Augustin Hadelich doles out sage advice in violin masterclass at CIM

There’s always value in a second opinion, even at CIM. Especially when that opinion comes from Augustin Hadelich, one of the foremost violinists of his generation.  

In a masterclass at CIM Thursday, Hadelich fine-tuned the work of four lucky students, polishing and refining what were already incredible displays of talent and testaments to the high level of teaching at CIM.   

Hadelich was in town to perform Beethoven with The Cleveland Orchestra, but one could argue he made an equally deep impact down the road, in Mixon Hall.  

For nearly two hours, a crowd of CIM students – not all of them violinists – sat in rapt attention, often following along with digital scores as Hadelich took fine readings and shaped them into truly special performances.  

Hadelich’s commentary was gentle, complimentary, and unfailingly constructive. At times, he even lightened the mood with a little humor, admitting that in music, some problems have no good or definitive answer.  

In general, Hadelich advocated bold expression, efficient technique, and a clear sense of purpose.  

At points in Ysaÿe’s Poème élégiaque, for instance, Hadelich showed violinist Yuwa Roten how to distribute tension and when to give it her all. At one point, “You can dig in further before the strings start scratching the wood,” he said.  

Moments later, violinist Rhianna Lingle was urged in Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto No. 1 to “go a little crazier...It should be pretty savage,” and elsewhere to go “in the funnier direction...clownish...The most important thing of all is that it needs to be a different character.”  

Much of Hadelich’s guidance to violinists Hiroka Matsumoto and Zachary Brandon, meanwhile, was about shaping, about maintaining and conveying one’s sense of direction within a piece.  

Within Korngold’s Violin Concerto in D Major, “There are moments where you have to show where you are in this harmonic journey,” Hadelich told Matsumoto, noting that in another passage, “The whole thing should feel like you’re just moving through, without the rhythm so much.” 

Similarly, after hearing a portion of Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto, Hadelich responded by offering two pieces of advice about direction, both of which apply to string players – and indeed musicians in general – everywhere.  

“Be clear enough about the structure to know how to get back,” Hadelich said, adding later, “It’s important to be clear first about the shape you want. Then, make the bow do it.”