After experiencing the wonderful Musica Viva performance given by the Goldner Quartet on Thursday evening the 8th November, many of our talented scholarship students at NECOM were privileged enough to perform the following day to the four master musicians in masterclass sessions.
The esteemed violinist, Dene Olding worked with a few of our advanced Year 11 and 12 violinists. His comments, on hearing each student perform, were very informative. In particular, he conveyed to each student how important it is to understand the style of a piece within its historical context, the personality of the composer and how this must relate to the sound one wants to produce.
Masterclasses were given by each of the Goldner Quartet members: Dene Olding and Dimity Hall for violin, Irina Morozova for viola and Julian Smiles for cello. In the viola masterclass, there was an emphasis on developing efficient technical skills for healthy playing. Being considerably heavier and longer than the violin, violists are more prone to injury through overplaying or as a result of playing with tension. Irina worked with each masterclass student on their individual muscular and skeletal issues to help them play with more freedom. It has been encouraging to see the students follow up on the feedback given during the masterclass and to see them actively engaged in improving their technique.