Just Intervals?

Bradley M. Snook bsnook@pacbell.net
Thu, 09 May 2002 19:51:11 -0700


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The Juilliard String Quartet has never really been all about =
"intonation." They have tried things in the past like tuning their open =
strings to the piano and trying to approximate EQT, but they stopped =
doing that a long time ago for what ever reason (my assumption is that =
they quickly realized it sounded too stupid). They have a very thick =
vibrato, which is nice, but it is also nice to be able to use vibrato to =
help shape the texture of the phrase (which they generally don't do). =
The 5-6 times I have performed in a master class with the Juilliard =
String Quartet (usually only one member stays after their concert ) has =
not been that inspiring. They are GREAT musicians with unbelievable =
experiences, but times have changed, and they are all just too old now. =
In my experience, not once did any of them say anything about intonation =
(well we did have a cellist that was always out-of-tune, but that is a =
different story). We mostly worked on balance and some on-stage =
performances issues. Anyway, what is the deal with all the old/dead =
performers as examples? Old does not mean better; it doesn't work that =
way with instruments, and it doesn't work that way with performers.

Come on . . . since most people have a hard time with using terms like =
"just," I make it easier for everyone by simply saying in-tune. Do =
string players play in-tune? Honestly, it rarely happens (i.e. almost =
never), but it is something that we try to do. It seems like people are =
perceiving the same thing differently, so until we can agree on the =
terminology, it is kind of a waste of time.

Bradley M. Snook




P.S. And what would a cellists know about thirds anyways?   :)

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