Comments on: The “Art” of memorising

By: Josh Rappaport

Josh Rappaport — Wed, 14 Mar 2007 15:54:15 +0000

Alban, it’s great that you can memorize stuff, especially cello concertos like that of Dvorak and Elgar. You’re an excellent musician. I once had a conversation with Markus Groh, told him about you, and after the HSO talkback he said to me that if he sees you he’d tell you hello for me. When I was backstage during your concert I remember you were playing a little bit of the Schumann cello concerto. Anyway, hope you come back a third time. Auf wiedersehn.

By: Florian

Florian — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 19:12:30 +0000

Hi,
I found your blog via google by accident and have to admit that youve a really interesting blog 🙂
Just saved your feed in my reader, have a nice day 🙂

By: George

George — Mon, 08 Jan 2007 23:40:14 +0000

Thanks for clarifying this..I wasn’t sure if you were referring to the left hand, bow arm or an interpretive phrasing..Best Regards!

By: David

David — Sun, 07 Jan 2007 17:51:50 +0000

Hi Alban, thanks alot for answering my question in such elaboration. I am currently working on Schubert’s Arpeggione and I have been applying your memorization technique. So far it seems to be working quite well. The piece seems to always be stuck in my mind and I’ve learned the first movement rather quickly. Thanks again for your response I really appreciate it.

By: Alban

Alban — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 23:16:53 +0000

Hi George! Well, I think it is almost more a feeling of “digging deep” into the string with your right arm. The sensation as if the string is some kind of swamp in which we can sink in and therefore produce a sound which consists of this depth we feel before. It is definitely the opposite of “flautando”, probably my least favorite colour. Yes, we have to do it sometimes as a special effect, but I use this very, very rarely.

By: George

George — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 18:39:44 +0000

Alban…I was reading a blog item from a previous period and saw where you had mentioned
“going deep into the string”…I thought about the phrase and had my own ideas about what you could have meant by this description……would you please elaborate more about what this means to you..thanks -George, from California –

By: Alban

Alban — Tue, 02 Jan 2007 22:01:22 +0000

I think I used to function like this, Bob, but when I had to learn this awfully difficult concerto by Henri Jolivet I couldn’t find a single “catchy phrase”, nothing really made sense, and I swear I thought I would never ever be able to memorize it. But with this technique I described above it worked. And yes, you are right, I was always a good memorizer, but not to that extent, and not with that speed. Try it, it might even work for you, because you have an amazing memory for sure, so it might be difficult to improve it!

By: Bob

Bob — Sun, 31 Dec 2006 17:46:46 +0000

It would seem from what you say that your memory is primarily visual, but I don’t think that is really the case. I think that like Mozart’s starling, if not Mozart himself, you repeat phrases of what you hear. If you are working on new music, whether it be Reger or Dutilleux, some phrases stick in your brain and then you practice them subconciously throughout the day and even in your dreams. The catchiest phrases come the easiest, but gradually the connective tissue between them gets filled in. Finally, the details of articulation and dynamics become second nature. What is amazing about you is the processing speed and storage capacity of your inner ear. Your trick of visualizaton is a good one, but you always had that talent.