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Archive for the ‘Ernest Bloch’ Category

Avi Avital (Berlind Theatre, Princeton, NJ, March 13, 2016)

Posted in Avi Avital, Béla Bartók, Berlind Theatre, Ernest Bloch, Fritz Kresiler, Funny (ha ha), Heitor Villa-Lobos, Itamar Doari, Johann Sebastian Bach, Ksenija Sidorova, Manuel de Falla, Nikolai Budaskhin, Princeton, NJ, Set in New Jersey!, Sulkhan Tsintsade on March 13, 2016| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: March 13, 2016] Avi Avital

aviA few months ago I wrote about Avi Avtal’s Tiny Desk concert.  I had never heard of him, but his mandolin playing was amazing.  And then about three days later I saw that he was going to be playing in Princeton.  Well, I immediately got tickets.

And today we saw him and he was even more amazing in person.

In the Tiny Desk show, he played solo.  But in this show (and tour) he played with two people accompanying him: Ksenija Sidorova on accordion and Itamar Doari on percussion.

The only complaint I had about the show was that there was no progamme, so I had to look up everything online to know what we had just seen.  Fortunately I was able to find a setlist, because I never would have remembered what he told us.

Anyhow, in this show, titled Between Worlds Avital and company explore the borders between folk and classical music.  What that means is that they play music from classical composers, but also some very traditional folks songs from around the world.

Mandolin doesn’t seem like the instrument of choice for classical music, but Avital, who has been playing since he was little is amazing at the instrument–playing incredibly fast and clear and managing all of those Bach notes like nobody’s business. (more…)

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Ben Hatke–Julia’s House for Lost Creatures (2014)

Posted in Avi Avital, Ben Hatke, Children's Books, Ernest Bloch, First Second :01, Funny (ha ha), Graphic Novel, Short Books, Tiny Desk Concert on December 10, 2015| Leave a Comment »

juiaSOUNDTRACK: AVI AVITAL-Tiny Desk Concert #239 (September 12, 2012).

aviAvi Avital plays a mandolin. But he doesn’t ply bluegrass. Indeed, much like the Punch Brothers covering Debussy, Avital uses the mandolin to play more classical type of music.  He is the first mandolinist to be nominated for a Grammy in the Best Instrumental Soloist category.

He has had this mandolin for about thirteen years and he loves it.  He has been using the same Israel lutier since he was 17, exchanging them until he found this one.  And he can really play the heck out of it.

He plays only two songs in the ten minute concert, but they really showcase his skills.

“Nigun” was written by Ernest Bloch in 1923 for violin and piano.  NPR says Avital’s arrangement, like the original, pivots between the ecstatic and the introspective, rising in intensity (and pitch) until finally disappearing in a mist of quietly plucked notes.  If you think of the mandolin as just strumming along to pop songs, you’ll be blown away by this.  He plays notes that I suspect were never meant to be played…sliding all the way down to the highest high notes on the highest strings.  I don’t know that it sounds better than a violin, but it is pretty neat.

“Bucimis” is a raucous Bulgarian folk tune in the odd meter of 15/16. “It’s almost 4/4, but not quite,” he says. “I can play it, but I can’t dance it.”  This song is absolutely wild, especially at the end.  While the first song was pretty, this song showcases just what you can do with a mandolin.  It’s intense.

[READ: June 19, 2013] Julia’s House for Lost Creatures

I don’t normally write about kids picture books (if I did my whole blog would be about them as we read so many).  But this one gets a special mention because a) it was published by First Second and b) I love Ben Hatke’s drawing style so much.

This is a delightful story which you have to start on the title page.  It shows a giant turtle with a huge house on its back.  And on the next page the text says “Julia’s house came to town.”

Julia puts in a mailbox and settles in by the sea. (more…)

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