SKU: PR.144407380

ISBN 9781491133903. UPC: 680160683475. 9 x 12 inches.

In her powerful Foreword to the music, violinist Kelly Hall-Tompkins has written: “There are great works which give voice to important moments for generations, and this is one of them.” The tragedy of Elijah McClain’s murder has moved us all, and for many musicians the image of this gentle young man playing his violin for kittens at an animal shelter has added a poignant extra layer. Zwilich was a professional violinist before turning exclusively to composing, and A LITTLE VIOLIN MUSIC is a memorial from the heart of one violinist to another.
[THESE NOTES MAY NOT BE REPRODUCED OUTSIDE OF THE PUBLICATION; OK TO QUOTE A BIT AND GIVE AUTHOR CREDIT]We often research important pieces of music to gain some glimpse into the mind of the composer by understanding the times in which a piece was written. The times that brought this piece into being, 2020, has been a year like no other in our lifetimes.With the suffering of a once in a century pandemic raging in ever higher waves, and millions of people around the world confined to their homes with a shared attention span for the first time in generations, we watched in horror the 8 minute 46 second killing of George Floyd, a man previously unknown to us, but now unwillingly joining a long list of names of unarmed African Americans killed by police. The anguished backlash of citizens around the world, from Japan to New Zealand to Germany to the United States, of every age, color, and creed, has rallied for weeks and months on end to demand enough and that “Black Lives Matter.”And yet, in the midst of it all is an America starkly divided against itself with some defiantly pushing back, emboldened by authoritarian-style government actions against its own citizens occurring all over the country. It is against this backdrop that we ever had a chance to know of Elijah McClain. Here in quarantine I sometimes practice my scales in front of the news. And one day the mirror image looking back at me from the screen was a slight young man, warm, affable brown eyes, and also a violin under his chin. The newsreel-style camera pan so familiar now, I knew the only reason we were gazing upon his unfamous face was that he too had been killed by police nearly a year before. But the revelation of it in the broadcast hit me particularly hard.Ellen Taaffe Zwilich, who is not only one of the great composers of our time, is also a dear friend, and called me the next day, also deeply saddened by the news. It was from Ellen that I learned that Elijah used to play for the kittens at the local animal shelter so they wouldn’t be lonely. This kind, gentle soul was aggressively taken into police custody while saying, “I am an introvert. Please respect the boundaries that I am speaking... I’m going home.” He was never seen alive again.Ellen and I spoke of the sadness and the injustice of this several times. She felt a powerful calling to contribute something in a statement and the result is the piece you now hold in your hands. I am deeply honored to be the dedicatee of the piece, to have worked together with Ellen on some of the final details, and to pen this score note. As an invited alumna of the Eastman School of Music, I premiered the work for their virtual event on Diversity and Inclusion. Each time I play it, there is a persistent lump in my throat because Ellen has captured something poignant and powerful here.There are great works which give voice to important moments for generations, and this is one of them. We humbly offer this piece in memory of Elijah McClain.Foreword © 2021 by Kelly Hall-Tompkins. Used by permission.

SKU: AP.48723

ISBN 9781470644147. UPC: 038081560359. English.

Teach violin with the popular Suzuki Violin School! The Suzuki Method of Talent Education is based on Shinichi Suzuki's view that every child is born with ability, and that people are the product of their environment. According to Shinichi Suzuki, a world-renowned violinist and teacher, the greatest joy an adult can know comes from developing a child's potential so he/she can express all that is harmonious and best in human beings. Students are taught using the mother-tongue approach. Each series of books for a particular instrument in the Suzuki Method is considered a Suzuki music school, such as the Suzuki Violin School. Suzuki lessons are generally given in a private studio setting with additional group lessons. The student listens to the recordings and work with their Suzuki violin teacher to develop their potential as a musician and as a person.

This CD of the Suzuki violin method, Volume 1 features recordings by Hilary Hahn in collaboration with pianist Natalie Zhu, as well as piano accompaniment only tracks for play-along purposes.

Titles: Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star Variations (Suzuki) * Lightly Row (Folk Song) * Song of the Wind (Folk Song) * Go Tell Aunt Rhody (Folk Song) * O Come, Little Children (Folk Song) * May Song (Folk Song) * Long, Long Ago (Bayly) * Allegro (Suzuki) * Perpetual Motion (Suzuki) * Allegretto (Suzuki) * Andantino (Suzuki) * Etude (Suzuki) * Minuet 1, Minuett III from Suite in G Minor for Klavier, BWV 822 (Bach) * Minuet 2, Minuet, BWV Anh. II 116 from Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach (Bach) * Minuet 3, Minuet BWV Anh. II 114/Anh. III 183 (Bach) * The Happy Farmer from Album for the Young, Op. 68, No. 10 (Schumann) * Gavotte (Gossec).

This title is available in MakeMusic Cloud.

About Suzuki Method

The Suzuki Method is based on the principle that all children possess ability and that this ability can be developed and enhanced through a nurturing environment. All children learn to speak their own language with relative ease and if the same natural learning process is applied in teaching other skills, these can be acquired as successfully. Suzuki referred to the process as the Mother Tongue Method and to the whole system of pedagogy as Talent Education. The important elements of the Suzuki approach to instrumental teaching include the following:an early start (aged 3-4 is normal in most countries); the importance of listening to music; learning to play before learning to read; -the involvement of the parent; a nurturing and positive learning environment; a high standard of teaching by trained teachers; the importance of producing a good sound in a balanced and natural way; core repertoire, used by Suzuki students across the world; social interaction with other children. Suzuki students from all over the world can communicate through the language of music.