Leslie Ashworth. leslieashworth.com
Ahead of the Dvorak Violin Concerto for Week37 of my weekly vinyl blog, it’s pretty cool to have some commentary on the concerto from Canadian violinist Leslie Ashworth. Leslie performed the piece as part of her Glenn Gould School Graduation Recital just over a year ago before heading off to the States for her Master’s. She’s back in the province now for quarantine, keeping busy as the Founder and Director of the Suite Melody Care program and launching a new initiative to bring music to hospital patients and residents of long-term care facilities through virtual performances. The program invites musicians from Canada and the U.S. to participate and add to Leslie’s contribution. Leslie has also contributed to this blog in the past, but she joins Blue Riband this time to discuss Dvorak:
BR: How are you doing during this lockdown?
LA: It is a very distressing time for everyone! I feel fortunate to be safely back home with my family and continuing online classes for my Master's of Music at Rice University. I also wanted to do something special for hospital patients and the elderly who cannot enjoy live performances right now and so I recently launched the Suite Melody Care Virtual Performances and we've had musicians from across Canada and the U.S. send me videos to be included in the video series. I am excited to be able to bring some happiness through music into these hospital patients and the elderly's lives.
BR: How did you first discover this Concerto and what was the process like that ultimately inspired you to choose it for your recital?
LA: I first heard the 3rd movement of the Dvorak Violin Concerto as a child growing up and listening to it played on Toronto's Classical 96.3 FM radio station. I really loved the joyful spirit of the movement and I knew that I really wanted to learn it one day. Fast forward a few years and I was invited to perform the Violin Concerto with the Oakville Symphony and Maestro Roberto De Clara on March 30/31 2019 - it was the perfect opportunity for learning the full concerto. The timing of these performances ended up coinciding with my auditions for graduate schools in seven different cities last winter and my graduation recital at the end of March and so the concerto really became my "war-horse" last year!
BR: How does this work compare to the Violin Concertos by Bruch and Mendelssohn in particular? Do you have a favourite out of the three?
LA: The Dvorak Violin Concerto, like Bruch and Mendelssohn is also considered a composition of the Romantic period of music. Thus, all three are passionate and expressive in nature. Dvorak wrote this concerto (1879) decades after Mendelssohn's violin concerto (1844) and 13 years after Bruch's (1866) and one can hear the evolution in the concerto form and style. The sheer length of the Dvorak Violin Concerto exemplifies its monumental qualities - Dvorak sought inspiration from his mentor, Brahms, in this, who had written his violin concerto only a year earlier (1878), and Brahms's close violinist friend, Joseph Joachim, who played an instrumental role in the composition process of both violin concertos. There is a heavy weightiness to the Dvorak concerto like Brahms (and unlike the fantasy-like quality in Bruch and the effervescent quality of Mendelssohn). The orchestration is dense with many rich textures.
What differentiates a lot of Dvorak's music from other composers is his influence from folk music and this concerto is no exception - one hears a Czech flavour in the third movement. Another element I always love about Dvorak is his stunning array of colours with fiery outbursts, fairytale moments of intimate sweetness, and playful parts full of charm.
Dvorak by Jeremy Lewis for Blue Riband. www.jeremylewis.com
BR: What do you think is the most technically challenging aspect of this Concerto?
LA: A lot of the violin writing is not idiomatic (it does not easily fit in the fingers like the Mendelssohn, for example) and, therefore, the technical challenges involve overcoming the uncomfortable nature of some of the passages. It involves a lot of patient practicing, but this is definitely met with rewarding results!
BR: Are there any particular recordings of this Concerto that you'd recommend?
LA: Nathan Milstein and Anne Sophie Mutter.
BR: A favourite Violin Concerto in general?
LA: This is SUCH a hard question!! I think every concerto becomes my "favourite" as I fully invest myself in learning and performing that particular piece at that time, pouring my heart and soul into the notes and trying to discover all of its secrets. But, perhaps, if I had to choose...I would probably say the Barber Violin Concerto - I just love the tenderness of those melodies and the heartfelt emotions conveyed.
BR: What are you looking forward to the most post-lockdown?
LA: I am so excited to be able to share in the magic of live performances again. There is something so special about live concerts where everyone is experiencing the music's emotions together.