Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto - 1st movement (Benjamin Zander - Interpretation Class)

For more classes like this one, please visit the Benjamin Zander Center - www.benjaminzander.org/
Yasmin Myers, violin
Dina Vainshtein, piano
Interpretations of Music: Lessons for Life
with Benjamin Zander
Dave Jamrog Audio/Video

[@Pitborn]

The secret of Tchaikovsky: Either he is crying, or he is dancing. (14:09)

[@Jake7706]

Such wisdom! My favorite lines are: [10:18] It will get you to college, but will it get you to heaven; that's the question. [21:18] Be out there and go with the passion of the music, find the passion of the music, engage with the passion of the music and give away the passion of the music, and then you’ll have something to say. [22:10] Life is not about progress; life is about contribution. [22:54] Bring purpose to the notes you play, and the steps you take.

[@PianistStefanBoetel]

The routine will bring you to college, but will it bring you to heaven? So much wisdom :)

[@ian-duh]

Wow that pianist is killing it too. Devilishly hard accompaniment, especially at that tempo.

[@marvelousmiraculous]

which part may I ask:)

[@-Honeybee]

Dina has transcended mortality.

[@axiomist1076]

Thats the finest pianist in that place. I never liked piano; only soloists playing a sonata, but since I first saw the first of these vids I changed my mind. I love to hear this lady play.

[@TheMusicalKnokcers]

wtf it blows my mind that you think that of piano, and that only this lady makes you change. I never really listened to violin but i always found it great. Now i want to make you like piano 😅. Here's a few : Dang Thai Son's Chopin (he did it all, look for the ones played on an Erard not a Steinway, it is even better) Siegfried Stockigt for Mendelssohn's preludes For the young there is Benjamin Grosvenor Grigory Sokolov for some schubert and Beethoven. And yeah that's it for a bouquet of some of the great pianist. I hope you will try one of the lis(z)t at least.

[@CharlieBrown-zr9wk]

Ian Duh o shut up

[@Rembrandt96]

She was so careful while playing the trilled passage at the end the first time (6:34), took her time and broke out of tempo, she was clearly not confident enough. But the second time around(20:17) with the maestro pushing her she executed it flawlessly at a much faster tempo without faltering! She could always do it but just needed someone to push and show her, and Zander did an amazing job at that

[@isidoreaerys8745]

Wow side by side the effect is awesome.

[@AndrewWilsonStooshie]

That's a stunning difference. Stunning.

[@MetalGuitarTimo]

stunning indeed !!!

[@NWS189]

"Life is not about progress. Life is about contribution." How beautiful is that lesson?

[@niapawina]

Indeed a beautiful quote.

[@leonsundermeyer]

i think she is just playing the piece and she feels the Emotion in the piece but she is not showing it , thats why everything sounds really equal… as soon as Benjamin Zander Conduct her she is showing much more Emotion!

[@totallyfake2852]

Which is ironic because she is being conducted, not conducting herself.

[@hartree.y]

Her pattern is similar to mine. She falls into this contentness with the flow of the piece as it is. Being shy or unconfident also aggravates this, I think.

[@MsPea]

It's hard for some young people to show emotion. Often they are embarrassed by their feelings. I heard Hilary Hahn say once that she was called "the ice queen" early in her career because audiences felt she didn't express emotion, except through her playing. But, audiences want to see that the soloist feels something. Hilary has learned as she's matured that she's comfortable showing her emotion. Most young players will do the same as they gain self confidence.

[@leonsundermeyer]

@@MsPea yes i agree! I still have the same problem as her, but this gets better with experience. I think it is not easy in the young generation today to show emotion through classical pieces because of social media and the huge range and possibilitys we got today. Seeing everything "cringe" or "funny" ´, pretty much "entertainment" is the fashion today. We need to be more open and thoughtfull at the same time to understand classical music but also you need joy by showing it to other people!

[@KageShinjiketo]

This was great, I've never seen someone who empowers players like Mr. Zander. How frightfully wonderful it must be to be taught by him.

[@TheOriginalEntz]

he is saving souls from the coffin that is modern formal education

[@garybridgham5432]

"Frightfully wonderful" is an excellent description of what it must be like to learn from him.

[@AlanHope2013]

He always goes, "You're a wonderful musician and you played that beautifully, and I have nothing to say about that. Now here's a long list of things you got wrong."

[@chuffer595]

Alan Hope I mean he really doesn't mean that she's doing "a list of things wrong". His point in a lot of these masterclasses is that the musicians do everything right, and play beautifully, but that great performance is so much more than playing right. He wants to help them bring out what they feel.

[@adolescenterevoltado9008]

@@chuffer595 said everything

[@franciscadavies]

not exactly-the point of a master class is to learn things and improve from a person that isn’t as familiar as your teacher.

[@rickyanthony]

Some people are actually interested in progress.

[@elinmalovitsina4187]

Ha-ha ! You are wright!

[@conforzo]

His TED talk on classical music is important.

[@almagirimai8931]

Yes. I totally agree. Brilliant!

[@kymriel]

That woman sure loves to come all the way from Connecticut

[@HyTricksyy]

I'd come to all of these all the way from Jupiter if I had the chance, too.

[@maazzafar2822]

And we love seeing her there!

[@watkinder8288]

Professor Zander' s passion is infectious and his observations about Tchaikovsky' s tempi a revelation. Most importantly, and a lesson to conductors and performers alike, the composer' s wishes should always be paramount. Unfortunately, and he is very tactful, performance TRADITIONS tend to grow up around famous works. Sometimes those traditions are WRONG and need to be re- evaluated. This girl' s playing really started to come alive under his tutelage.

[@siddheshpatankar9498]

"Life is not about progress, its abt contribution!" what a line! life-changing.

[@kennethcarvalho3684]

Have never seen someone teach with so much passion...he can take a student from 3 to 6 on a scale of 10 in no time...

[@greenbrightly]

I can’t say I know much about the technicalities of this music but the emotion of it we can all feel. This guy is such an inspiring person, wonderful teacher.

[@MsPea]

I sometimes think Zander should have an interpretation class for teachers. All the young people in these master classes have teachers, but obviously none of the teachers are able to impart the ideas that Zander does. Imagine how great these students could be if their own teachers could give them what Zander does. Teachers could really benefit from Zander, too.

[@axiomist1076]

I love this man! He makes each musician come alive. Thats the only " secret" to playing : play from your heart and soul and always with joy; the joy of playing your instrument because you love it. Make it an extension of you. Even if youre playing something sad and depressing, play from the soul and if you love playing, let it show, even if its so sad youre shedding tears as you play. Then the audience, whom youre really playing for, will feel the same joy that comes from you.

[@lmh651]

This old man is so good at inspire these young promising players. I love this series =)

[@almagirimai8931]

Old man? This is a maestro in the true sense of the word. You use 'old man' as a pejorative and I am not impressed by your arrogance.

[@violintegral]

After the tempo fix it was soooooo much better and more flowing!!!!

[@forheavenssakeidonthavewif2657]

Pre 22:45 "... life is about a contribution" All those awaiting exam results.... please listen to Benjamin Zander. He cites how we follow life with achievement upon achievement, and then we die. You can fall into this spiral, or take your lot and bring out your best. When we play music, when we engage in life, we give, and encourage others to give. Then we can find beauty in anything. Inside every moment of darkness the beauty is there. Yes you'll suffer, but giving calms the soul. I am in such an ugly part of life, but everything moves on. Life happens. How we deal with it is our gift. Please don't be defined by your achievements and failures. You've just moved to a different future. Just stay engaged with it. I have yet to learn this lesson. This wonderful man's parents survived concentration camp and the negativity of ww2. They produced the beautiful soul of their son. They gave him life. Now he is giving us joy. You are not defined by an exam result.

[@Bratsche2000]

I love this so much. Thank you Boston Phil for posting videos like this and for inspiring musicians across the globe.

[@lyrasimo]

i think if you can play it slowly you can play it quickly

[@louisaquiler8293]

Not too fast, would be sacrilegious.

[@realviolinist2472]

I think Ling Ling says if you can play it quickly you can playing like me and quickly

[@haerinkim5887]

TWOSETTTT

[@aftereffects00]

I can play quickly but its hard for me to play slowly..

[@josephile]

only if you practice 40 hours a day

[@almagirimai8931]

Amazing how he communicates to his students and to the audience the difference between being competent violin player and an artiste. i love that, and how his students embrace his mentoring and flower in the very process of his tuition. What a gift this man is. Thank you Benjamin Zander!

[@Dimivim]

I am so glad this man is still in life. Thank you

[@hopeagainsthope9553]

Awesome how she loves his humor.

[@mingu1403]

Wonderful teacher makes big influences and discover the potential of future musicians!❤

[@charlesdavis7087]

"Lessons for Life" is the most electrifying and self-illuminating 20 minutes I've seen on You Tube as of this date (the evening of April 5th., 2019) ! And yes, I said "the most."

[@badem]

I have been listening to classical music for about 30 years now. In this 25 minutes, I have learned a lot more than those long years. What a great mentor this guy is and how lucky those kids are. I hope they appreciate this musical genius.

[@innasokolova736]

Benjamin, please, do more. We need it.

[@RochestersGotTalentbyPaulRefic]

dina is an awesome piano player, Ben is an awesome teacher, the violin player is getting there fast love it

[@laikeatlim8261]

From competence to exuberance. Bravo!

[@chriss6356]

We need a masterclass on Bruch g minor, Brahms VC, and Bach Chaconne and we will be set!

[@jakewatson668]

There is one on Brahms

[@felixfourcolor]

@@jakewatson668 Oh where? I don't see it

[@jakewatson668]

Ah my apologies. I think I was talking about sonatas

[@ulli5134]

as soon as he does his magic work everything comes to live and makes sense

[@Beer-can_full_of_toes]

At first I thought Mr Zander was like an educator but I now refer to him as an opener of eyes and hearts. Notice when he took her hair down while she was playing her eyes were definitely not closed! What a master of the arts. The most important purpose of the arts.

[@mullygully1510]

The first time she played it i really couldn't wait for it to end. That final time she played it i balled my eyes out and was hooked to every note. I love this man.

[@joecha8907]

Yea!!!! I've been waiting for him to do Tchaikovsky violin concerto!!!!!!!

[@evelyneloiterstein7085]

Please continue filming Mr. Zander and his students and putting the movies on KZbin. Fantastic!

[@rgarlinyc]

Oh.. words fail me; such beauty lurking in Yasmin Myers, unearthed and unleashed by the incomparable Zander!

[@twizzls5582]

I love how he's so brilliant. I took a lot of advice from your videos and showed this to my orchestra teacher.

[@asterius4271]

Benjamin says the most inspiring things. Such an incredible person.

[@minaviolinviola9561]

fantastic! he really made her express herself better :)

[@reinaldodeoliveira5088]

BENJAMIN ZANDER HAS HELPED A LOT MANY YOUNG MUSICIANS HOW TO PLAY CORRECTLY THE TCHAIKOVSKY CONCERT

[@Syzygy-21cm]

Good old Benjamin, he got her there in the end - let her hair down, then she blossomed, playing it faster with conviction and passion. Man! He is SUCH an inspiration!

[@anthonycooper3191]

Truly wonderful to watch a master-musician helping a budding-young violinist to advance her playing to a higher-level.

[@aaronkim3856]

wow, I got goosebumps with the faster tempo. It sounded so much fuller and grand the 2nd time around

[@sidecarural]

Welcome back Maestro Zander!

[@NoRegretsJustLove3]

This was so beautiful because she had the skills obviously all along but the live adaptation and help with Mr Zander wow the music and emotions that conveyed with his help had brought tears to my eyes. Such appreciate for the work he does wow

[@kaanguraysirin8466]

Benjamin Zander is the man. Wish I could see him in person, if not to play I would at least want to talk to him he is such a cool guy.

[@brandonmacey964]

Zander is inspired his teaching is incredible. All his students are blessed

[@Quotenwagnerianer]

Her entrance, much too slow. I'll be curious where Mr. Zander goes with this. But she also shows that he was right when he told that interpreter of the Beethoven, that you don't need to watch your fingers. ;) Edit: I wish Mr. Zander would have been a little bit more specific about the background of the Concerto. Tchaikovsky wrote it basically together with his former pupil and lover Josef Kotek in Switzerland, where he fled after his suicide attempt and subsequent nervous breakdown.

[@leeahegg2377]

Bravo! Amazing!

[@lynnrixson1094]

Absolutely fantastic. There’s just nothing like it🙂🙂😊😊

[@sam-to1br]

My new motto: It’ll get you to college. But will it get you to heaven?

[@sam-to1br]

Remind me of “you may be verified on twitter, but are you verified... in the eyes of God???”

[@mcnaire2004]

"You don't consult your metronome. You may not even have one."

[@georgiaguardian4696]

So beautiful .

[@josepriberavanyo5185]

I love this man. He give me and everybody so much motivation ¡¡ I want a have the same motivation when I became his age.

[@paulkrichel6325]

Magnifique leçon a cette jeune violoniste !! J'ai beaucoup aimé !!

[@raffitorossian6432]

VERY NICE SOUND AND FEELINGS...BRAVOOOOO....I WISH YOU HEALTH AND MORE SUCCESS...!

[@gregormann7]

I love this man.

[@user-ds1lk3jt3o]

이렇게 재밌게 본 마스터클래스처음이어요. 열정가득 웃음가득. 멋있어요.

[@RexakonGaming]

Amazing feeling in music

[@kuansong1644]

Anyone noticing she has a straight pinky? It's really hurting the flexibility of her wrist.

[@4500alfonso]

Magnific class..

[@keanusiganoff]

You need to do one of these videos but on Tchaikovsky's 1st piano concerto!

[@fransiscokevin]

i don't really know what happen.. but mr zander makes it more magical than before

[@alskndlaskndal]

I want see the Philharmonic this season! We're so lucky to have them in Boston.

[@michaelbrowder1759]

The music speaks, not the eyes, Mr. Zander.

[@jacobmcneal3011]

She has her EYES CLOSED. If I remember correctly, for him that is a “No, no”. I can definitely tell she is in her own world.

[@jpdj2715]

Bravissimo to maestro Zander and Ms. Vainshtein. As to the competent violinist, congratulations for your courage to stand there and get lectured. The closing her eyes, made me think what she did, and then the maestro said it, out loud. Seems to me, victim of a competent piano teacher, now competent listener-spectator, that part of the tempo problem is, that people have no reliable clock in their head. This is well researched and the metronome was invented to help address this issue, and served as a better way of communicating tempo than allegro or presto. So, a performance in absence of a metronome remains a problem. The theatrical arm/leg/body movements of pianists are ways to have a surrogate clock, using these motions for timing. Humans can do these motions precisely timed. I always struggle with relative tempo indications, or better, how these are interpreted. Take Chopin's Mazurka pieces. Mazurka are dances, like many pieces in Western classical music. And a mazurka dance is syncopated to the 2nd or 3rd beat in the bar. Looking at Chopin's notation, he may have shifted the bar bar to prevent having to add syncopation to the notation, but musicians who understand the dance would struggle with that. In one, he adds "tempo of a mazurka". How do you know what that is? Here he accents the first note. In later pieces, the accents are missing. What did he do, what does it mean for the pianist, and the listener who knows the dance? Well, today the tempo thing is simple. See if there is a Polish dance group from the Mazur province that has uploaded a movie recording of their dances. Waltz, minuet, etc. Same story. If a girl has been taken to dance these dances, then she better understands the tempo and the game on the dance floor between dancers and music, through the physical experience - a waltz without ritardando piece followed by accelerando is boring, and miss a beat in the regular sections and the dancers could kill musicians. With a Tchaikovsky violin concerto that is a ballet, it may help to see the music performed with a ballet, or better to have a dancer take a violinist through some motions, a couple times. Interesting to see Zander focusing on passion, emotion and trying to fill the voids of life experience. Another maestro might focus on how to play this chord or deal with that third. And then I saw yet another maestro ask the student to play a couple bars in a Chopin piece as a fugue and the student became aware there is a difference between playing the notes on paper and understanding micro-timings that determine what a competent listener experiences and why these like one version of competent notes better than another.

[@PermittedCAMI1]

Yesssss I know this oneeee

[@salim85]

What an educator. I wish all teachers were of his caliber, the world would be a better place.

[@alainrobynsds5735]

Zander a le feu sacré,c'est pour quoi nous l'adorons

[@TheZenguitarguy]

I really like these videos and have to wonder if his ability to help musicians connect more deeply would apply to other genres and musicians? It would be really interesting to see his dialog in a Jazz or alternative music setting. I think what he offers is a glimpse into the deeper and more profound aspects of playing that would be valuable. I am a Jazz and Blues musician who once spent a year seeing if this concerto and the Mendelsohn could be played on Guitar. I once learned the right hand of the Mozart piano sonata in Bb and loved playing it. As a Jazz musician I really resonate with what he says and think it would be great to hear his feedback in my genres.

[@FAP44]

So emotional

[@RochestersGotTalentbyPaulRefic]

the blues players close there eyes to feel the music

[@patrickcharette2151]

What I would give for a masterclass with Mr. Zander

[@dominoplay3712]

same here

[@georgepantzikis7988]

@@dominoplay3712 here's how to do it: Step 1. Be a child prodigy. Step 2. Practice 40 hours a day from the age of 3. Step 3. Keep it up for 10-15 years and you might get lucky.

[@abhiroopmathur3958]

@@georgepantzikis7988 ling ling 40 hrs

[@korinamasic8021]

Be ling ling.

[@TheOriginalEntz]

@@georgepantzikis7988 everyone who plays 40 hours a day from age 3 is a prodigy. Most prodigies are made not born. Fact. I've even see a study on testing levels of skill and age they started playing and prodigy status. The very few prodigies who were discovered later in life (like 8 or 10 which is considered late) were much worse regardless of comparative age (older or younger, less years practicing or more)

[@valerioviolinoconti2832]

Very good pianist

[@MingmingViolin]

I like it, hope to play in font of Mr Zander one day

[@matheusalves1237]

I wanna see her in her senior year!!!!

[@leonardniamh]

You are a beautiful fantastic sweetheart wonderful teacher Benjamin

[@MetalGuitarTimo]

this is melting my death metal crusted heart

[@nimrodshefer3649]

You jast made my day and week batter

[@bobbob123ful]

I like pancakes too

[@jeremybong7238]

@@bobbob123ful lol!

[@nguyenvpicipmu]

I have nothing but some of the most rudimental understanding of music. Yet for a long time I dread the thought of finding out what professionals make out of this piece, because I've had my own. May this video enlighten me. Sure it will but this certainly is a great leap on my side that has to be made if I am to progress further into the realm of music.

[@thecaptainsunchained]

Oh wait this is not the story behind the music.

[@geraldvanwilgen]

I wish I had a father like him.

[@NWS189]

20:35, Benjamin Zander breathes life into the music.

[@damianc80]

That’s a particularly nice violin. I wonder who made it?

[@charleyhibschweiler4555]

Mr. Zander should do an interpretation class for the cannon part in the 1812 Overture by Tchaikovsky.

[@eighty_more_or_less]

THAT would go over with a bang!

[@christinestill5002]

Wow, talk about difficult. I enjoy these classes only after I've listened to Perlman & others play each piece about 20 times so I have some idea what he's talking about. Strange how often metronomes are brought up.

[@bigansurrealisallendis6615]

Somebody knows the average age of the students that play in this videos?

[@monkeh4225]

If you can play it slow, you can play it fast ~ Ling Ling

[@reteprewolf9180]

He's taken away her chains

[@PlantiPal]

He's trying to free the notes, trapped in players' hearts, behind the bars of their fingers and desire to get it right.

[@Jimbarleyy]

19:32 oooh how i want a masterclass from him soo bad😂

[@moein-lifestyle]

🎻 19:30 🎻

[@josphchoi]

interesting choice of fingerings

[@chanaglanstein4689]

This is interesting. When you hear Haifetz play he plays as Zander is conducting.

[@Emma-qg1wr]

Bless this girl!!!! Not the scrunchie!!!!

[@FrankWernPennant]

Funny. I was just thinking during the last bit she played that it was a very grown-up performance for such a young girl. And then Zander said it!

[@gerilynganger3190]

She is making good progress; now, inject the passion of this piece.At the end there is a slight "digging" into the strings. Yes, as noted above, there was a break with tempo but she recovered nicely. On some of the last notes of the musical sentence, I'd like to hear a powerful sustain in the note. As Zande said, the violin is well played technically, but now that the notes are learned, the interpretation should come in, remember that ever single note has to be played with passion in the bow and in the left hand. Would like to see her move forward to opening the eyes and watching herself play. Put eyes, ears and body togethr.

[@anab9745]

👏👏👏💙