Ray Chen Violin

Happy Valentine’s Day!

raychenviolinist — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 21:31:07 +0000

Since Medieval times, the name of St. Valentine, a Christian martyr from the 3rd century, has been associated with the love-themed feast of February 14 – a day when lovers express their affection through flowers, sweets, gifts, and cards. Valentine’s Day is likewise a holiday when the world embraces romantic music, a domain in which classical composers have excelled through the centuries. Classical Archives is pleased to celebrate Valentine’s Day 2012 with our first official Celebrity Playlist – here presented by the rising star Taiwanese-Australian violinist Ray Chen. Mr. Chen, who was a featured Interview by Artistic Director Nolan Gasser last year, is boasting a new CD from Sony Classical, dedicated to two warhorses of the violin repertory: the Violin Concertos of Tchaikovsky and Mendelssohn, from which he features a track on his Playlist – and which likewise includes other beloved romantic works from the Baroque to Modern periods. Beyond the Playlist, the Feature also includes a lovely message from Mr. Chen, introducing the contents of the concert in his warm and engaging style. So, grab your partner, crack open a nice bottle of wine, and celebrate Valentine’s Day with this lovely concert presented by Ray Chen and Classical Archives!

http://www.classicalarchives.com/feature/valentines_day_2012.html

“I’ve personally gone through and handpicked each track and have come up with 12 tracks that are soothing yet heartfelt, and are sure to make your Valentine’s celebration more enjoyable.”
– Ray Chen

Hello Classical Archives listeners! A very happy Valentine’s Day to you all! Whether you’re spending it with just friends or family – or if you’re lucky enough, with the love of your life – be sure to impress them with the following playlist!

I’ve personally gone through and handpicked each track and have come up with twelve tracks that are soothing yet heartfelt, and are sure to make your Valentine’s celebration more enjoyable. I have envisioned that these tracks be enjoyed over a candlelit dinner, or a quiet glass of wine and some conversation, because they are all pieces which create a mood that is very intimate and personal.

The first two pieces are all works that feature the piano, and although I myself never became very good at this instrument, I still love to play it in my spare time. We have Erik Satie’s Gymnopedie No.1 followed by Schubert’s “Ständchen” from his collection of songs titled Schwanengesang, or “Swan Song”. These were originally written for voice and piano, but this piano transcription by Liszt is so profoundly simple yet beautiful, that I felt that it was even better than the original. The third is a piece by the young French composer Yann Tiersen, from his film score for Amélie, called “Poulain” – which alongside the Satie is colored like a French impressionist painting. Oh, and by the way, if you can gather some time to sit down and learn some of these pieces (they aren’t technically so difficult – in this case it’s all about the musicality, and who’s to say that yours isn’t right…?) then I guarantee you will have to fend off the hoard of admirers who will be running your way. You will never spend a Valentine’s Day alone. Ever!

Next, we have a few tracks which feature violin music – including two works which I have personally recorded, and they are perfect for warming hearts: we’ve got the 1st movement of the Franck Violin Sonata, followed by the 2nd movement of the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto. Then there is Rachmaninoff’s Vocalise – which was also originally composed for voice and piano, but the violin transcription… well, listen to it and I think you’ll agree that it’s wonderful this way.

The next part of the playlist features works that include more orchestral music, such as Pachelbel’s very famous Canon in D and Bach’s Double Violin Concerto, BWV1043. It also includes pieces such as the 2nd movement of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto and even Astor Piazzolla’s “Invierno porteno” from his Four Seasons of Buenos Aires – which will make you want to bring out your inner tango.

The playlist ends with two tracks that are quieter and more subdued: the first of the two being George Gershwin’s Lullaby, and then ending with Debussy’s “Clair de Lune” transcription for violin and piano, one of my favorites.

I hope you enjoy your Valentine’s Day wherever you may be.

New lamps for old?

raychenviolinist — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 09:18:13 +0000

Recently I have been asked quite a lot about my opinion on what my thoughts are of the following article:

http://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode.cfm?id=stradivarius-fails-sound-test-versu-12-01-04

Basically there was a test involving 6 violins – 3 of which were modern and the other 3 were famous old italian violins (2 Stradivarius and 1 Guarnerius del Gesu)

Now I don’t know who these “21 professional violinists” were but some research showed up 2 names, current students from my alma mater: The Curtis Institute of Music – a school which has turned out incredible musicians in the past decade such as Alan Gilbert, Hilary Hahn, Lang Lang, and Yuja Wang just to name a few.

Here’s the website: http://articles.philly.com/2012-01-11/news/30616531_1_modern-violin-makers-antonio-stradivari-modern-makers

Now I don’t want to put down any of my colleagues, but let me tell you that it takes a lot of experience to know how to play these fine instruments. Even Strads and del Gesu’s have different ways of being played.

I happen to play on a Strad myself – the 1721 “Macmillan” Stradivarius which is a very fine instrument indeed. I also had in my possession another Strad which was the 1708 “Huggins” Strad which I recorded my first album with Sony Classical on. I’ve also tried many other old italian violins and have to say that it takes a while to get to know an instrument of such calibre.

So let me just state the following factors which may have affected the “test”:

- the Strads and del Gesu violins were not played in a while and were still “asleep”. This happens when you don’t play an instrument for around 2 months, the violin for some reason needs a few days of intense playing before the sound opens. An instrument that has been sitting in a museum for a lengthy amount of time would fit this category.

- what strings one chooses to use. Hopefully they stuck to Dominant strings which in my opinion lets the violin sing most naturally. If the player is not used to the strings and only has 10 minutes to try the instrument, then it’s like throwing someone who doesn’t know how to swim in the deep end.

- How experienced the violinist is. 2 years ago when I was a student at Curtis I probably would not have been able to tell the difference even though at this time I had 2 Strads. Just because you drink good wine all the time doesn’t mean you instantly become a wine connoisseur. Things like this take time.

- According to the second article, the study was apparently conducted in a hotel room. Enough said.

All this being said, I’m glad to hear that modern makers are making violins that are comparable to the old italian masters, although I’ve yet to come across a modern instrument that sounded better than my Strad. Just sayin’.

Hello!

raychenviolinist — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 12:50:44 +0000

Hey guys!

Where have I been? Everywhere! But recently it’s been easier for me to upload photos and smaller posts to my facebook page here at: http://www.facebook.com/SmileFromYourHeart

It’s also linked to my twitter account (but you won’t see the photos): http://twitter.com/raychenviolin

“But what about all the blog posts??” Well it’s just that Facebook has made it so damn easy to upload content (If I want to upload a photo I just send an email with it and write the caption in the subject line!) that it is so much faster to get stuff over there in “real time” and it seems like that’s what people want!

Or… is it? Leave me a comment here if you don’t think so. If enough people tell me they don’t have Facebook or twitter then I will find a way to get more content here.

Hope you’re having a great day!

Things that I’ve been up to recently…(including the ECHO Klassik!)

raychenviolinist — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 22:32:58 +0000

Hello all!

“What’s the use of having a blog if you don’t use it?” was the recent question that was put to me…and by “recent” I mean quite some time ago. Still, it wasn’t until a few weeks after that moment of enlightenment from my friend that I finally dragged my lazy butt over to the keyboard to write something down.
So what has been going on in my life? Well, I’ve met a lot of interesting people including a captain in the US Navy whose stressful missions made me feel a lot better about the Prokofiev Concerto no. 2 which I’m still trying to get together in time for my Madrid dates in October (as he plainly put it: my worst case scenario involves embarrassing myself thoroughly, but his worst day could involve a whole bunch of people getting killed) And then there was the guy from Maine who sells spring water and was telling me all about the benefits of drinking spring water versus the poisonous, fluoride coated crap that comes out of my tap. Oh and I played in the most beautiful hall in the world – the Teatro alla Scala in Milan.

Then more stuff came after that – which leads me to talk about the ECHO Klassik Award Show that I went to. First I have to say that I was really pleasantly surprised at how elaborate it was. There was a huge red carpet that we were chauffeured onto by the countless limos they had on service. And my gosh, the number of cameras! Well words are difficult to describe how it was there so check out the photos!

: Me with my trophy – I was awarded “Newcomer of the Year” for my Virtuoso Album, here in this photo with Yuja wang (left), Susanna Yoko Henkel (right)

Red carpet + paparazzi

RAY CHEN WINS ECHO KLASSIK AWARD!

raychenviolinist — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 21:30:37 +0000

This was for the “Virtuoso” CD which came out earlier this year in February.

Award presentation will be in Berlin on October 2nd. Kind of ruins my Oktoberfest plans but oh well. I’m pretty excited because I haven’t received a trophy since I was 12 years old!