2022 Tanglewood Audition

BOTTESINI Concerto in B minor, I (exposition)
BACH Cello Suite no. 5, BWV 1011, VI. Gigue
CARTER Boston Concerto, VI. Meno mosso
MOZART Symphony No. 39, K. 543, I. Allegro
STRAUSS Don Juan, op. 20
MAHLER Symphony no. 1, III.

[@orlandoavogadro]

Honestly, out of all the renditions I have seen of Bottesini's second concerto, this comes in as a close second, just behind Rinat Ibragimov. Excellent tone, great phrasing, beautiful sound, and that very high note was pure bliss. most people hit it with a harmonic, which is of course perfectly viable and much safer, but I find it so much cooler to do it this way. kudos man, I'm sure the judges will appreciate your incredible abilities.

[@ModusVivendiMedia]

It is very nice. It sounds like it might have been at least partly inspired by Mikyung's interpretation, which is my personal favorite (ahead of Rinat even).

[@HeifetzVladimir]

@@ModusVivendiMediaMikyung ahead of Rinat? That is absolutely untrue in terms of musicality and technicality.

[@ModusVivendiMedia]

@@HeifetzVladimir Yes, that's my opinion. Well, Rinat does play this concerto very well, not better than Mikyung (nor necessarily noticeably worse technically or in overall interpretation), but I find the tone quality not so great, it's quite fuzzy and nasally sounding and not the prettiest or most pleasant to listen to as a solo instrument. I suspect there's also a bit less of the sublime subtlety to his phrasing and expression compared to Mikyung, but it's harder to notice such details through the sound of the instrument. I also find that true in many of the other pieces where I can compare them directly. I find Rinat's interpretations a bit forgettable, neither sublime nor thrilling as a rule (though occasionally a phrase or two can be gorgeous, like in Capriccio di Bravura). Very often the tone quality is a bit fuzzy and nasal, being not always the most pleasant to listen to repeatedly, not to mention being a bit monotonous in not being very colorful or varying very much. And his phrasing and expression just don't have quite the subtlety or liveliness of Mikyung's, they don't breathe and sing and dance in the same way, and the pieces as a whole don't have quite the same flow or momentum. He's a bit guilty of the typical approach to double bass interpretation afflicting most soloists: play cautiously so as not to make a mistake. His playing is really SOLID (which is critical for orchestral playing), but not necessarily sublime or magical (which is needed to be a great soloist). Many times I have discovered some new bassist, and, listening through my laptop speakers, said "wow they sound great!!! Maybe they are as good as/better than Mikyung?" And then I plug in my earbuds and turn up the volume and start listening carefully, and almost always, the answer is "oh, now that I can hear it clearly, definitely not even close". Or the execution is solid, but again doesn't really transport me in the same way. Or else even if they still sound pretty good in that one piece, it's usually much less so in other pieces. Rinat comes about as close as anyone, but he's still not quite there in producing the kind of magic that Mikyung does. All too often, other double bass soloists sound like students in comparison to Mikyung. What I mean is, if they were a cellist or violinist, their playing would be considered quite ordinary, maybe decently-good undergraduate level, or at best graduate-school level, where they can play the notes pretty well and solidly, but aren't bringing much beyond that in terms of brilliance, excitement, expression, subtlety of phrasing, or maturity of interpretation (compared to the great soloists). Rinat does rise above that level, but still can't quite match Mikyung to my ears (even if his instrument sounded prettier than it does). I think the musical standards and expectations for double bass have always been really low compared to violin or cello, but Mikyung (pretty much alone) is rising up to an interpretive level expected of great violin or cello soloists in a way I haven't heard anyone else do on the double bass. But everyone's ears, tastes, emotional reactions, and musical experiences are different, so maybe others would feel the opposite. What's most important is that they can each bring joy and inspiration to many listeners!

[@ModusVivendiMedia]

Here are some examples: BOTTESINI Concerto No. 2 Rinat: kzbin.info/www/bejne/h5i9kGCcbNWJoZY Mikyung: kzbin.info/www/bejne/kGrUpYmFaLSpnLs Tarantella Rinat: kzbin.info/www/bejne/sHatlK13ndKHb6M Mikyung: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hZ7dg5Sea9F5kNE Capriccio di Bravura Rinat: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fp-bhXSIocinrdU Mikyung: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hGbWlIWDZ9qXnKc Alla Mendelssohn (opening) Rinat: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jYCbfWikf7Kie8U Mikyung: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gnKrpnuel6-ro9U Schubert Arpeggione (1st movement) Rinat: kzbin.info/www/bejne/pJ7YpHawn5qCn68 Mikyung: kzbin.info/www/bejne/r2WpZZKvj5anqLs Koussevitzky Concerto II Rinat: kzbin.info/www/bejne/o4evmmSAdrmhmdE Mikyung: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bIWrd56VqZd7fZo (around age 21 and practicing with mom on a janky upright piano, in an awful sounding practice room with noise next door, recorded on an old cell phone - yet still move beautiful and engaging, to me) III Rinat: kzbin.info/www/bejne/o4evmmSAdrmhmdE Mikyung: kzbin.info/www/bejne/f32aZ4tsmpaejtk Dittersdorf Concerto (opening) Rinat: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hn-8poWYqLh9j9k Mikyung: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gnKrpnuel6-ro9U Vanhal Concerto (opening) Rinat: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eqWQk4Gca81jqqs Mikyung: kzbin.info/www/bejne/gnKrpnuel6-ro9U Hindemith Sonata I Rinat: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qpibf6evnsRpfpo Mikyung: kzbin.info/www/bejne/a4bLZ3esrLqWers II Rinat: kzbin.info/www/bejne/qpibf6evnsRpfpo Mikyung: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nGW9p4Obmap_jZo III Rinat: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eXy4q52fet6lmLs Mikyung: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z56rcp6Fjbl3gtU Rinat is very, very good, and extremely solid. But he never lets you forget that you're listening to a DOUBLE BASS - a bit ugly sounding, kind of monotonous, and always a bit lumbering. Mikyung transcends those limitations completely. I find going from Rinat to Mikyung in most cases is like "just when you thought it couldn't get better... it gets better."

[@HeifetzVladimir]

@@ModusVivendiMedia Well that’s definitely has something to do with audio, Rinat’s videos have a much lower resolution and sound , and that’s because of the recording device. Mikyung has a very high quality audio quality and video resolution with an entire orchestra accompaniment, which makes listeners easier to enjoy, however Mikyung has not reached the instrument’s full potential, she is a very good player indeed, but she’s like many others who don’t have her own interpretation and style of music. It’s like comparing Heifetz and Oistakh with Ray Chen or Hilary Hahn, modern day artists finds themselves hard to have an interpretation of themselves, because they could easily find hundreds or thousands of other references from other artists, which eventually makes themselves more like a copyist than an artist. I am a bassist, but before that I’m also a musician, and I don’t find Mikyung a “special talent “ to be compared, she just had better devices. The truth about her magical sound is actually because of the extreme quality of the sound which filters all the fuzziness and unwanted sounds away, it would not be fair if you never heard them in live performances, which I was fortunate enough to hear from them both directly, Rinat at around 2003 and Mikyung at a recital a few years ago. There is one thing yet to say is Mikyung has a very long way to run but with Rinat, his time has ended, so it’s better to support new coming giants than the old ones, but I believe we must still appreciate the older founding generations.

[@themusiccovenant]

Amazing

[@NicMathisen]

Sounds really good!

[@el_kpm]

Great Bottesini 🔥🔥

[@misterobtuse6242]

soooooooo good. Bravo bravo bravo

[@owenboyd5780]

kudos, my guy

[@maydanovds]

🔥🔥🔥👏

[@billionhappy]

❤❤

[@azamoraar]

Great sound and solid audition man, What’s your recording setup?

[@tobyvigneau9629]

Thanks! My school has a great recording staff. I was fortunate enough to work with them for this tape.

[@christianhales176]

killer.

[@markzeder1313]

how are you so good

[@connor-db7ch]

amazing job the bottesini was fire!! also how old are you

[@tobyvigneau9629]

Thanks! I’m 20

[@mykolfornasero3631]

Bravo!!! Is that a full size bass?

[@Cellosong2007]

There isn’t really a term as full size bass tbh, since double basses are not standardized 😊. I can have a Viennese model that feels thin and slim, or a Montagnana model which is thick and fat

[@tobyvigneau9629]

It is definitely the biggest bass I’ve played! Not sure what size to qualify it as though.

[@alfieharries]

Belcantos and a mittel spiro C? Amazing sound and playing, congrats

[@tobyvigneau9629]

Yes. On this bass I now also use a spiro A.

[@alfieharries]

@@tobyvigneau9629 thanks, i wonder if it was for the same reason as me. I absolutely love belcanto g and d for orchestra but i find the A and E far too floppy on my bass.

[@tobyvigneau9629]

I thought the bel A sounded alright on this bass, but it didn’t match the power of the E string. Of course, I would never go for the Bel E, it’s too tubby and hard to articulate

[@ositoCastro]

super congrats, whats your bass?

[@tobyvigneau9629]

This is a Cesare Candi bass, which I am borrowing from my school.

[@ositoCastro]

@@tobyvigneau9629 Rice, NEC, Curtis?

[@tobyvigneau9629]

Curtis

[@tobyvigneau9629]

@@GeckoBass of course

[@Cellosong2007]

@@tobyvigneau9629 Wow! So impressive 😊