5 Things I’m Loving This Week–February 19, 2016

This post was originally published on the Plucky Violin Teacher Blog on February 19, 2016 so links and resources may not be current.

This week has been a wee bit sad. M (2.5 year old) has had a fever and was quite sick, so I had to cancel quite a few lessons. On the bright side I got lots of cuddle time with my toddler, who normally is not all that cuddly!

G (11 months) is perfecting his dancing skills. He especially loves the Bach A minor Concerto (First movement) from Suzuki Violin Book 7. He wiggles and dances the whole time, he just loves it. I’ve been trying to memorize the bowings in the revised edition and boy, I’m having a hard time!
Anyone else struggling to change those bowings?

Since this week has been a little nuts, I want to share some calming youtube videos of beautiful violin playing. Nothing better to brighten a gloomy winter day than transcendent violin music.

Enjoy.

1. Phillipe Quint playing Valse Triste by Ferenc Von Vecsey. He is joined by Christine Rocas, a ballerina from the Joffrey Ballet. Such lovely music, dancing, and videography.

2. James Ehnes playing Salut d’Amour by Edward Elgar. This piece always brings me to tears.

3. Suyeon Kim playing the Andante from Bach’s Unaccompanied Violin Sonata in A minor. The Bach Sonatas and Partitas are good for the soul. This great post from violinist.com has some beautiful thoughts about the Bach Sonatas and Partitas.

4. Anne-Sophie Mutter playing Violin Sonata in A Major First Movement by Brahms. I just love the melodies in this piece. So lovely.

5. Soyoung Yoon playing the first movement of the Franck Sonata. So moving. I listen to this piece every morning when I wake up, it’s the perfect way to start the day.

And as a bonus video, here’s Ray Chen playing Estrellita (My Little Star) by Manuel Ponce. I can’t hear this piece without thinking of my sweet little stars.

That’s all, folks!  Have a great weekend, and be plucky!