I’m going to interrupt. I’m going to interrupt. First of all, I want a little applause for this. This is not a performance class, and it’s not a masterclass, it’s an interpretation class. That means we’re interested in the interpretation. You’re a wonderful cellist, and a very fine performer, and you’ve brought up a very interesting question immediately. I wondered how you were going to solve the problem of coming back to the beginning, because you started on an up bow, you then played a four bar phrase, and you landed on an up bow in order to go back to the beginning. And then you said, “Oh no, I got to change in the middle and then do an up bow.” And that felt very artificial to you too, right?

Yeah, it did.

You said, “That can’t be right.”

No.

No, it can’t be right. Boom, we found something that can’t be right. Very exciting. So, Beethoven was very, very meticulous about such matters. And so I want to delve into it. Now, the problem is this. You play the first bar on an up bow, thinking that it’s like an upbeat to the F sharp. Just do the opening the way you did it. All right? That means that the first bar is felt like an upbeat to the second bar. You’re in very good company. My teacher, Cassadó, you know Gaspar Cassadó? He did exactly that, and we all did that because we were very obedient students.

However, it’s a problem, because what you’re doing is turning a five bar phrase into a four bar phrase. You’re saying the first bar is just an upbeat, doesn’t count. (Singing). 3, 4, 1. But it isn’t, it’s a five bar phrase. It starts on the A, and there are five bars. Now, how do you organize a five bar phrase? If it’s a four bar phrase, it’s very simple. It’s heavy, light, heavy, light. If there’s a five bar phrase, it’s got to be either heavy, light, heavy, light, light, or something else. Do you think Beethoven gave you an indication of what he wanted?

Yes.

By what?

Do you mean from the bowing?

By the bowing. By the bowing. Because he does something very unusual. He does the first bar down, (Singing), which pushes the emphasis to the A, which then leaves you the fifth bar as a leading bar. Now, what I found about your playing, which I love your playing, and also when you played the Elgar, it’s very, very beautiful, but it’s very little else, but very beautiful. So, I think there’s another whole dimension for you as a musician, to be a storyteller, and to tell the story of the music. What is happening in this music that draws the audience, as it were, on a journey into a story?

And one of the things that you have to establish is the shape of every bar. Where does it belong? Where is it going? I always say every note in music is going somewhere or coming from somewhere. And then I always add, except for one, which is the opening of the Mahler First Symphony, which has always been there. It’s seven octaves of A, from the lowest double bass to the highest violin, seven octaves. And all that happens at the beginning of Mahler 1 is that God turns up the volume a little bit, so you can hear the sound of the tuning of the universe. That’s been there forever. But that’s separate. Everything else is shaped.

So now we’ve already established a shape, which is that the first bar is heavy. First bar is always heavy. Brahms’ E Minor, Brahms followed Beethoven, same thing. (Singing). The E at the end of the phrase is the same as the E at the beginning. The A at the beginning of the phrase is the same as the end. Isn’t that beautiful? So now this is difficult to do, but would you try set off on an A?

Good, good, good. That was the brain at work. “Oops, I don’t have enough bow if I do that,” right? You had that. So, (Singing). One thing I would be very careful of is thinking too slow. Think big phrase. If you think (Singing), there will be just enough bow for that. (Singing). Beautiful, a little applause, please. That was wonderful. Bravo, bravo. That was the human brain at work. You watched the brain doing that. His hands didn’t do that, his brain did that. And it’s a beautiful thing to do, isn’t it? To think that way. How do I organize my bow in my hands to realize a musical idea? And you’ve never done it before. I’m sure you’ve never tried that bowing, and to do it_… Did you ever try it?

My first teacher at Curtis actually, always, he was very strict about doing the second and third bar in one.

Oh, good.

One bar, at the very least.

Tell me his name?

Peter Wiley.

Oh, well, of course, yeah. Good for him. No, he’s right.

Yeah, it was.

Because when Beethoven does that, he writes a slur over two bars, it doesn’t always mean a bowing, but you have to take account of the meaning of it. Right, shall we try again? And what I would suggest is you play the A so warm and full that it carries the way all the way through four bars. (Singing). So if you play the A. (Singing). Right, that A launches a phrase, which takes you all the way to the next A. Should we try that? (Singing). And can you feel the same A, (Singing), like an arch? Do it again. (Singing).

There it is. Isn’t that interesting? And this young lady there saw it and she went_… That’s all you want in life. That’s all you want in life, is somebody in the front row to go_… While you’re playing, because everybody could understand that, isn’t that wonderful? Two A’s connected. Oh my God, that’s so exciting. Do it again. But it takes a certain kind of ecstasy to realize that. It takes doggedness to play the cello, and ecstasy to play the music. It’s hard, isn’t it? Because it’s like this.

Yeah, yeah.

And you’ve been trained phenomenally well in doggedness, and you’re somewhat open to the possibility of ecstasy. Okay? Shall we try again? It’s there, but it hasn’t been pulled out yet. Here we go. I love that smile. Smiling is a gateway to ecstasy. It’s just smile a lot. Here we go. (Singing).

Ooh, now, you had about five people in the second row going, “Wow, that’s great.” Isn’t that beautiful? Right, one more time. This is practicing, incidentally, this is practicing. Practicing is not doing the notes. When you make a Hi-Fi set, a great Hi-Fi set, and you make all these machines and you have amplifiers, and you have all this stuff in the walls and everything, that’s in order to put the music through it. It’s not for its own sake. Isn’t that right? So now we’re liberated, you’ve done so much work building this great Hi-Fi set, which is your cello playing. Now you’re going to fly. Here we go. (Singing).

And now it goes to E. And now she says, and then it goes to E, and then now it goes to E. (Singing). And when you get to that last E, you say, “I got to E!” And your whole body should feel_… Because isn’t that a wonderful thing, of building to that E? And it’s so much fun, and so much joy, that there’s a kind of waterfall of notes that comes as a result of it. But all that is generated from the first A. Isn’t that beautiful? And you’re responsible for the whole thing. Her part as well is yours. Because when, (Singing) and you say, “(Singing)”, and then it goes to E, (Singing). And she goes_… All of that is caused by you. Isn’t that great? Full participation, that’s called sitting in the front row of your life. That’s what I mean.

Right, so from the beginning, you’re responsible for enveloping this entire group of people in the journey to that E. And it’s going to take everything you have to do that. Isn’t that interesting? And it’s not about playing the cello. Yeah, I feel, “(Singing), I’m playing the cello, I’ve got to make a very nice A, I hope it’s in tune. I hope the sound is good.” You’ve got to launch something huge. We have a category called one buttock playing, that’s this buttock, or that buttock, either. This, (Singing), it won’t get it going, but you go (Singing). And then the F Sharp, which is a magical note, comes out of nowhere, we don’t expect it. Comes from the A. Let me help you. Here we go. And (Singing). You’ve forgot. Will you say, “How fascinating” with me? Oh, how fascinating! (Singing).

Now let’s see what she does. (Singing).

Oh no, wait, wait, wait. And then it goes to there. So why down bow? Because it’s a leading bar. In music, we have to decide, every bar, whether it’s a heavy bar or a light bar. And if it’s a light bar, as in this case, if it’s a five bar phrase, the bow helps enormously. Isn’t that great? That was beautiful, incidentally. Wonderful. And you made her very comfortable and happy. You kind of launched her on her career. Isn’t that right? Isn’t that wonderful? That’s called ensemble playing. That’s not cello out here and piano in the background. And that is absolutely there. Beethoven was the pianist, as long as he could play, he was going almost completely deaf at this point. So he stopped playing.

I’m going to say something outrageous right now. I’m so happy that Beethoven went deaf. And you know why? Because he devoted all his attention to composing. And Rachmaninoff, we just did the Beethoven Fourth Piano Concerto and the Rachmaninoff, and Rachmaninoff frittered away years of his life making money playing the piano, because he couldn’t earn enough by plain composing. Imagine if he’d devoted to his composing what Beethoven did? With his phenomenal talent, he would’ve been one of the very greatest composers, and he almost is. So, just think of the pianist as being the composer, and treat the pianist with the respect that you would treat Beethoven if he was playing with you. And you’d be pretty excited if Beethoven was playing, and she’s just as good as he is.

All right, here we go. One more time. And launch it. (Singing). Make sure that everybody in the front row knows, and then it goes to A. Try it one more time, and big smile before you play. (Singing). One buttock playing, good. (Singing).

Pure joy. (Singing).

Yeah, you’re playing beautifully. It feels great, doesn’t it? It’s going. Who has the main voice here?

She is [inaudible 00:19:07].

She does. If she has the main voice, but you have the most moving notes, make sure you make clear to the audience that you know that she has the main voice. Because a lot of cellists in the great_… I remember Rostropovich playing this piece, and he was out here, and his pianist was way back there. And he played (Singing). And he looked as though he was playing the Dvorak concerto. So the audience needs some help, so just disappear. All right? And it was very good, you did (Singing), and then (Singing), the C sharp tell us that you noticed the difference. But it’s beautiful. It was great. And it always, and then it goes to that. It’s always an upbeat. Isn’t that right? Isn’t that fascinating? Always an upbeat. And you have to exaggerate to make sure that everybody in the audience gets the feet, and they’re saying internally, “And then it goes to there, and then it goes to there.” And you can help by actually using your face to explain it, because you’re telling a story.

And most people go to concerts expecting to fall asleep. It’s a normal thing. You have a meal, you go there, you sit down, you look at the program, they start the overture. It’s your job to keep everybody awake. And they’ve been up half the night coming from Maryland. Where’s Alex? Alex? Where’s Alex? Here! Alex got up at 4:00 this morning to drive from New Jersey because he plays in the youth orchestra every week. He comes five hours here and five hours back with his parents to play in the youth orchestra. He got up at 4:00. It’s your job to keep him awake. And he’s a very good cellist, so he isn’t that interested in your cello playing. He’s interested in what you have to say about the music. He really wants to know. He came to learn what you have to say. So your job is to teach, all the time, teach the audience, all the time, what’s going on in the music.

Would you be willing to start from where you do (Singing)? And notice that she doesn’t hold back the tempo. (Singing). It’s in two, it’s not in four. Should we just try? (Singing). Can I suggest here that you give a little bit more impulse, so it’ll take you through? (Singing). Here it goes, (Singing). Could you do that with your face, as well as your body? Do it once again. (Singing). Yes! (Singing). Like a dreamworld. Beautiful. (Singing).

Aha, did you notice that C sharp? Yes. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You said, “Listen everybody, he said C natural and then he said C sharp!” Right? And everybody noticed it. Great. That was beautiful, everybody applaud. Have you noticed the applause is going on a little longer than it needs to? Because they’re really saying you’re at a breakthrough moment, because you’ve made yourself into a great cellist. Now you have to make yourself into a great storyteller through music. Because without that, you’ll just be a great cellist. It’s not enough. It’s pleasant, and it’ll earn you a certain reputation, and probably a fence around your garden. Comfortable. But music is not comfortable. And making that difference between the C natural and C sharp so that people actually, “Oh, wow. Oh, that’s great.” Makes a difference.

So, do it with the C natural? (Singing).

My suggestion is that the left hand is the main voice, and the second voice, although it’s higher, is the secondary voice. So I would (Singing). And the second voice like that, and you’re the third voice. Should we try? (Singing). The through, (Singing).

Good, you love your own playing. Do you love her playing? Yeah, but I don’t notice that you love her own playing. Because that’s one of your jobs, is to make the audience listen to this fabulous pianist play. (Singing). And it ends the phrase, so take a little time. Do it once again, (Singing). And now love it. (Singing). Yeah, I think a little more love there for her, right? For her. Do it again. Let’s listen to it. Listen to her play. (Singing). And finish. (Singing).

Oh, is that beautiful? Now you help her be even more beautiful. (Singing). Yeah, beautiful. It was great. (Singing).

For most cellists, that would be difficult. It’s not difficult for you. Don’t look as though you think it’s difficult. Because (Singing). Oh yeah, it’s pure love, tenderness, as if you’re just stroking someone, like that. But that was beautiful. It was a little different with the scales went away, and it became a loving accompaniment. Do it one more time and then when you go (Singing). I can’t sing up there. (Singing). Sobbing with tenderness. Shall we try [inaudible 00:27:06]? (Singing). Do you see what a difference a great pianist makes? Because you have to be a great pianist to play that phrase in such a way that everybody wants to listen to that. (Singing).

Can you help her end the phrase? You’re pushing her a little bit, I think she_… Do you want a little bit more time? Right. Because that sets up the next phrase beautifully, right? (Singing). Perfect. (Singing). Yes. (Singing). And here it comes. Now you’re turned. Shh. That’s a shock, that’s a total shock, because you think it’s going to_… Yeah. It’s very important, not one of the people clapping is clapping your cello playing at that point. Do you get that? They take your cello playing for granted. They say, “This is a great cellist. Now let’s get on with it.”

For many people, the cello is the aim, is the destiny. No it’s not. The destiny is to move them, charm them, tenderness, love, to reactivate their capacity for love in their own lives. That’s what music is for. Really beautiful. And you did beautifully, and you’re on the way in that domain, because through your life, that has not been the obsession. I think it probably was with that first teacher, with Wiley, probably. And then you got into the competition thing, and you started competing, and pushing people away, and so on. “I can play faster and better than you can!” And you forgot. And now you’ve come back to it and it’s there. It’s beautiful. Really, (Singing). Like a child. (Singing). It’s beautiful. And then this subito fortissimo. Shock. Shall we do it one last time? Do (Singing). Yes. But don’t think of it as_… Yeah, that one. But don’t think of it as a cello passage. “Oh, I got to put my thumb, make sure_…” No, no, no. Sing it. Even more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more, more beautiful. (Singing). I can’t sing up there. (Singing).

Don’t give it away. Shh. (Singing).

Hold [inaudible 00:31:30] there. I think if you could do non-legato. (Singing). Get off the piano so that it’s more non-legato. And be careful you don’t change the rhythm. It’s slightly unstable. (Singing). Right? Do from right there, right? (Singing). It doesn’t allow you, does it?

Yeah, yeah.

Because it’s absolutely straight. Good. Once again. I love the way you did that. (Singing).

You know what’s so extraordinary about this moment is that you go from fortissimo to pianissimo in one bar. It should be really shocking. But that was great. Here, from here once again. And when you go here, fortissimo all the way to there, and this, from fortissimo to pianissimo, in literally three notes. Shall we just do the same thing again? I love that. (Singing). Pianissimo. (Singing).

I think this is like a cadenza. It can be very free. Like the Emperor Concerto. Full. But that was great. And the pianissimo was very, very soft. Do from the fortissimo, D sharp. Do you know where that is? And then when you get to the cadenza, make it very free, (Singing), the way you would in a piano concerto. See the D sharp? (Singing). Just dreaming. (Singing).

Down bow. (Singing). Down bow. (Singing). Down. Go back. (Singing). It has to be. It’s a four bar phrase, and it goes back to the original A. Isn’t that great? QED, if there’s any doubt about it. And then comes the five bar phrase. Do once again, and go on this time. (Singing). Goes to there. (Singing). Now tempo. (Singing). Going on, going on. No, that’s all right. Remember, that the second bar is light and goes to the third bar. Now leading, (Singing).

A. It’s the arrival on a down bow, of course, isn’t it? You’ve got it now, you’ll never do it the other way. And I had to get over, my teacher was adamant that he had to begin on an up bow, but he wasn’t thinking in terms of the structure of the bars. He was thinking in terms of the shape of the melody, and so_… But now you’ve understood that completely, you’ve put that behind you. Good. Let’s look at this development. This is the development section you’ve come back to, and it’s phenomenal what happens in this development. And something is happening in this development that you don’t know about. And that is this. He never writes piano. Everybody assumes he means piano when it says pianissimo, but it isn’t. It’s all fortissimo. And it’s an amazing thing.

I don’t know if you’ve ever seen this, but this is the_… Sorry, I lost it. Just a moment. Let me see if I can find it here. You won’t believe this, but this is the manuscript of that page. Look at this. See, the front row gets to see. This is Beethoven’s, this is the manuscript of this page. Look at her face. Jamie’s face. “Ah!” That’s Beethoven, right? But fortunately, we have scholars, and Lewis Lockwood has written a book, and he has deciphered what this page means. And what he discovered was that there’s no piano, so that it’s all forte. And the whole thing is forte until after (Singing). After the storm. Should we do that? It’s very exciting. So do from the beginning, (Singing). This is the beginning of the development. (Singing). Ah, ah! (Singing).

Oh, sorry. Oh, I’ve got an idea. How about if you do that in one bow? Beethoven wrote it one bow, try it from the F sharp. Shh. That’s_… Wow. Now another bow. Wow. Wow. 1, 2, 3, 4. 1, 2, 2, 3, 4. And then_… That’s it. Isn’t that amazing? That’s amazing. That’s one of the great developments. Very compressed, but all forte. And when the G sharp comes in, it’s finally piano. It’s such a relief. And instead of (Singing), it’s (Singing). Do we have time? Maybe one more time. And you need all the energy in the world to make that happen. And it’s a spiritual energy, not just physical energy. Shall we try that one more time from the double bar? And then go, and then we’ll just do the coda. Here we go.

[inaudible 00:41:48]?

Yeah. Yeah, yeah. (Singing). Where’s it going, where’s it going? To there, to there, to there. (Singing). Good, good. (Singing).

Shh. (Singing). Beautiful. (Singing). Now one bow.

Even more radiant.

Ah, sorry!

Yeah, good, good, great, beautiful.

Forgot how to play.

Wonderful, bravo, bravo. Bravo. They’re saying something with their applause. They’re saying you have allowed something to come out of yourself that was hidden. They all recognized it. Even Jamie there, who’s nine? Eight. Whatever. Young. They all get it. They all get it. You were giving something that was hidden. Don’t let it hide. Reveal that quality in everything you do. Now, let’s just do the end, because what happens at the end is a miracle. Let’s just go from the very coda.

Be careful it doesn’t get into four. (Singing). I love to think of bars as beats. The whole bar is just a beat in a four bar phrase. That’s why it becomes so interesting when it’s a five bar phrase, because you feel five beats. And (Singing).

Ah, what happened? What happened to the fifth bar? He’s done away with it. It’s a four bar phrase, for the first time! Isn’t that great? So change it. Do from the (Singing). No, it has to be a down bow.

Oh yeah, sorry.

(Singing). 2, 3, 4. 1, 2, 3, 4. Now, just a moment, just a moment, just a moment. There are three voices. One of them is being lost. Do you know which one is being lost? The left hand of the piano. Dina, just play the left hand. The listener won’t go there. They’ll go there, and then they’ll go to the right hand, and they’ll lose her. So play yours less, and your left-hand come out more. Do once again, four bar phrase from the D. Three and_… (Singing). Two. (Singing). Now, left hand. Here it comes! Here it comes! (Singing).

After that enormous, climactic thing in A major, he said, “Oops, no, I think I’ll go to E.” So he changes his mind. But that was great. And you have to prepare that climax for a long way. So, would you do that? (Singing). Should we do it from the buildup? Do it alone. Yeah. I love that left hand. (Singing). Do it right from there. Can I suggest a little bit less right hand, a little bit more left hand? Or not more left hand, just very present left hand. Yeah, and it’s too staccato.

Here?

Yeah, left hand.

Oh.

Yeah, yeah. I think the right hand too, yeah. Does it say staccato? No. Right, this is not staccato, just very soft, right? (Singing). Yes. Do you see, by doing that, he’s saying, “Don’t listen to me, don’t listen to me, listen to her, listen to her”? That’s such a beautiful thing to do. It’s a good thing in a marriage, too. “Don’t listen to me.” Okay, here we go. Now, here it comes. (Singing). How big can you make it? (Singing). And she says, “(Singing).” And you say, “(Singing).” To. To A. To A. To A, to A, to A, to A, to A. To A. A, to A. And then to A. To A! And then to A! To A! He did it, well done. Can I give you a hug?

Andres, I really think it’s so important to get, when you play usually, you get applause for your cello playing. You didn’t get applause for your cello playing. You get applause for your heart. Isn’t that great? That’s a totally different dimension. And it’s not something you can actually practice. You can only be it. You can sit in the front row of your life all the time, participate, be energetic, just engaged in life, and then it’ll come out in the cello playing. And you’re amazing, what you bring to it is wonderful, but you have to put everything you have in it in order to tell that story. And just look around at these faces. Look at these faces, look at this, look at this face. That’s what I call the shining eyes, including yours. Bravo. Well done. Beautiful. Thank you for coming.