On July 6, 1946 the SS Josiah Wedgwood was thirty miles from the Port of Haifa. I was an eighteen-year-old crewman on that vessel, which was carrying 1,257 Holocaust survivors from camps in Italy to Palestine. Passengers and crew alike were on high alert, watching for two things: British vessels and Haifa. The British had set up a blockade of Haifa and ships caught running it were forced to return their Holocaust survivors to the same countries that had refused them entry. Our Haifa gambit ended happily. We made it into port and our ecstatic passengers disembarked to singing and cheers of Eretz! Israel! How I came to be caught up in one of the great events of the twentieth century is an improbable tale. I was not an experienced sailor, had no technical qualifications, and a lackluster past. Most of the blockade runners were Jewish veterans of World War II. Life has a way of sending me down roads I never dreamed of taking, some the last ones I would have chosen. Maybe Bashert explains it. It means destiny or what must be. Maybe it helped that I was open to life, for life has been open to me. It has sent me mostly the good, sometimes the bad, and occasionally the ugly.

Almost a Mensch, Part 2: The Pathway to Menschood - The Journey Home Begins

David Gottlieb

TotalRecall Publishing

The number of ways to play the viola is determined by the number of violists in the world. Each player has (and should have) a unique technique, a unique sound and a unique way of interpreting music. Why should this be? Because each player is physically, emotionally and mentally an individual. It would be so boring if every violist sounded the same. A unique voice is much more interesting and compelling. To this end we have to determine our approach to playing on every level. But, the basics of what we do are going to be very similar. The individuality comes later, when we can develop our techniques to express ourselves as unique voices. The basics are determined by the fact that the majority of us are born with two arms, two hands, two thumbs, eight fingers, two legs etc. The way we all walk is similar due to this, though everyone has an individual and often recognizable walk. The physical movement involved in walking is based on common principles for almost everyone. So it should be in the way we set up the viola and our approach to it. The position of the body, the way we stand or sit, the way we raise our arms to hold the viola and bow, the actual bow hold and the shape of the left hand, all these basic things can be approached from common physical principles, even though every player is built differently. The wonderful thing about violists is not just the physical diversity of the people playing the viola, but also the diversity in the shape and size of violas themselves. It can lead to challenging issues and resolutions to problems. Again, coming from common principles can help in deciding on all the variations of approach we have. The one thing that every single violist can hopefully agree on is that we want to create the best sound possible. Why after all were we drawn to play this amazing instrument? Everything I suggest in the text and practiced in the exercises is to this one, basic, unifying principle. Sound is affected not just by the way we put the bow on the string but by the way we hold the viola, the way the fingers of the left hand approach the fingerboard, the quality of the vibrato, the way we stand and breathe, by intonation. The list goes on and on. Hopefully by reading through the text and playing the exercises in the ways suggested, you will gain a good understanding of how to create a great sound, how to allow the viola to resonate without forcing it, how to gain dexterity in both the bow and the left hand and how to play in a relaxed yet vital manner. Ultimately, everything I suggest to think about in playing the viola should become natural and habitual. For those more advanced players trying this out for the first time, one of the toughest things is to overcome old, ingrained habits. Always remember the goal, don t get discouraged and don t rush. New habits take time to get bedded in. The goal is definitely worth the physical and mental effort.

A Notebook for Viola Players

Arts & Photography

Ivo-Jan van der Werf

Music

See the best price to sell, buy or rent books by the TotalRecall Publishing publisher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by TotalRecall Publishing

See the best price to sell, buy or rent books by the TotalRecall Publishing publisher. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Almost a Mensch, Part 2: The Pathway to Menschood - The Journey Home Begins

A Notebook for Viola Players