h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

So... I was watching the show of the WC Figure Skating in Dortmund (on TV) and saw (and heard) Edvin Marton playing his Stradivarius, replacing the skating of Totmianina and Marinin (because her shoulder had been dislocated in the morning during practise)...

...and I can't belive I haven't discovered him (Marton) until now! I used to be sooo into folk/world music - and I missed this gem?

Anyway, to me he seems like another one of those 'crazy Hungarians' - his playing reminded me of a weekend folk dancing class that I attended many years ago, with live music.

There was a small party Saturday evening, and the Hungarian musicians kept playing and playing and playing (especially the flutist) tempting, seducing us into dancing the dances we had learnt earlier in the day - again and again and again, and even improvising...

Phew! That's the only folk dance/music party I've attended where the dancers gave up long before the musicians - I heard they kept on playing long after we had gone to bed (around 3 am)!

It reminded me of an old Swedish tale about the devil turning up at a place called Hårga, where he started playing a piece of music that still exists today (Hårgalåten) - music that made people feel they just *had* to dance, and keep dancing. And so they did, until there was just their bones and skulls left, still bouncing around in a circle around the devil...

I think that is one of those 'global' myths -- the same, or similar story seems to pop up in many different cultures, in one or another guise. For example, North American First Nations myths about Kokopelli, the flute player...

I'll look out for Edvin Marton's stuff,

BTW, did you know that science boffins have recently determined exactly why/how Strads sound so good? ... and that they can now be duplicated!!

cool!

How? Got a link?

This is Marton's official website:
http://www.edvinmarton.com/

I had never heard of Marton. Thanks for the link.

http://www.oberlin.edu/stupub/ocreview/archives/2002.11.08/arts/article3.htm

There's also some evidence supporting the 'tight annular ring' theory..

http://dailybeacon.utk.edu/article.php/14403

... which, if true, would make it rather difficult, (but not impossible), to replicate

... or, perhaps there really is no 'secret'..

http://www.fritz-reuter.com/reports/rin048.htm

Where to begin, where to begin...?

OK, read the first link - made some sense, but doesn't the name Nagyvary have a rather Hungarian ring to it? Is this a plot?

Hmm... and the second link contradicts the first one, to some extent...

And as for the third, I have to object - a Stradivarius violin sound is very distinctly different from other, newer violins. It has been compared with the sound of a human voice, among other things.

And I also bought an Edvin Marton CD today - he seems to be going through a phase that is very common among skilled musicians in east/central/Balkan Europe.

First you play folk music, then you play classical music, than you add modern rhythms like jazz, then you create 'fusion' and then, again, you add some sort of R&B - some of the stuff on his CD 'strings 'n' beats' is good, and some is barely above average, IMHO.

A very good example of this was the Romanian pan-flutist Gheorghe Zamfir. He was absolutely brilliant and at his best when playing Romanian folk music (with intriguing rhythms like 11/8 and the like).

...and then he tried to get 'popular' and before you knew it, you'd find him playing 'Amazing Graze' and stuff like that. Brr! I firmly stand by the opinion that his early, Romanian traditional material is the 'crème de la crème' among his records!

It'll be interesting which musical aspect Edvin Marton will be focusing on next - the CD I bought is mixing classical stuff with modern beats provided by a DJ and, like I said, sometimes it's a perfect match and sometimes it isn't... but I do like his version of 'King of the Forest' (Ah! Finally learnt the English title for 'Erlkönig' - lyrics by Goethe and music by Schubert)!

Which reminds me of one of my old journals - and I found a new page that I haven't seen before with the lyrics from 'Erlkönig' in both German *and* with a pretty good English translation (to the right):
http://www.recmusic.org/lieder/get_text.html?TextId=6382

'distinctly different' I wonder
Apparently there is quite a noticeable range of difference among the various Stads.
Our expectations and beliefs often influence our perceptions...
It is not impossible that new technologies and new techniques can even improve upon those of the past.

Here's a couple more links:
http://dsc.discovery.com/news/afp/20031208/violin.html
This link to Nagyvary's site -- there are two music sample:
http://www.nagyvaryviolins.com/

'two music sample'????!!!!

Ah - ok, I agree with not *all* Stradivarius violins being 'special' when it comes to how they sound...

...but, on the other hand, say another 300 years from now - which violins would you think would have the best sound, the richest tone?

Much like houses - in the old days they knew how to build houses, and the best example are the buildings that still remain (requiring some maintenance of course, but still).

And then you've got the 'modern' buildings that turn out to plagued with faults, and that will last no more than 10-15 years.

I've got the feeling that this also goes for instruments - especially factory-made ones.

I realize that the quality of the instrument is important, but I really think that the skill of the violinist is more important. A Hillbilly fiddler using a Stradivarius would still sound like a Hillbilly fiddler. And a great artist will make you weep regardless of his instrument. Just my .

True, but when you combine a great musician and a great instrument - then you've got Heaven... Music that will make you forget your everyday life struggle, music that will make you cry, music that will make you feel blessed, music that takes you higher than any drug