Joshua Answers Your Questions! Part 2

Joshua Bell: I had a great time playing the Vieuxtemps Guarneri. It is one of the GREATEST instruments in the world. That violin represents the epitome of the 'Guarneri sound.' The deep, dark, gutsy sound of a great Guarneri is simply awesome, and to play the Bruch concerto on the 'Vieuxtemps' was a privilege and a thrill. However, I still consider myself a 'Strad player', and when I went back to my 'Huberman' Stradivarius, I appreciated the qualities of my own instrument even more than I had before. The brilliance and sweet soprano qualities of a Strad are so special (my teacher, Gingold had a Strad too), and considering the way I approach the instrument – generally using a faster bow-speed, and varying the bow speeds to create different sound colors – I am probably more suited to a Strad. Of course my dream would be to have both a Strad AND a Guarnerius!!

Joshua Bell: I do not see music when I play. When I play or hear music I find that it goes directly from the ears to the brain. I tend to close my eyes when I play because it lets me concentrate better on listening without having the distraction of visual input. When I play with orchestra and I close my eyes, I feel that I can 'hear' each of the individual instruments in the orchestra much better.

Joshua Bell: This question does deserve a dissertation and not a quick answer from me, but I would say that part of the art of playing a string quartet is knowing when to lead and when to defer or follow. In a string quartet, the lead voice is constantly shifting (the only difference in solo playing is that the lead voice is more often the responsibility of the soloist – but not always!) .Being a good listener is, of course, vital in personal communication. In quartet playing (and solo playing too!), one must truly listen to the musicians around him and be prepared to let the playing of the colleague affect and inspire his own interpretation, even 'on the fly', rather than having a rigid idea of how 'things must go' from the start and simply sticking to it.