# ROMANCES of the VIOLIN!



## Quaverion

What do you people think of all these "great" new violin "virtuosos" posing for a "romantic" shot of them with their violins? So beautiful isn't it?









:angry: It makes _me_ want to throw up! These people have NO class or style at all, they just started out and are already full of themselves! I puked up all over the place when I saw these ones below! Take a good long look.

ARRRGGGGG!!!!!!!!










Ooooohhhhh! "Sweet Sorrow"
































These are only two of many famous STUPID "virtuosos." Does anyone really like these people more than the good violinists, i.e. Perlman, Shaham, Heifetz?


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## becky

Wow, it was so hard to decide! I guess you really don't like these CD covers...


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## Nox

LOL...


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## 009

Uuurrmmm...just to get this clear  .. U dislike the covers, not these virtuosi right?
:huh: 
I am a huge Sarah Chang fan. The way she closes her eyes and perform those double harmonics so convincingly sweeps me off everytime. I adore her confidence.
I'm not a huge fan of Joshua Bell.. but I think he's one cute lad.


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## baroque flute

It depends on the performer and the individual fans, but in some cases even in classical music (though especially pop! :angry: ), there can become sort of a worship cult centered around singers and virtuosi. The performers will play on the emotions of the fans to garner more worship, and the fans will flatter and name-drop and rave to use the performer to call attention to themselves. It all makes me sick. Those people sure look cute, but if it's part of garnering adoration, which it often is (I don't know anything about these people), then it stinks. Sometimes it's the performers and sometimes it's their producers who are trying to make sales off them. 

Another thing is it makes people like you and me feel like we have to go out and make a name for ourselves, even like we're not valid musicians if we don't. I think that's probably the worst thing.


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## Nox

I think you're right...there is a cult-like following of certain musicians...but there is with pop stars too...

What I find a little odd is a certain...snobbiness...among classical players that I don't fully understand...from some of the comments I've read heaven help you if you hold your bow the wrong way (is there even a 'wrong' way?)...or your vibrato is distinctly different...or really, if you do anything obviously different...

...it seems that the overall quality and appeal of your playing is less important than the slight deviations in technique...

...the end result seems to be that all violinists (don't know about other classical musicians) considered 'great' sound essentially the same...

...maybe it's my admittedly untrained ear, but if you were to put on a few seconds of Vengerov, Ehnes, Mutter, Kennedy (etc.) all playing identical passages I don't know that I could tell them apart...

...so, like...what's the point? To all sound the same? To see how close to each they can sound? Or is there some immovable ideal that they are all aspiring too?...

I could be wrong (and feel free to tell me so) but didn't past composers (the Bachs and Beethovens) except a little more individuality to shine in their solo compositions? Yet today musicians seem to get harshly criticised for doing so?


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## Quaverion

I agree with baroque flute and Now here. "Closing your eyes" or doing any other sort of physical thing that doesn't effect the music is just done to gain more worship from the fans. My man Heifetz played almost motionless except for his right arm and left fingers. I don't like the music of Joshua Bell and, since I am a boy, I cannot say that he's cute. However, I have never listened to Sara Chang before. I will one of these days, but just by looking at the cover, I can tell she needs a little more modesty.

I like the Shaham cover were he is holding his violin upright next to him and he is smiling. Do you know which one I mean? Here:










See, simple, and the perfect cover.


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## 009

> *See, simple, and the perfect cover.*


Agree.


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## Daniel

> *See, simple, and the perfect cover.*


Yes a good point, if I look to some other covers  ... near to pop culture


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## Nox

Well, I must politely disagree with you all...I think, to attract a larger audience, classical music must roll with the times...and if a 'pop' style cover will help CD sales...more power to it...

...cover art can be racey or controversial without being tasteless...

...classical doesn't have to equal staid and boring...remember that both Paganini and Liszt were the 'pop' stars of their day with women swooning over them at concerts and both certainly got their fair share of 'action' (darn those back-stage passes! )...

...and so now what? We've made them and their music totally respectable? I wonder if they'd appreciate it?...

...I like classical music...but not to the exclusion of everything else...but at the last classical performance my 12 year old daughter and I went to, the audience was by far comprised of seniors ...

...the industry doesn't need to sell the music to seniors...they've already shown that they support it...but there is a need to get more younger people to appreciate it...and by that I mean to listen to it, and to purchase concert tickets and CDs...not just the young performers (and diehards) and the hadful of other kids that are dragged along to these performances in order to instill some 'culture' into them...

...personally, I'd hate to see all the formality go - after all, it's part of what gives classical music it's flavour...I love the men in their tuxes and the women performing in eveningwear...

...but I think we need a few more Nigel Kennedys and Lara St. Johns as well...


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## Quaverion

> _Originally posted by Nox_@Jul 29 2004, 06:16 PM
> *...remember that both Paganini and Liszt were the 'pop' stars of their day with women swooning over them at concerts and both certainly got their fair share of 'action' (darn those back-stage passes! )...
> 
> [snapback]800[/snapback]​*


Ha! Anyway, I'm not saying that all publicity is bad. I'm saying, people should like performers for their music, not because of how they look on the cover, etc. However, if anyone out there likes the music of Joshua Bell or any others I've mentioned, you have my respect.


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## becky

I don't even look at the covers when I buy my music. I either buy for the performer or the composer! But I can see how someone new to classical music may go for a cool cover (or a cute guy/girl on the cover :lol: )

Actually, I used to order all my classical music from BMG, so I really never looked at the covers!


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## Quaverion

What's BMG?


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## becky

It's a company like Columbia House that does mail order CD's. It's cheaper than Columbia house, there are less CD's to buy and they had a classical CD club. I subscribed to the classical club, naturally!


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## oistrach13

it is clear that dumb is more appropriate here than stupid.

as for the cover issue, I must say, the cover that always works for me is a simple picture of the guy holding his instrument, or actually playing it, not striking a pose, but in the actual act of playing. after Siegfried Lauterwasser, nobody can photograph artists properly anymore <_<


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## baroque flute

> _Originally posted by Rhadamanthys_@Jul 30 2004, 01:08 AM
> *I'm saying, people should like performers for their music, not because of how they look on the cover, etc. [snapback]811[/snapback]​*


Well put, Rhadamanthys! It seems like even classical performers think they have to at least attempt to be supermodels! <_<


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## becky

You know, I think my favorite covers probably just have art on them. Of course, it's great to know what the performer looks like, too. But I really like the ones that take art from the time period of the music.


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## baroque flute

My favorite CD covers have scenic photos on them! I have one with a beautiful castle behind a lake (I should find out which castle.), and several others with beautiful scenes.


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## Nox

...I prefer nudes...


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## becky

> _Originally posted by Nox_@Aug 4 2004, 08:52 AM
> *...I prefer nudes...
> [snapback]1153[/snapback]​*


As long as the violin greats keep their clothes on for their covers, it's fine by me :lol:


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## Nox

...yes! A nude Hiefetz (sp?) wouldn't quite do it...


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## Quaverion

> _Originally posted by Nox_@Aug 4 2004, 01:08 PM
> *...yes! A nude Hiefetz (sp?) wouldn't quite do it...
> [snapback]1164[/snapback]​*


 :lol:


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## baroque flute

> _Originally posted by Nox_@Aug 4 2004, 03:52 PM
> *...I prefer nudes...
> [snapback]1153[/snapback]​*


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## Nox

...keep in mind...the human body is a beautiful thing (well, mostly) and it should be celebrated...

...there is a difference between nude and naked...nude celebrates the glory of the human form...naked indicates that there is something shameful about appearing without clothing...

...Michealangelo's David is a nude...and despite a few rough moments in it's history...most who see it appreciate it's beauty...


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## baroque flute

I won't say anything more, only because I don't want to start a big argument.


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## Nox

...I don't want to argue either...but I'm game for a debate! ...


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## becky

Maybe we should start a new debate on art in the nude in other topics... I'm all for it!


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## Nox

...good idea...wanna start it?...


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## becky

OK :lol:


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## Nox

...wonderful! And the debate continues on...


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## godzillaviolist

*I voted "stupid"*

I have to say, those two covers are not the worst I've seen. The worst would probably be a 'cello CD I had a while ago. A woman was lying down holding her 'cello, with an "emotional" expression on her face. It looked as though she was about to pass out and she was afraid the 'cello would crush her to death!


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## godzillaviolist

*wind tunnel sextet*

I found one that really made me laugh!

http://www.copenhagenclassic.dk/

It looks as though they were playing in a wind tunnel and someone unexpectedly turned the fan on!  
What ever happened to more modest ( and normal ) pictures? I geuss one could ask the same about most facets of modern music


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## johnnyx

I rather enjoy looking at pics of Anne-Sophie Mutter!
Oh, and I love her playing as well.


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## MungoPark

*You think those covers are in poor taste ...*

look at the covers of Laura St. John. She's definitely flaunting it. Same thing goes for the Eroica Trio and the pseudo-classical musical group Bond. But this is nothing new. I'm sure contemporary adverts for early romantic operas had salacious depictions of the famous bel canto divas on them to attract more than their potential audiences' ears. That's just good business practice.


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## StlukesguildOhio

First thing I would like to note is that the art and/or photography on any CD cover is not the product of the performer but of an art department employed by the record label. I have no problem with attempting to market the work to a broader audience as long as it does not affect the quality of the work involved (can you say Charlotte Church?). I have seen some rather schmatzy covers for recordings by Andreas Scholl and Yo Yo Ma and yet have no doubt as to their seriousness as artists. Indeed one of the dumbest marketting jobs I ever saw was that of Gardiner's recordings of Beethoven's symphonies. Symphony 3 and 5, and 9 were packaged as Beethoven "The Revolutionary" and came packaged in rather rock music looking packages complete with time lines that followed other "revolutionaries" in music, including Janice Joplin and Jimmy Hendrix. Nevertheless... the recordings are fabulous... especially the 3rd.


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## StlukesguildOhio

By the way... Dennis Brain's great recording of Mozart's horn concertos must certainly rank among the weird covers. It looks more apt for some B sci-fi film: _The Brain that Ate Mozart_.


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## Kurkikohtaus

I like album covers that have something to do with nature... Here is a great example:


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## Saturnus

I agree, it suites romantic music especially well. Another good example: 









I find simple covers are overall the best. A little bit from the autograph, simple photograph of a solo instrument, simple abstract artwork that suites the piece, or just something that shows that the CD is about it's music, not it's performer:


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## cmb

So this thread started out about violinists - what IS it about violinists and these poses?
Back when I started at the other radio station I was at a few years ago, I was diggin through the Cds and found one that had been labelled by a non-classical music director: the Linda Brava CD, which has some truly mediocre playing, but a very voluptuous blond on the cover.

The person checking it in had marked it "Sexpot plays the classics".

Nuff said.



CMB


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## Keemun

Hmmm... "dumb" and "stupid" are synonyms, so I don't think there is an appreciable difference in the choices. Nevertheless, I voted "stupid" because it seems to be the stronger of the two words. 

I generally don't care what the performer looks like, and I'm bound to be overly critical if a "pop star" appears on the cover.


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