It is said
that Jascha Heifetz was never satisfied with his own playing. Despite
accolades from critics, colleagues, and audiences, he never managed
to still his inner critic, the one that told him, "It could be better!"
Is it the onus of the great artist, this nagging discontent, the restless
search, the Sisyphean pursuit of an unreachable ideal? If this burden
is the mark of a great artist then Nikolaj Znaider is destined for
big things.
Born in Denmark
in 1975 to Polish-Israeli parents, Znaider studied with some of the
world's greatest violin teachers. Popular Israeli teacher Ilona Feher
provided Znaider's instruction during his childhood. At the Royal
Danish Academy of Music, Znaider's principal teacher was Milan Vitek,
who was knighted three years ago for his contributions to Danish cultural
life. At the Juilliard School of Music, legendary teacher Dorothy
DeLay began tutoring Znaider at 16.
But then
in 1994, at the age of 18, already with the first prize from the Carl
Nielson International Violin Competition under his belt and on the
threshold of a solo career, Znaider chose to go back to the drawing
board. "I wasn't happy with the way I was playing at the time. I felt
that something was lacking and that I wasn't entirely going the right
way," explains Znaider.
He went to
the Russian pedagogue Boris Kuschnir in Vienna who had established
a certain reputation through his other students, among them Julian
Rachlin. Znaider played for 15 minutes. Kuschnir talked for 15 minutes.
"I felt instinctively that something was wrong," Znaider says, "but
I didn't know what. He was able to pinpoint it and put it in words."
Their work
together would begin with four lessons a week—on open strings
only! "At first you feel like you're two years old and trying to walk
suddenly," he adds. "It's something that you've been doing all your
life yet suddenly it feels strange to you."
What could
an already accomplished violinist possibly learn from weeks of playing
on open strings? "Oh, you can learn a lot!" Znaider observes. "The
quality of bow change, for instance—how to distribute the weight
throughout the strokes, which is very important for the sound production,
and also to kind of train the right hand. What I was lacking at the
time was the flexibility and the strength in the right hand. So we
broke down all the movements you make in a bow change and did them
separately.
"If you watch
soccer, tennis, or golf players train, they break down the end result
that they wish to smaller motions and train those in the extremes.
Then when they put it together it gets a result at an entirely different
level. It was an entirely new way of thinking about sound production,
articulation, intonation, phrasing—exactly what I want to do,
to really think it through, also to be able to defend it."
Kuschnir
recalls their encounter well. "Yes we did about three weeks of open
strings," he says. "I need simple situations for the right-hand technique.
At the beginning, that was the open strings."
Znaider's
training continued with a full year's work on Saint-Saëns' Violin
Concerto No. 3. It was the start of a new way of working, which suited
Znaider's highly analytical, yet passionate, style.
People quickly
took notice.
"I first
knew of him after he came to Vienna—everybody was talking about
him then," says Mariss Jansons, the conductor on Znaider's recently
released recording of Prokofiev and Glazunov concertos.
Znaider's
work was paying off—he was finding himself as a violinist and
an artist.
In 1997,
three years after having essentially relearned the violin, Znaider
won the most coveted and respected prize of the violin world, the
first prize in the Queen Elisabeth Competition in Brussels. "After
Brussels, he was big!" declares Jansons. Yet to this day, his method
hasn't changed. "He's very demanding of himself," Jansons adds.
"He often
says, ‘I had a concert, lots of success, but for you it was probably
very bad!'" says Kuschnir. "I say, ‘not necessarily,' of course.
But he says, ‘No, no, I hear it myself!' He hears very well,
and that helps him in his further development."
If one could
compare the violinist Yehudi Menuhin to Mozart the composer—boy
geniuses both, for whom making music was an easy and God-given talent—Znaider
would more likely be compared to Brahms, who worked diligently and
was known to destroy any work that didn't meet his uncompromising
standards.
In
Pursuit of an Ideal
This rare
glimpse into the mind of a budding star shows that he isn't motivated
by fame or money. His naturally commanding stage presence, the drama
and intensity one sees and hears from him, are all the result of an
idealistic pursuit of artistic merit.
When asked
why he plays, for that matter why any of us plays music, his three-part
answer demonstrates a characteristic mix of philosophy and pragmatism.
"I think we as instrumentalists, in a certain masochistic way, enjoy
the practicing, the slaving over details, the scales, the relentless
scales and exercises," Znaider explains. "I also have a definite wish
and need to communicate with the audience: I feel that I have something
to say, that I can say it best on stage with a violin in my hand.
Finally we want to do justice to the music, we want to serve the music."
More and
more, Znaider is getting the opportunity to do just that. Not every
winner of a major competition goes on to a successful performing career,
but Znaider already is playing around 100 concerts a year. Apparently
a favorite of conductor Daniel Barenboim, he is a frequent guest with
the Chicago Symphony, has already had his debut at Carnegie Hall with
the Phildadelphia Orchestra, and performed with the Cleveland Orchestra
and the New York Philharmonic. His European credentials are even more
impressive, being already an established star throughout Europe. American
audiences will increasingly have the pleasure of hearing him as he
makes his debuts with the Seattle, Dallas, and Detroit symphonies
in the 2002–2003 season and goes on tour with Valery Gergiev
and the Rotterdam Philharmonic, including performances in Washington,
DC, New York, and Chicago, as well as some smaller cities.
And then
there are the recordings: Bruch and Nielsen concertos with the London
Philharmonic; the recently released Prokofiev Concerto No. 2; the
Glazunov; Tchaikovsky's "Meditation," with Mariss Jansons and the
Bavarian Radio Symphony (the first for his exclusive recording contract
for RCA Red Seal); and a just-finished recital disc with a mix of
his favorite short pieces.
"Everything
that made me fall in love with the violin," is his description of
the music he chose for the latest project. "Most were things that
I've been listening to since I was a little boy." Those include the
famous Polonaise in D-Major and the "Variations on an Original Theme"
by Wieniawski; three solo pieces: Milstein Paganiniana, Ysaye Sonata
No. 3, and Kreisler "Recitativo and Scherzo"; a couple of fun Chopin
nocturnes: the D major that Michael Rabin recorded and an E-flat major
in a transcription by Heifetz; Achron's "Hebrew Melody," and some
Sarasate.
A
Personal Style
This repertoire
reflects the impression by many who hear Znaider that he is an artist
and a virtuoso in the mold of the great violinists of the 19th and
20th centuries. He is, in fact, very conscious of the long tradition
of violin playing and enjoys hearing recordings of the old masters.
"I think it's important to know where we come from," he explains.
"There's so much love to be harvested in those recordings, so much
greatness in them. It's like a treasure, a legacy that shouldn't be
forgotten."
Specifically,
Znaider refers to an early Menuhin recording. "I just bought the Elgar
concerto that he did when he was 15. What struck me was the intensity
that a 15-year-old could keep for—how long is this concerto?
Fifty minutes? Incredible! And not just physical intensity but mental
intensity as well," he says. "That was so impressive, especially if
you think about it—a 15-year-old child."
His own soon-to-be-released
recital CD could perhaps be seen as his tribute to the great names
that appear on it in one form or another: Wieniawski, Sarasate, Ysaye,
Kreisler, Heifetz, Milstein, Rabin.
According
to Kuschnir, Znaider could be added seamlessly to this list. "[Znaider]
is for me one of the best violinists in the world in this generation
because his tone quality is unique. Technically he can play anything,
absolutely perfectly, but I think that's not the most important thing.
How he presents this technique—tone, depth, vibrato—this
I find unique. In earlier times, there was Oistrakh, Grumieux, Heifetz,
Kreisler, Milstein, and Menuhin—so many great personalities.
In our times there are very few personalities, very few. What Nikolaj
is doing now can only be compared to those times. He's a violinist
that you can always hear and say 'yes, that's Nikolaj Znaider.' That's
something the others don't have, it's a very personal way of playing."
The
Right Tools
Having equipped
himself with the tools to do anything conceivable on a violin, the
next thing Znaider would need is the proper instrument. "To express
yourself in the best possible way, you need a great instrument . .
. if you have a great instrument, it inspires you to be better than
you are," he says.
Since soon
after his parents bought Znaider his first full-size violin, to this
day the only instrument he personally owns, his talent has been so
obvious that foundations, collectors, and dealers have been offering
him an assortment of great old Italian violins to play. For many years,
until the age of 20, he played a Giuseppe Guarneri Filius Andreae.
"After that I was back and forth between borrowed instruments," he
says. "I had a wonderful Strad that was lent to me just for the [Queen
Elisabeth] competition. Then there was a Strad that you get as the
first prize that I had for a little over a year. Then I played a Guarneri
del Gesu from the Strad Society, also for just a year. I have been
playing over the last two years a wonderful Guarneri del Gesu. It's
from 1732, so it's relatively early, but it's magnificent. I've had
a drama surrounding what will happen with this in the future [if I
am not able to continue borrowing it]. Hopefully not, but it looks
a bit like I'm in an in-between phase right now."
True to his
nature, Znaider is still searching, be it for the right violin or
the best way to express himself with it. His already brilliant playing
coupled with that inner voice, saying "it can be better . . . it will
be better" makes for great anticipation.
Photo
of Nikolaj Znaider by Shiela Rock.
