September 10, 2016
About The Bridge: Connecting Violin and Fiddle
Worlds by Annemieke Pronker-Coron
Over the last decade a budding movement has blossomed:
fiddling and non-classical violin playing is becoming increasingly popular
among young aspiring violinists. It appears that droves of young and talented
players want to cross the bridge from violin playing to fiddling. Have their
teachers crossed the bridge yet? Does the deeply rooted Suzuki violin school plan
to cross the bridge and do violin students all over the nation know the road to
that bridge?
Recently I spoke with my musician friends about these
observations in relation to my book The
Bridge: Connecting Violin and Fiddle Worlds. Without some in depth research
I am not able to answer these questions. However, I can share the observation
that my book is part of the conversation about the current teaching styles in
violin methodology. And here are some other questions: do violin teachers have a
broad enough understanding of how to support the demands of young violinists? Does
the current curriculum—such as the Suzuki violin method—answer to these needs? Are
we in touch with the changing violin climate and the changes I have witnessed?
This spring I went to the convention of the American
String Teachers Association (ASTA) in Florida. To promote my book I roamed the
floor of the exhibition hall, where all the vendors had their booths. Unfortunately
the acoustic nature of the big hall was less than desirable: the live
reverberance of the space created a cacophony especially as more musicians all
played simultaneously, trying out instruments and electronic gadgets, or tried
to sell their music, their method, or a specific teaching tool.
Clusters of young violinists from participating
orchestras were eagerly checking out new equipment. Fiddlers jammed on electric
violins, and cellists walked around with the new Block strap, sharing their freshly
acquired groove-and-chop techniques. Some of the greatest violinists/fiddlers
were walking the floor: Darol Anger for instance and Mark O’Connor with his
wife, the violinist/fiddler Maggie, as well as Scottish fiddler Hanneke Cassel
and her husband, cellist Mike Block, all incredibly talented musicians whose
music I adore. They represent the leadership in this exciting new movement,
where current techniques, such as the chop and groove, have become part of violinists’
repertoire; this is a movement, moreover, where improvisation is no longer a
stranger to droves of young talented violinists.
I am excited about this movement and at the same
time I am ill at ease. In this busy, loud hall I felt a silence of what, I
imagined, was the atmosphere on the ASTA convention floor not long ago:
classical music, concertos, virtuoso soli, while trying out instruments. Was it
just my observation or was there a tension apparent between the exciting groovy
Americana/fiddle musicians and the stronghold of classical musicians? It was only
a few years ago, in 2009, when Mark O’Connor launched his new American Violin Method. Since then an
acrimonious debate has begun between the establishment of Suzuki violin
teachers, Mark O’Connor, and his violin method followers.
I understand the deep concerns felt by Suzuki
teachers. To learn to play violin in the classical style demands great
knowledge of this music as well as refined bow and left hand techniques. Historically
the roots of the Suzuki organization may have overwhelmed the violin school of
America. When I moved to the United States twenty-five years ago I learned that,
generally speaking, in order to learn to play violin, one would have to learn
the Suzuki method. Coming from Europe I was trained differently and learned
about a range of different violin methods, including the English method Etah Cohen, the German method Sassmannshaus or the Hungarian method Sandor. I felt, as a violin teacher, I had
come to a “closed market”. This is no longer the case, and I realize other
methods are used more often now as part of the teaching curriculum. However,
the introduction of the Mark O’Connor violin method with its emphasis on
non-classical fiddle repertoire and American music appears to be a threat to
the established Suzuki school.
During the time I have lived in the United States, I
have also observed a—still ongoing—general resistance to the older movement
(during the latter part of the 20th century) to play baroque music
in a more authentic way than popularly accepted romantic interpretations.
Skepticism and ignorance often surround and critique a more authentic
performance of baroque music. With my European background of active authentic
baroque performance technique and interpretation, I am surprised to notice a
lack of openness to new or newer approaches in music, music interpretation and
expression. Something appears to hold back the American violin school and it
will take convincing arguments for teachers to be confident and step away from
the safety of the method they grew up with. Teachers need to be learners as
well.
In this light, I believe, my book The Bridge can be a very helpful means to
learn about and appreciate the vast benefits from an open approach to both
violin and fiddle playing. My book connects these worlds, exploring the roots
of the instrument and its history. Fundamentally, I examine in the book the
value of crossing the bridge across the division between both worlds from the perspective
of a European-schooled classical violinist with a specialty in baroque performance
and substantial fiddle training.
