Tasmin Little - The Naked Violin
Here is a refreshing departure from the typical free online album. Famed British violinist Tasmin Little presents a collection of three classical solo violin works. What makes this offering different is that Ms. Little allows the listener to download the album as either as a 35 minute EP containing just the music or a hour long LP by adding her very entertaining commentaries. I recommend getting the whole shebang. The artist is delightfully effervescent in both her playing and comments. Listen to the Bach intro just to hear the hippo story. This would probably be a great recording to introduce children and teenagers to classical music and the violin specifically. Her comments remain entertaining and informative throughout.
As for the actual music, we get Bach’s “Partita No.3 in E major for Solo Violin”, Paul Patterson’s “Luslawice Variations op.50 for violin”, and the “Sonata No.3 in D minor” nicknamed the “Ballade” by Eugène Ysaÿe. The Bach partita is, of course, Bach. It is a grand work with 19 minutes of Baroque pleasure. As Ms Little states, the sonata for solo violin by the Belgian Romantic Era composer Eugène Ysaÿe “couldn’t be any stylistically different from the Bach” . It is a emotional roller coaster of a composition. Finally we move into the 20th century with British composer Paul Patterson. His “Luslawice Variations op.50 for violin” was composed in 1984 and is inspired by Polish folk music. It’s a virtual firework display of violin virtuosity and the highlight of this excellent album. Little’s spoken intro gives an outstanding description of the going-ons in this theme and variations composition. I love her definition of “rubato” which “just means we can play it the way we want to”. This is an essential download for classical music fans and people who just love great music.
The album is available in format of M4A or MP3 of 192 or 320kbps. If you like the music, support the artist by buying her CDs.
Alsolutely, spot on, Marvin. There’s also a fab video on her
download page of Schindler’s List.!
Comment by Hockel Solo — January 19, 2008 @ 4:32 pm
There will be a LIVE Stream Broadvast of the Naked Violin on Thursday - see Tasmin’s NEWSPAGE 2nd item
rgds Horst Kolo, webmaster www.tasminlittle.org.uk
Press Release
CLASSICAL MUSICIAN REACHES OUT TO TO HIGHLANDS AND ISLANDS AUDIENCE VIA INTERNET (WEBCAST FILMED FOR SOUTH BANK SHOW)
Classical musician Tasmin Little will be broadcasting a performance of material from her recent free downloadable album “The Naked Violin” live from the IFDNRG/Showstreams Internet studios in Edinburgh on the 24th April.
The event will also be filmed by the South Bank Show as part of a documentary scheduled to be broadcast in June.
In line with Tasmin’s efforts to open the classical music world to a wider audience the broadcast will be aimed at reaching to the remotest parts of Scotland via the Internet.
Bringing her personal passion for classical music to new audiences.
In January 2008 Tasmin Little posed visitors to her site with a 3 step challenge: download and listen to her new CD for free, take some time to get to know the pieces and identify any barriers that remain for classical music.
This was a path no musician had ventured down before, not even the innovative rock giants Radiohead, who asked listeners to pay what they thought the recording was worth!
Be part of the event
The webcast will be available worldwide on www.tasminlittle.org.uk
on the 24th April 2008 @ 18:00 (GMT+1)
Whilst this webcast will be available for anyone in the world to view, Tasmin
is particularly keen on reaching Scottish audiences outside the 7 cities which have traditionally had less exposure to the classical arena in the past.
In addition to the webcast, Tasmin will be participating in a video discussion live with viewers on what barriers still remain for classical music.
Comment by Horst Kolo — April 21, 2008 @ 10:06 pm