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Violinist Andrew Sords Creates 'Green Point Editions': New Editions of Rare Violin Works

July 7, 2020, 5:15 PM · At some point while playing on a cruise between West Africa and St. Bart's, violinist Andrew Sords and cellist John Walz realized they'd crafted "the Sords and Walz edition" of the piece they were performing, a seldom-played duo by Haydn.

Now that duo - Haydn's "Duo" for violin/cello (or viola) - is just one of six rare works that Sords is offering in a new series of editions called Green Point Editions. The others are Mozart's "Hague" sonatas; Jeno Hubay's Carmen Fantasie; Sibelius's "Nocturne" from Belshazzar's Feast; Claudio Brindis de Salas' "Consolation"; and in August, the world premiere print edition of the Ysaye's arrangement of Chopin's Ballade in G minor.

Andrew, who is based in Cleveland, said that the aim is to highlight deserving works that are on the periphery of our repertoire, in the hopes they will remain in the canon.

Andrew has long nurtured a passion for comparing and collecting editions. In fact, he was in just grade school when local Cleveland Orchestra violinist Felix Freilich died, leaving an extensive collection of sheet music and notes. Freilich's daughter called Andrew's mother and asked if the youngster would like to come over and take a look -- perhaps pick up a few pieces of music. Keep reading...

Week in Review: Summer of Change, Op. 5

Diana Skinner

July 6, 2020, 7:30 PM · This week’s selections are visually stunning, emotionally compelling, and technically inspiring. The creativity that exists amongst musicians is nothing short of amazing. I will always be in awe of music's ability to heal our hearts and be the final words for our lost souls. As I listened to the lovely lyrics in one selection — "…to turn, turn will be our delight, ’til by turning, turning we come round right" — all that came to mind is that in these turbulent times, oh, that we could turn, turn and come round right.

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MusicAlly: Using Online Violin Teaching to Reach Out

Caeli Smith

July 6, 2020, 12:30 PM · On March 12, 2020, I played what would be my last performance for a very, very long time. I savored the time on stage at Miller Theater at Columbia University, performing with internationally renown pianist Simone Dinnerstein. It was an all-Bach concert, and I luxuriated in the music and the feeling of communicating with my colleagues on stage. With no conductor, we use our bodies and eyes to send signals to each other and play in tandem. The evening had a special gravity. We all knew what was coming.

The next day, wham – my entire performance season was obliterated. I deleted everything from my calendar, too sad to remember what I was supposed to be doing that day. I spent a few days lying glumly in bed. It was obvious I needed a productive, creative project -- and quick. Keep reading...

Fiddler's Favorite Recipes Episode 27: Nikki Chooi's Apple Crumble

Desirée Ruhstrat

July 4, 2020, 11:49 AM · For today’s Fiddlers Favorites we have the multi-talented Canadian violinist Nikki Chooi bringing us his apple crumble recipe, perfect for this Fourth of July weekend!

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