The Saint-Saens Cello Concerto

[Medi]

...I studied this in High School.  Once, when I met with my private instructor, I was eager...I had practiced hard...and had mastered the 1st Movement...or so I thought.     I played it, and she just sat and watched me.  I stopped, expecting praise...and she just muttered..."That was HORRIBLE!"     I got a bit angry, and said..."I played all of the notes...I think that I was pretty much IN TUNE!"     She just said..."You played the notes, that was true, but YOU DIDN'T PLAY THE MUSIC!!!"  I calmed down a bit, and we talked...it was the most inspirational discussion I ever had as a young woman.  She explained that music wasn't just about playing the 'lollypops' on the score, it was about expressing what the music meant.  She had me play the first passage over and over again, and kept asking me..."What does it mean?"  I got angrier and angrier...and finally shouted...as I finished for the 12th time..."IT IS A STORM!!!"  She laughed, and said..."Yes...and you sounded like a storm...before...you were just playing notes...anyone can do that."

So, that is what 'Music' is about...it isn't just getting the notes in tune...it is about expressing what the notes mean.  And, there is never just one meaning of the notes...although I will make an exception for 'Adagio for Strings'...

Please enjoy...

https://youtu.be/sru18UyAweA

[Medi]

...I have to add this...   There is a very difficult passage at about 3:20...to play it properly, your fingers have to be VERY agile..they are covering three strings at times...and you have to have them at the proper intervals, or you are REALLY out of tune.   

I was judging scholarships once, and a young woman was very nervous as she sat before me, and my usual stern expression didn't help...   She started playing this, and she messed up that passage...and tried to keep going...but she was getting tearful.  I told her to stop, and took her cello from her, and lightly tuned it as we spoke about the work.  I said that it was a storm, and that there were times when the villagers came out and did stuff, and the storm came back.  She calmed down, and I got back into my 'stern' mode, and said, "I can show you an easier fingering for that hard passage."  She just nodded, and I got the accompanist to start a few measures before the passage.  I joined in, playing the lyrical part, and then when I got to the difficult part, I just laid my forearm across the strings and visciosly swiped the bow back and forth...moving my arm up and down the strings.  I finished, and said..."That sounded good, right?"  She stared at me, and then started laughing...   I handed the cello back to her, and sat back, and said, "Just relax, if you miss one note, you will sound better than that."

She did play it better than I did with my 'forearm' fingering...