Mandolin Cafe Message Board - Classical, Medieval, Renaissance

Greek music shops

vkioulaphides — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:22:12 GMT

While I'm at it, here is a directory I found, listing music shops in Greece. Most websites offer bilingual listings, Greek and English, so they should not be terribly hard to navigate. Also, most retail stores naturally display more of "what sells", i.e. electric guitars, keyboards, and the like. The mandolin content, if any, is for the kind and gentle readership of the Cafe to find.

Happy hunting! ;)

http://directory.in.gr/ShowEntities.aspx?deid=1678

Cheers,

Victor

Upscale Greek luthier

vkioulaphides — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 19:04:15 GMT

I found this while browsing, and will attempt to upload an image. If I fail --semi-reformed Luddite that I am-- I will simply post the link. This seems to be a rather upscale (and pricey) Athenian luthier. Perhaps someone for me to visit on my next trip...? ;)

Cheers,

Victor

P.S. NFI, of course, etc., etc.

Attached Thumbnails

Festival/Competition NVvMO Netherlands 2009

Alex Timmerman — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:06:49 GMT

Last weekend, Saturday November 14, the National Festival-Competition "from Soloist to Double Quartet" took place in Almere, Netherlands. This yearly event, with a special focus on young talent, is organized by the Dutch Association of Mandolin Orchestras (NVvMO) and open to all guitarists and mandolinists living in the Netherlands. Participants came from places all over the country like Oostvoorne, Nijmegen, Zeewolde, Zwolle, Laag Zuthem, Almere, Lelystad, Bleiswijk and Tilburg.

Mandolin students of the Zwolle Centre for the Arts ‘De Muzerie’, Ferdinand Binnendijk (Zwolle), Pauline Ulderink (Laag Zuthem) and Ruth Rouw (Zwolle), also participated in the competition and what they achieved was truly admirable, so I like to inform you about it.

Ferdinand applied as a mandolin soloist in the highest soloist section named 'Superior' and - together with Pauline and Ruth – he also opted for a good result in the '1st Division for Ensembles’.
That their performances were highly appreciated by the audience became evident because of the enthusiastic applause after each composition that was played. The jury was also impressed for in their report on Ferdinand Binnendijk’s solo playing they wrote: "A fantastic technique", "a performance with many (subtle) differences in timbre',' everything by memory, fantastic',' Tipical Calace, full of bravura and surrender! Beautifully executed double stops, chords, tremolo, pizzicati, etc. and virtuos scale sequences were very well done .. ". "A great achievement".

Ferdinand received the highest score in the category 'Superior' and won the first prize! The compositions he performed were the "Fugue" from the Sonata for solo violin (BWV 1001) by Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) and the "Prelude No.2" for mandolin solo by Raffaele Calace (1863-1934).

Photo: Ferdinand Binnendijk at the competion

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Leopoldo Franciolini's fake lutes (w/ mandolin content!)

etbarbaric — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 01:15:28 GMT

Just for a fun diversion (and yes, there *is* mandolin content), I wanted to call your attention to an article by Lynda Sayce in the latest Lute News (No. 91, October 2009), a publication of The [British] Lute Society. The article is titled "How to spot a fake lute, or Signor Franciolini's shop of horrors".

Leopoldo Franciolini is infamous today as something of a forger of historic lutes. He was a instrument dealer in Florence from 1890 through 1910... and yes, he was eventually charged with fraud in his own time. For those who don't know his work, Leopoldo is know for pawning off a large number of "questionable" historic archlutes... and many of those fakes still haunt museum curators around the world. To a lute player, these instruments instantly and obviously seem "off"... and most are not generally playable in any real sense. Many would likely self-destruct if brought up to tension.

Conventional wisdom has held that these lutes contained parts of historic (16th and 17th century) instruments, with Sr. Franciolini's inappropriate decorations and appendages added on. For instance (or so this thinking went) a lute's bowl might be genuine, while the neck extension might be later, and entirely inappropriate and non-functional. Indeed, through time, historic lutes bodies were often legitimately altered to accommodate later musical styles, and the need for more courses. But the lute had pretty much died out by the 1890s... and Sr. Franciolini's frankenstinean creations were apparently put together for one reason.... to separate money from would-be collectors of (presumably) antique instruments.

Lynda makes an interesting assertion. In her experience, none of the instruments she examined had *any* parts that could be considered truly historic (i.e. dating to the 16th and 17th centuries as claimed by their labels). In other words, the presumably antique instruments were complete fabrications... manufactured to order expressly for Sr. Franciolini's shop, and even seemingly done in production runs to match (presumably unique) instruments that he featured in his catalogs. She posits further (here comes the mandolin content) that since the mandolin was booming in Italy around that time, Sr. Franciolini had no shortage of available luthiers with the skills needed to cobble together a multi-rib body that resembled that of a lute. Lynda even points some similarities in construction between some of these fake lutes, and contemporary mandolins.

In fact, another article in the same edition of Lute News describes the dissection of one such "fake lute", bearing the label 'Costa Agostino de Brescia Fecit Anno Domini 1622'. Up under the table, written in pencil, is the name Gaetano Giannini, and dated 25th October 1887 'per il negozio di Leopoldo Franciolini' ('for Franciolini's shop') along with an address. Does anyone know of a mandolin builder named Gaetano Giannini?

Anyway... I thought it was interesting that some of our golden-age mandolin builders may have had a hand in this little scheme that still confuses museums and collectors today. Work is work, after all. Lynda's thesis certainly seems plausible to me. And it is perhaps a little comforting to think that perhaps fewer legitimate historic lutes were harmed in the process.

Best,

Eric

Check out this guy!

Justin Burrows — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:08:14 GMT

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WlFIYLrDvbo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Q0c1iuLRUw

His name's Ben Bosco. I really enjoyed his music (which I just discovered), and just figured I'd spread the word!

Enjoy (or don't, either way it doesn't bother me! :mandosmiley: )

CHUNKYmusic interview

joebrent — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 01:55:48 GMT

Here's an interview with a blog/magazine that usually does hip-hop features, but I guess they're branching out. It was pretty cold that day, and we're standing under a bridge to keep out of the rain, but he wouldn't let me leave without doing my Beyonce thing...

Silvestri Mandolin

Tavy — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 18:20:15 GMT

Sorry 'bout the playing, but I thought you might be interested to hear how this one sounds - for the record, I'm pretty pleased with how this has turned out - but of course I'm wildly biased :grin:

&fs=1&rel=0">&hl=en&fs=1&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344">

Cheers, John.

From Russia, With Excerpts

vkioulaphides — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:56:14 GMT

Greetings, all.

I have just been informed that a new "School of Mandolin Playing" (i.e. Method) has been recently issued, which will be used in conservatories across Russia. My own, humble contribution to this project is that I gave permission for excerpts from several of my mandolin works to be printed in this text, as examples of various mandolin techniques. The editor of this volume is Professor Vyacheslav Kruglov.

Russia is, of course, a great and diverse land, rife with musical talent. I am delighted that some of that talent will be directed towards the fine art of mandolin playing, and honored to have played a role, however small, in all this.

In short...

Спасибо.

Виктор

;)

suzuki Violin book 1 Accompaniment

Mando Smash — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 04:12:10 GMT

I want to play Accompaniment for my daughter. Is there a mandolin Accompaniment book for suzuki violin vol 1.
Thanks:)

Oregon Mandolin Orchestra

mrmando — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 01:37:28 GMT

Just got something in my inbox from mando-wiz Brian Oberlin in Portland, Oregon ... he's made a lot of progress on getting a local mandolin orchestra started. I understand there hasn't been a regular group since Ken Culver left town. Exciting news for all you Ducks. Here's the announcement:

----------------------------------

Mandolinists and Musicians,

The Oregon Mandolin Orchestra ("OMO") is underway, and we are looking for mandolinists and musicians to join. OMO was conceived by Brian and Elizabeth Oberlin in an effort to revive the beauty and popularity of the traditional mandolin orchestra, which was mainstream in the United States before the turn of the 20th Century. The Oberlins, who live west of Portland, selected the Glenn and Viola Walters Cultural Arts Center in Hillsboro, Oregon, to host and partner with the Orchestra. OMO has four concerts slated for 2010 at the Walters Cultural Arts Center.

There will be a main orchestra, consisting of mandolin 1, mandolin 2 (perhaps mandolin 3), mandola, mandocello, (hopefully) a mandobass, and a few accompanying musicians on guitar, bass, and piano. The Orchestra will be open to hosting soloists on any instrument, as well as vocalists. The repertoire will stem from classical, folk music, swing, and rags, as there are many arrangements in these genres available for mandolin orchestra. Original compositions by Brian Oberlin and other recent composers will also be played. The Orchestra will be on a volunteer basis as far as rehearsals and performances at the Walters Cultural Arts Center are concerned.

Within the main orchestra, there will be the Oregon Mandolin Chamber Orchestra, a smaller group (approximately ten) of seasoned musicians. At each concert, the Chamber Orchestra will perform with the main orchestra, as well as separately. The Chamber Orchestra will have a small budget in order to pay its members and requires an audition. At this point, the repertoire for the Chamber Orchestra is open to original compositions, string quartets, and whatever else may arise.

Rehearsals will start in January in 2010 with the first concert scheduled in April of 2010. The rehearsals will be on Tuesday evenings at the Walters Cultural Arts Center. For those who use public transportation, the Walters Cultural Arts Center is conveniently located, just two blocks north of the Max stop in Hillsboro. Rehearsals will be every other week in January and February and weekly in March and April, up to the concert date.

Brian Oberlin is the Music Director of the Orchestra, and Elizabeth Oberlin is the Orchestra's coordinator, handling publicity, administration, fund-raising, and everything else not directly related to music.

Please contact Brian if you are interested in becoming a member of the Orchestra. I have a few mandolins and mandolas available. If you or someone you know is interested in being part of the Orchestra in a non-music capacity, please contact Elizabeth.

We look forward to hearing from you and are delighted about the launching of the Oregon Mandolin Orchestra!!

Brian and Elizabeth Oberlin
-------------------------

I took out the email address, but you can reach Brian through his Web site.

Jacobs No. 1 Waltz Folio

John Goodin — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 17:22:54 GMT

It's been a week since the end of the Dayton CMSA convention and yesterday I found the time to digitize another old mandolin folio. This time it's the Jacobs No. 1 Waltz Folio for Orchestra and Mandolin Orchestra. I only have access to the Mandolin 1 and Guitar parts but there are lots of cues for other instruments embedded in those parts if you want to arrange these quaint tunes for more instruments.

Here are the links (from my Golden Era page at Mandotopia):

Mando: http://www.contratopia.com/ge/jacobsWaltz1m1.pdf

Guitar: http://www.contratopia.com/ge/jacobsWaltz1gt.pdf

Have fun...

John G.

The Proverbial Kick

vkioulaphides — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 00:36:23 GMT

Greetings, friends.

I have just delivered my latest baby, Garlands, a duet for mandolin and double bass, to the two SPECTACULAR performers who requested it: mandolinist Chris Acquavella, and bassist Jeremy Kurtz. The former's dazzling playing is well known among many denizens of the Caf�; the latter's virtuosity is on ample display at his website, and on his latest CD—Jeremy's day-job is Principal Bass of the San Diego Symphony. ;)

Garlands was written with the express purpose (partly articulated by Chris, partly surmised by Yours Truly) of whipping up a storm. It is a proverbial kick, of the do-not-try-this-at-home variety. No, the parts themselves are nowhere near the level of difficulty of, say, Calace's Preludes. It is the sum total effect that should rock the stage— if I've gotten it right.

In a sense, the experience of composing Garlands was for me like a deeply thought-provoking self-portrait, as if a painter were sitting between two mirrors, and painting both his profiles at the same time. Having played the mandolin since early childhood, and the bass as my profession since my teens, I stand, Janus-like, between the two instruments. Yet I had never thought of writing for his instrumentation...

I therefore thank Chris and Jeremy for giving me the opportunity to look at my life's work from both angles. I hope that they will enjoy performing this piece as much as I enjoyed composing it and that, with their fantastic virtuosity, they will bring the house down with it. :)

Cheers to Chris, Jeremy, and all yet-unformed mandolin/bass duos. As usual, this piece will circulate only after the premiere, whenever that is.

Victor