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Happy Birthday, Bach!

Today is March 31, Johann Sebastian Bach's 336th birthday.

Wow, what a musical legacy!

In honour of his great music, I'm sharing a practice video I made of me playing my favourite movement from his Sonatas and Partitas for solo violin. I quickly turned on my smartphone one evening in December 2020 in my Toronto living room before I was going to teach my workshop on Musicality (How To Be A Musical Ninja).

This Grave movement from Bach's Sonata No. 2 in A minor, BWV 1003 for solo violin conveys such depth, angst, sorrow, and beauty... all things I dig deeper to find inside of myself whenever I play this movement.



In fact, I love using this movement to teach the importance of harmony in improving musicality and deepening musical expression. I use my piano/keyboard to go through the bass line and show how the bass line in Bach always drives the phrasing and musical nuance. 

Feel free to sign up for my next workshop, How To Be A Musical Ninja, hosted by the Amateur Musician Network on April 24th, 2021 at 5:00-6:00pm EST. In it, I'll be discussing how harmony and theory can help shape intelligent and expressive musical interpretations.

In the meantime, I'm also posting my 2013 version of this same Bach Sonata No. 2, Grave movement as well. I enjoy seeing how my interpretation matures as I age.

Do you notice a difference between 2013 and 2020? 

Which version do you like better?

Feel free to learn a few of my musicality strategies in my 24-page Musicality Guide.
 

2 comments

  • Bernard
    Bernard Reunion Island
    Good morning, good light Lynn ! Thank you so much to share with us your knowledge and experience, and this moment of Bach's birthdaiy anniversary. This grave feeling is so deep in our heart, I enjoyed to hear again such powerful violin expressions. If, as you ask us to do, I would have to make a choice between your two recordings, I would say that the first one, in 2013, has my preference: both because the sound recording is better to my perception, and because it seems to me that it looks like more to what you are, secretly... Of course, it's a very personal feeling and understanding. Also because it give to me a deeper bath in feminity! I also must tell to you that I have a profound love for Arthur Grumiaux interpretation of this Bach's Sonata No. 2 in A minor, BWV 1003. I am very sensitive to his excellence in keeping the tempo steady throughout: the dynamic of his playing is remarkable and the constancy of the smoothness and fullness of his chords, the musicality and intonation seems to me so close to the truth of the composition and of the instrument>>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xuDQBB24UM Keep safe and so joyful and generous on your way, Bernard (Please remember that french is my maternal langage and excuse my english mistakes...)

    Good morning, good light Lynn !
    Thank you so much to share with us your knowledge and experience, and this moment of Bach's birthdaiy anniversary.
    This grave feeling is so deep in our heart, I enjoyed to hear again such powerful violin expressions.

    If, as you ask us to do, I would have to make a choice between your two recordings, I would say that the first one, in 2013, has my preference: both because the sound recording is better to my perception, and because it seems to me that it looks like more to what you are, secretly... Of course, it's a very personal feeling and understanding. Also because it give to me a deeper bath in feminity!

    I also must tell to you that I have a profound love for Arthur Grumiaux interpretation of this Bach's Sonata No. 2 in A minor, BWV 1003. I am very sensitive to his excellence in keeping the tempo steady throughout: the dynamic of his playing is remarkable and the constancy of the smoothness and fullness of his chords, the musicality and intonation seems to me so close to the truth of the composition and of the instrument>>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3xuDQBB24UM

    Keep safe and so joyful and generous on your way, Bernard
    (Please remember that french is my maternal langage and excuse my english mistakes...)

  • Lynn Kuo
    Lynn Kuo
    Merci d'avoir vu mes vidéos, Bernard! (Pardon, le français n'est pas mon langue maternelle...) Je trouve vraiment intéressant que vous préférez le vidéo de 2013! Comme vous dites, l'interprétation de Grumiaux est spécial! Merci pour votre message!

    Merci d'avoir vu mes vidéos, Bernard! (Pardon, le français n'est pas mon langue maternelle...)

    Je trouve vraiment intéressant que vous préférez le vidéo de 2013!

    Comme vous dites, l'interprétation de Grumiaux est spécial!

    Merci pour votre message!

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