About: "The Bridge: Connecting Violin and Fiddle Worlds"

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 20^th 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.