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The Space Between the Notes - XXXIV

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“All music is folk music. I ain't never heard a horse sing a song.“ – Louis Armstrong

“Global Beats”, the most recent concert in my series for Casino Bern manifested in my head sometime in 2018. I first reached out to Yurodny’s founder, saxophonist Nick Roth, and to bassist Philipp Moll and trumpeter Daniel Woodtli of Jütz in that year and began planning a folk music-infused, two-hour music extravaganza featuring 13 musicians, myself included. We were originally scheduled to play in 2020. Now, this January, we finally played this much-anticipated concert.
I thank you, our singing, dancing, attentive and kind audience who joined in the fun and frolics. I thank the team at Casino Bern who supported us beyond the call of duty; our sponsors and supporters including Culture Ireland, the Irish Embassy in Bern, the Ernst Göhner Stiftung, GVB, Burgergemeinde Bern, City of Berne and the patrons of Gwendolyn’s Bridge Club.
To celebrate this memorable evening, replacing my beloved mix tapes with a playlist, take a listen here to what I put together this month to continue the elated mood we shared on 21 January!

MG 1403 use as banner Gwendolyn Masin Photo: Maximilian Lederer

February Playlist to Celebrate Folk Music

MG 1160 use in connection with You Tube Playlist as Well Gwendolyn Masin Photo: Maximilian Lederer

Homage a Taraf | Yurodny
The Return of Magic Horse | Taraf de Haïdouks
Nicolae Neassu (Taraf de Haïdouks) | Balada Conducatorolui
Les Yeux Noirs | Balamouk
Hora Roumaine | Bratsch
River | Vincent Peirani
Tango Barbaro | Lalo Schifrin
A Don Agustín Bardi | Horacio Salgán Y Su Orquesta
Buenos Aires hora cero |Gidon Kremer
Como Castillo De Arena | Camarón de la Isla & Paco de Lucía
György Ligeti, Cello Sonata: I. Dialogo| Gavriel Lipkind
Hora Staccato by Dinicu |Gwendolyn Masin’s ORIGIN
Crow’s Hora |Yurodny featuring Gwendolyn Masin
Hubo Un Lugar | Diego El Cigala
Tumbaito | Arturo Sandoval
Culpa Mia | Buika
Anywhere on This Road | Lhasa de Sela
Jodida pero contenta | Buika

Next Concerts & Online Masterclass on Tonebase

February

Performances

Concerts in February in Switzerland and the Netherlands

Saturday
04 February 2023 | 17:00

Baby, I Got the Blues

Recital as part of El­fenau­Park Kul­tur with Caspar Vos (pn).
PROGRAMME:
Claude Debussy: Sonata for violin and piano
Aaron Copland – Rodeo, Hoe Down & Ukelele Serenade
Kurt Weill: Three Penny Opera, Seven Pieces, arranged by Stefan Frenkl for violin and piano
George Gershwin: Songbook for solo piano
Maurice Ravel: Violin Sonata No. 2
Fazil Say: Summertime
George Gershwin / I. Frolov: Concert Fantasy on themes from Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess

Elfenauweg 50 | Berne, CH

Sunday
05 February 2023 | 17:00

Baby, I Got the Blues

Recital as part of El­fenau­Park Kul­tur with Caspar Vos (pn).
PROGRAMME:
Claude Debussy: Sonata for violin and piano
Aaron Copland – Rodeo, Hoe Down & Ukelele Serenade
Kurt Weill: Three Penny Opera, Seven Pieces, arranged by Stefan Frenkl for violin and piano
George Gershwin: Songbook for solo piano
Maurice Ravel: Violin Sonata No. 2
Fazil Say: Summertime
George Gershwin / I. Frolov: Concert Fantasy on themes from Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess

Elfenauweg 50 | Berne, CH

Thursday
09 February 2023

Production / Recording with 7MNTN

With Francesca Ajossa (org).
Het Orgelpark, Amsterdam | NL

Friday
10 February 2023 | 20.15

Baby, I Got the Blues

Recital as part of ReeuwijkKlassiek with Caspar Vos (pn).
PROGRAMME:
Claude Debussy: Sonata for violin and piano
Aaron Copland – Rodeo, Hoe Down & Ukelele Serenade
Kurt Weill: Three Penny Opera, Seven Pieces, arranged by Stefan Frenkl for violin and piano
George Gershwin: Songbook for solo piano
Maurice Ravel: Violin Sonata No. 2
Fazil Say: Summertime
George Gershwin / I. Frolov: Concert Fantasy on themes from Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess

Concertzaal 'De Brug' | Reeuwijk, NL

Sunday
12 February 2023 | 11:30

Baby, I Got the Blues

Recital with Caspar Vos (pn).
PROGRAMME:
Claude Debussy: Sonata for violin and piano
Aaron Copland – Rodeo, Hoe Down & Ukelele Serenade
Kurt Weill: Three Penny Opera, Seven Pieces, arranged by Stefan Frenkl for violin and piano
George Gershwin: Songbook for solo piano
Maurice Ravel: Violin Sonata No. 2
Fazil Say: Summertime
George Gershwin / I. Frolov: Concert Fantasy on themes from Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess

Bovenzaal, Theater Vrijthof Maastricht | Maastricht, NL

Tuesday
28 February 2023 | 20:00

All About Vibrato - Workshop for Violin LIVE at Tonebase

Vibrato can seem at times to be a mystical and elusive thing — even feeling like an all or nothing affair. However, digging deeper we can see the true challenges that face us: combining flexibility and strength into one feeling, not ignoring sound production and how that interacts with vibrato, the coordination and ear training required to feel the swing, and of course sensitivity to different repertoire and musical effects.

This live stream is available for Tonebase members and all those who sign up for the stream. For more information, see the Tonebase website.

Gwendolyn’s Bridge Club

MG 0527 use as banner Gwendolyn Masin Photo: Maximilian Lederer

Oh, dear patrons of Bridge Club – you help me move mountains. Thanks to your support, I was able to uphold the promise of an invitation to perform for Miklós Lukács, the Hungarian cimbalom player who rocked out for the “Global Beats” concert in Casino Bern.

Miklós was part of the original line-up for this concert. As soon as we began planning in 2018, I applied for a grant from a cultural agency in Hungary to ensure his involvement. However, the pandemic eradicated the efficacy of some of the primary sources of support for culture in Hungary and now, the country’s current reality means that musicians receive very limited support from public agencies. In September of 2022 I woke up to the shocking news that financial support for Miki had completely evaporated. However, thanks to you and your support for the club, we were able to provide the instrument on which Miklós played, (which came from Strasbourg), his travel expenses and a fee.

If you have any questions, suggestions or other queries about our work with the club, please feel free to contact me! You can email me directly at: mail@gwendolynmasin.com

I look forward to connecting with you soon.

Yours,
Gwendolyn