VC VOX POP | “Do You Ever Miss Something About How You Used To Play?” [Q&A]

The Violin Channel recently caught up with 30+ of the world’s top string players to find out …

“Do you ever miss something about how you used to play?”

The Violin Channel recently caught up with 30+ of the world’s top string players to find out …

German Violin Virtuoso, Julia Fischer:

"Not yet!"

German-Canadian Cellist, Johannes Moser:

"Ignorance is bliss … until you hear a recording of it again years later ... then it's torture ..." 

Canadian Violin Soloist, James Ehnes:

"Sometimes! ... I think I used to have a bit more of a killer instinct with certain things  ... I prefer the way I play now but occasionally enjoy listening to old recordings from my teens ... it’s like looking at old photographs ... it helps me remember who I used to be...."

Korean-American Violin Superstar, Sarah Chang:

"I miss learning entire concertos in 2 days without even trying too hard ... it's like learning a new language ... a 4 year old can pick up a new language in no time whereas it takes you longer when you're 30 ..." [PICTURED]

French Cello Soloist, Gautier Capuçon:

"When I was younger I had no tact!!! ..." 

Georgian Violin Virtuoso, Lisa Batiashvili:

"I try not to think about how I used to play .... but think of how I want to be able to play ..."

Canadian Cellist, Amanda Forsyth:

"I don’t miss how I used to play .... except I do miss being naughty as a kid in Suzuki cello class and undoing my bow to make it into a fishing line ...."

Russian Violin Virtuoso, Ilya Kaler:

"No!"

Dutch Violinist, Rudolf Koelman:

"No, because I believe over the past 4 decades I have developed for the better ... if you’ll ask me the same question in 20 years from now my answer will probably be quite the opposite ..."

Australian VC Artist Violinist, Ray Chen:

"The only thing I miss about my playing from when I was little ... was that I didn't need to practice as much as I do now ... interesting how that works..."

VC Artist Violinist, Stefan Jackiw:

"I do miss the unselfconscious fearlessness of youth ....is there a way to recapture this?"

Mozarteum University Salzburg Pedagogue, Pierre Amoyal:

"I miss nothing ... but think I should have used less vibrato ..."

South Korean Violinist, Dong-Suk Kang:

"No ... I would like to think that I make progress all the time ... and with age, I am more mature musically now than before ..."

New England Conservatory Cello Pedagogue, Laurence Lesser:

"I wish I didn’t still have to practice intonation  ... more than before ..."

German Violinist and Kronberg Academy Artistic Director, Friedemann Eichhorn:

"My staccato was faster as a teenager... but I feel more comfortable now ..."

Russian-American Violinist, Philippe Quint:

"With youth and inexperience there was more fire and fearlessness ... I don't miss it ..."

American Concert Violinist, Anne Akiko Meyers:

"A certain freedom that comes from knowing it's not being recorded for eternal viewing privileges on YouTube ..."

Russian-German Violinist, Kirill Troussov:

"So far ... no!"

Portuguese-American Violinist, Elmar Oliveira:

"Yes .... my youthfulness..."

British Violinist, Alexander Sitkovetsky:

"Not really .... as I didn’t like my playing when I was younger..."

Ukrainian-Israeli Violin Virtuoso, Vadim Gluzman:

"I do miss a sense of discovery ... of having read or performed or heard a great masterwork for the first time ... I remember reading through the Franck Sonata without ever having heard it before  ... I felt lightheaded from excitement and overwhelmed with emotion ...."

Dallas Symphony Concertmaster, Alexander Kerr:

"Absolute fearlessness ..."

Berlin Philharmonic Concertmaster, VC Artist Noah Bendix-Balgley:

"I miss the ease with which I memorized pieces ...."

Boston Symphony Orchestra Concertmaster, Malcolm Lowe:

"NO…wait a second, I miss my fast(er) up and down bow staccato."

London Symphony Orchestra First Violinist "Queen of Bling", Maxine Kwok-Adams:

"I do wish my vibrato would stay high octane for more than a couple of bars!"

Armenian-American Violinist & Pedagogue, Ida Kavafian:

"Pretty much everything ..."

VC Young Artist Violinist, Timothy Chooi:

"I don't think so ... I really have kept a lot of my old style of playing but I think it only gets better ..."

VC Young Artist Violinist, Ioana Cristina Goicea:

"I am mostly looking to the present and future ... and trying to improve continuously ... as a human being and as an artist ..."

VC Artist Cellist, Pablo Ferrández:

"Not at all ... I'm actually always looking to play better and better ... and I think I play better now than in the past ... which is a good sign!"

VC Young Artist Violinist, Stephen Waarts:

"Perhaps a bit of blissful ignorance ..."

VC Artist Violinist, Benjamin Beilman:

"Not yet ..." 

VC Young Artist Violinist, William Hagen:

"No ... I'm always looking forward ... trying to improve!"

VC Artist Violinist, Igor Pikayzen:

"I don't necessarily miss it ... but life was much easier when you knew if you did everything your teacher/mom asked you to as a kid and that constituted a performance you were happy about ... now it's quite impossible to be truly satisfied ..."

VC Rising Star Violinist, Anne Luisa Kramb:

"Playing Mozart was much easier as a child..."

VC Young Artist Violinist, Luke Hsu:

"Not really!"