RAVEL, Maurice

String quartet in F major

I. Allegro moderato

Walter Levin, guest Professor

Cuarteto Beethoven de Crédito y Caución
Margarita Sikoeva, violin
Erica Ramallo Lucini, violin
Alexandru Bota, viola
Antonio Martín Acevedo, cello

Maestro Levin starts the explanation establishing the right tempo for this piece. He explains how to obtain the correct colour of the sound “très doux” and the meaning of the diminuendo, that it is not there by chance. The bow direction has a close relation with the phrasing. One principle he uses is that ‘if it sounds good, it’s correct’. They talk about the quality of the sound of the beginning. Levin also associates the phrasing with the dynamics and says that pizzicato must be played with sound and clarity. They work on the balance among parts and play to differentiate layers. The rapid figurations should sound as a harp. Levin gives an important advice: look for the difficult places and work on them. Professor Levin has always the score as a reference to find all the answers in there.

Language: English