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On the Marionette Theatre, Using Philosophy to help you move

                                  

Heinrich von Kleist - On the Marionette Theatre

http://ada.evergreen.edu/~arunc/texts/literature/kleist/kleist.pdf

I recently had a conversation with a viola professor ( no jokes please) which ranged over many topics but one of them was about a short philosophical text called" On the Marionette Theatre" by the German writer Heinrich Von Kleist. It is the first time I have had a conversation with a fellow musician where after it, I felt able to translate philosophy into a practical, physical use at a musical instrument. It was very inspiring and a world away from those dull technique manuals, where you spend hours watching and listening to bow changes being mesmerised by the boredom of the dull text in front of you.

You can access the text on the link above, and you can interpret it in many, many different ways. But if I try and translate it in a way that gives meaning to me as a musician, it seems to be saying that as we become self aware and reflect more, we also become self conscious and clumsy. Our movements become less integrated. Von Kleist admires the way puppets and animals move in an unselfconscious, confident way with grace and ease. Von Kleist talks about each of us having a centre of gravity, which we must find and "when the centre is moved the limbs follow....after all the limbs are pendula echoing automatically the movement of the centre" It is an incredible description of not losing your sense of balance through over thinking. How he suggests reaching this state of being is open to interpretation, and actually I think each individual would reach this point by many and varied routes. But I am really glad that my colleague instead of sending me a dull technical manual about string playing, sent me in the direction of this wonderful text. It opens a door inside your mind, and uplifts rather than restricts you.

Ravel and the Galimir Quartet

 
Maurice Ravel 1925

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4tHtYp--EDM

I love listening to performances from different eras, they put into perspective  playing habits or interpretive tendencies that we have today. In the case of the Galimir Quartet, we have a direct line to Ravel himself when we listen to their 1934 Paris recording. Ravel himself worked closely with the group and helped shape their interpretation. What strikes me is the incredible clarity of the voicing and the pure style of playing, which is still intensely expressive. The main voices and motifs are always heard very distinctly. The harmonic colours are still played clearly but very transparently. It is inspiring to hear their incredible precision, perfectly matched vibratos and balanced harmonic voices, at a time when I imagine not many takes were possible. For me it is both deeply expressive and totally unsentimental.  It is best to listen to them ( not read my words!) on the link above. Having a direct link to a composer's ideas in this way, is really valuable.

 

The Galimir quartet as it was in this recording disbanded in 1936. Felix Galimir and his three sisters  (imagine the fights!) Adrienne (second violin), Renée (viola) and Marguerite formed their quartet in 1927 to mark the centenary of Beethoven's death. They were coached by Simon Pullman in Vienna, who Felix later said was one of the most important musical mentors in his career. Pullman encouraged them to get to know the best contemporary music of the time. The quartet gained an international reputation ( they also made the first recording of Berg's Lyric Suite) but they were all forced to leave Vienna, due to their Jewish heritage and the worsening political situation. Felix Galimir  left as early as 1936 . He was forced to leave the Vienna Philharmonic because of the harassment he received at work, and  they all four ended up, by circuitous routes, in the US, where they made their home. Felix went on to reform the quartet with other players. He also had a career  leading different orchestras and teaching at Juilliard, Curtis and Mannes, and was also a mainstay at Marlboro Music Festival. About his sisters I can find very little information, and this is rather sad. If anybody studied with one of them, or has information about these three very talented women, do post it!