus della musica strumentale e vocale che preveda una parte solistica per violoncello o per viola da gamba. Ogni composizione e ogni fonte vien analizzata minutamente estraendo informazioni sulla genesi della partitura, la datazione, i possibili destinatari, le parentele con altre opere e mettendone in luce le particolarità tecnico-strumentali e altre caratteristiche salienti. Per attenersi anche in questa parte strettamente al tema preposto, l'indagine rinuncia a generiche analisi formali, armoniche e contrappuntistiche (e tanto più a una coloristica descrizione dei sentimenti che la musica suscita nella scrivente), nella convinzione che questi elementi siano non già specifici del repertorio per i bassi d'arco, ma anzi comuni a quello di altri strumenti solisti e quindi da affidare a una ricerca trasversale.

La terza parte è concepita in particolare per chi esegue la musica di Vivaldi perché dedicata ad alcune questioni di prassi esecutiva del registro grave. Un minuzioso spoglio di tutte le indicazioni di strumentazione con cui Vivaldi circostanzia le sue parti per i bassi, ha dato vita a un regesto che impone conclusioni in parte sorprendentemente difformi dalle esecuzioni pur storicamente informate dei nostri tempi. Nel secondo capitolo vengono invece riunite e contestualizzate tutte le indicazioni originali sugli organici e le formazioni orchestrali al tempo di Vivaldi per indagarne l'incidenza di violoncelli e contrabbassi: ne risulta un quadro sfaccettato e anch'esso talvolta ben diverso dalle nostre abitudini d'ascolto odierne.

Conclude il lavoro un inventario delle composizioni con parti solistiche per violoncello e per viola da gamba, seguito da un elenco dell composizioni che prevedono un accompagnamento a contrabbasso solo.

La siguiente investigación plantea una propuesta de interpretación del vibrato que puede
usarse en extractos seleccionados de dos obras de estilos y compositores diferentes: la sonata
en la menor para arpeggione y piano transcrita para violonchelo de Franz Schubert, y la
sonata en re menor para violoncello y piano de Claude Debussy. Con dicha propuesta se
podrán precisar diversas características técnicas y estilísticas del vibrato en las obras
mencionadas. La investigación se desarrolla utilizando un enfoque cualitativo, a través de un

diseño de tipo bibliográfico o documental y un nivel de investigación de tipo exploratorio-
interpretativo hermenéutico, buscando con ello un acercamiento teórico-práctico a la técnica

del vibrato y una propuesta interpretativa que se encuentre sustentada en el análisis de
grabaciones dos extraordinarios cellistas de reconocimiento mundial: Mstislav Rostropovich
y Maurice Gendron, estudiando en ellos como el vibrato puede verse influenciado por dos
estilos musicales diferentes, que en este caso son el Clasicismo-Romanticismo y el
Impresionismo.

Here I endeavoured to make as complete as I could two lists: one containing all methods, tutors, treatises for cello that appeared until WWI (in chronological order by publish date); and another list with all etudes, caprices, exercises et al. for cello that were published until 1900 (in alphabetical order by the composer).
These lists could be used by performers and teachers of the violoncello as a reference .
Wherever I have found discrepancies in the information about the published/composed date regarding one item in different sources, but I do not have it or I could not access it to verify, I provide both dates.
It is difficult to list here all the sources I have used to compile these lists. These are similar lists in some books or websites (each of them more or less incomplete, I found) and some that I have encountered myself.
It is always possible to discover errors I have made or to find new items I've missed. In such cases I will make corrections and additions in these lists and will upload a newer version again. If any of the colleagues, who refer to this list, finds a mistake or knows an item that I have missed - please, notify me about that.
This is the 6th issue with corrections and additions from November 2018.

This paper presents a history of the cello as a soloist instrument. Since the first piece written with this in- tention, Domenico Gabrielli`s Ricercare up to Antonio Vivaldi`s Sonatas there is a gap of only fifty years, but huge improvements have changed the ways the cello was used in music. Through the knowledge of this development the cello player will be able to search for a better comprehension of technical demands of these pieces of music and mu- sicians in general will be able to learn about the paths taken by the instrument to build it up as a canonic character of music history.

En el año 2023 se cumplirá el 50 aniversario de la muerte de Pau Casals i Defilló, nacido en 1876 en El Vendrell, y fallecido en 1973 en San Juan de Puerto Rico. Su figura ha generado numerosas publicaciones de distinto ámbito: desde las biografías escritas en formato de “vidas ejemplares”, hasta los trabajos académicos de distinta índole. Aunque se han realizado estudios sobre Casals músico, estos trabajos no son tan numerosos como sería propio de una figura de su envergadura. Puede que la parte artística de Casals se haya visto eclipsada por su imagen más popular como figura del catalanismo, defensor de la Segunda República Española, luchador contra el fascismo a nivel internacional y contra Franco en particular. En este artículo de revisión, se repasan las biografías publicadas sobre Pau Casals, así como las tesis doctorales y trabajos científicos que han aportado nueva información a tener en cuenta. Se hace especial hincapié en los trabajos académicos que estudian aspectos musicales de Casals relacionados con la interpretación musical, dirección orquestal y/o composición musical, además de estudios científicos que tratan su influencia en otros músicos. Para finalizar, se apuntan ciertas cuestiones a considerar sobre las biografías publicadas y el estado actual de la necesaria revisión de la figura de Casals, además de plantear algunas reflexiones sobre el trabajo pendiente acerca del violonchelista catalán. The year 2023 will mark the 50th anniversary of the death of Pablo Casals i Defilló, born in 1876 in El Vendrell and died in 1973 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Several works have been published covering different fields on his figure, including biographies in the form of “exemplary lives”. Although some studies about Casals as musician have been undertaken, the number of this kind of works is not as large as on could possibly imagine taking into account his important social and musical roles. One hypothesis is that his artistic side has been historically overshadowed by his relevance as figure of the Catalanism, defender of the Spanish Second Republic, fighter against fascism at the international level and more specifically against Franco. This review article goes through the biographies devoted to Casals, as well as through the doctoral dissertations and scientific studies providing new information. The article specially highlights the academic papers that examine the musical aspects related to his performance, orchestral conducting and musical composition, as well as his influence on other musicians. Finally, several issues concerning the already published biographies and the need to review the figure of Casals are pointed out, along with some considerations about the existing gaps regarding the artistic life of the Catalan violoncellist.

How did a rural child of the Great Depression emerge from the Australian bush to become one of the most heralded cellists in the world? Beyond the Bow: Nelson Cooke’s Life in Music by Song Mei Lee-Wong traces the esteemed Australian cellist’s surprising journey from the colliery of Bellbird in Hunter Valley, New South Wales, to the most prominent classical music stages throughout the world. A rousing chronicle of talent, chance, and a mother’s unflagging ambition, this rigorously researched account of Cooke’s inspiring rise is certain to strike a chord with any committed musician, especially cellists, music students, and college music majors, as well as anyone who is passionate about Australian history. For Cooke, the road to international fame was laden with euphoric highs and equally precipitous lows. After auspicious beginnings in Australia at a young age, Cooke’s promising career was cut short when World War II intervened and he was thrust into the long worldwide conflict as a member of the armed service. However, after the war, the young man continued his studies in London under Ivor James and then Pablo Casals, enjoying early successes in the wake of his Wigmore Hall debut. From there, his career continued to evolve, with acclaim as a recitalist for the BBC and a member of the Philharmonia Orchestra under von Karajan and Klemperer. Eventually he would garner great stature as principal cellist of the London Symphony Orchestra during its meteoric period of ascent in the 1960’s and later as principal cellist of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. During these years, Cooke toured the world extensively with those orchestras, playing in virtually every major international venue, and with most major soloists and conductors. A relatively brief sojourn as a college professor in the United States was followed by his eventual return to Australia, first as Head of the Strings Department at the Canberra School of Music, and then as Fellow at the Melbourne Conservatorium of Music, where the dynamism of Cooke the musician and missionary was fully revealed. A tribute to Cooke’s lasting and inspiring legacy as Australia’s leading cello pedagogue, Beyond the Bow illuminates his contribution to countless Australian cellists over several decades, while also painting a fascinating portrait of the country during its cultural coming of age. Cooke’s contribution was recognized in 2011, when he was honored by the Governor-General of Australia with The Order of Australia AM, one of the highest awards that an Australian citizen can receive. A rare glimpse at the talent and trajectory of a committed musician, this accessible foray into personal greatness will captivate anyone who relishes a success story with a breathtaking musical score.

Die Melodie des Schwans von Camille Saint-Saëns (aus der Suite « Le Carnaval des Animaux », 1886) wird von Kennern zu Recht als eine der schönsten Melodien angesehen, die jemals komponiert wurden. Was könnte die Inspiration für die anmutige Form dieser schönen Melodie gewesen sein? Als ich ein kleines Kind war, verwendeten unsere Lehrer Bilder aus der Tierwelt, um uns die Formen von Zahlen beizubringen. Ich erinnere mich lebhaft an eine Folge von Bildern, die mit dem Bild eines schönen Schwans begann und mit der abstrakten Form der Ziffer 2 endete.

This article sets out a method of analysis for studying rhythmic flexibility in musical performance, with particular emphasis on the study of micro-agogics. With the help of the open-access software Sonic Visualiser, a practical example analysing a world-renowned performer, Pau Casals, and one of his most important audio recordings, the Cello Suites by J.S. Bach, is presented. The following paper examines the key points of performance analysis of micro-agogics in the interpretation of Prélude BWV 1007; an ideal work for this type of study as the prevailing notation is the repetition of semiquavers in 651 of the 654 notes. Five levels were analysed taking into account the compositional structure of the Prélude, levels that go from the duration of each note up to the duration of the bar. The small differences in timing that are produced between the notes of the same rhythmic value are the cornerstone of a rubato structure at different levels that make up the final resulting sound of this masterful performance. According to the results, Casals respects the written notation at the same time as producing a varied interpreta- tion of the music by Bach.