Saline Royale Academy – Kim Kashkashian's masterclass: Johannes Brahms's Sonata No.2 in E flat major, Op. 120, first movement

About this event

In this masterclass Antoine Thévoz plays the first movement of Brahms' Viola Sonata No. 2 and Professor Kim Kashkashian suggests to the student that he could broaden the palette of characters he uses in the piece, as at the moment everything sounds beautiful but there are also passages that should sound more turbulent. Another aspect that the Professor points out is the fact that the student does not look for long enough phrases and all the beats and all the measures remain in the same plane of importance, which results in a flat and short phrasing. To solve this, he only has to decide on certain points that one considers to be phrasing highlights and go for them in a clear and concise way, thus avoiding what the Professor calls "the tyranny of the bar". Professor Kashkashian also gives tools to improve the rhythm of a passage, touching on the subdivision of long notes and relating it to the piano part. Another topic of the masterclass is the management of crescendos in relation to the phrase and the type of sound that is involved.

What we learn:

• Expanding the character palette for a piece.

• Not to fall into the habit of marking every bar, look for longer phrases.

• Correction of rhythms and their relation to the piano part.

• Managing a crescendo.

Featuring

Professor: Kim Kashkashian 

Student: Antoine Thévoz

Repertoire

1. Johannes Brahms: Sonata for Clarinet (Viola) and Piano No. 2 in E flat major op. 120/2 (first movement)

Duration: approx. 51 minutes.