Yoko@Menlo

Yoko Rosenbaum is among the stars at this year’s Music@Menlo Chamber Music summer camp and festival. She’s a 14-year-old pianist from Los Angeles who has been coming to the festival for the last three years. We asked her if she would keep a journal so that parents and students could get an inside look at the culture of one of the great Bay Area summer events. Here are the first three days of camp.

Journal From Music@Menlo
— By Yoko Rosenbaum

Last Day

At the last concert at Music@Menlo, Wu Han warned the audience about the "Menlo Withdrawal Syndrome," and for me, it is in full-effect. There is a strange silence, without the sounds of coachings, rehearsals, lectures, and concerts permeating my consciousness all the time. There is also a strange sense of emptiness without the constant camaraderie between fellow musicians or the supporting words from coaches and the community. Music@Menlo is one of the rare places where people truly feel blessed to participate. I am so eternally grateful to have thus far spent four jaw-dropping summers at the festival. As a budding musician, there is no better place for me to blossom.

The last few days of Music@Menlo flew by. Preparing for the final concert was all consuming. From experimenting with last-minute ideas to running through the entire KYPC program working out kinks, there was hardly any time to stop and catch our breath. Before we knew it, the Young Performers’ last performance was upon us. It was said to be the one of the best concerts of the YP program in the eleven seasons of Music@Menlo. All 32 young musicians stepped up to the challenge and delivered fantastic performances.

I knew of all the hard work that had been done during the week. Tristan and I had glued our parts together and studied the score of The Rite of Spring, by doing things from working carefully with the metronome to watching the ballet with the recreated original choreography. Our time on stage was not for worrying about getting the right notes or fretting about ensemble issues, but to incorporate everything we had learned throughout the week and, though it seems awfully cliché, to just have fun. The Rite of Spring, though technically challenging, is one of the most exciting pieces I have ever performed. The energy being constantly traded from the performers to the audience was tangible. It was especially exciting to observe the audience’s reaction to a version of The Rite of Spring that is so different than the orchestral version.

The rest of the marathon day was electrifying as well. The Prelude Performance consisted of the Mendelssohn Piano Trio in C minor and the Brahms Piano Quintet in F Minor. Having played the third movement of the Brahms during the first week of the festival, it is a piece close to my heart. It was joyous to hear the International Performers give their all in their final performance. Seeing and hearing their tremendous growth as musicians in such a short span of three weeks was nothing short of awe-inspiring.

The final concert was bittersweet. The program, ranging from a Mozart concerto played superbly by one of my greatest inspirations, Gilbert Kalish, to the Mendelssohn Double Concert for Piano and Violin, featuring virtuosos Wu Han and Ben Beilman, was all mind-blowingly amazing. Each piece received a standing ovation — the love and support coming from both the hall and the stage shone through.

The end of the festival always comes too soon, though it is inevitable. Once the adrenaline from the last three concerts wears off, I am always left with the saddening knowledge that there will be a full year until I am able to return to Music@Menlo again. That fact, though dismaying, also feeds me with inspiration to grow and improve as a musician throughout the year, so I can contribute my best and most for the next festival season.

I cannot thank enough all the people who have supported me throughout these three weeks — Wu Han, David Finckel, all the CMI coaches, my friends and fellow musicians, the artists, the community, and especially my parents and my teacher. It is a truly special place when the community knows you by name and follows your progress through the years. I was immensely sad to leave Menlo, but I cannot wait for the 12th season and I hope to see you all there.

Aug. 3. Day 14

This is the first year Music@Menlo has offered dorm housing to out-of-town festival participants. This is a wonderful addition to the festival because it provides accessibility for students who might not have otherwise been able to come to the festival. The dorms are located on the Menlo College campus, a short five-minute walk from the high school where the day’s events take place. There are 11 musicians staying in the dorms, coming from places such as Taiwan, Minnesota, Kansas, New York, and Nevada.

This new supplement to Music@Menlo adds a feeling of intimacy. It has helped me realize how the festival runs like clockwork. The new sense of independence and responsibility is a valuable lesson for me. It also offers a great chance to bond with my fellow out-of-towners. Knowing that the friendships I make during these three weeks will last a lifetime is something that I treasure. It always brings a smile to my face when I walk down the hall in the morning or afternoon, and hear all types of music emerging from behind the doors; ranging from the Bach Cello Suites, to the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto. The dorms provide availability to more young musicians and provide the students with a fantastic living situation.

The sense of camaraderie among not only the dorm students, but also all the Young Performers, is something not found in many places. The simple fact that over 30 young musicians under the age of 18 are gathered in the same place, doing the things they love is a truly humbling experience. There is an undeniable feeling of support and excitement that is most palpable at times of performance, whether it is during a masterclass or concert. I cannot wait for the second Koret Young Performers Concert, and I look forward to being able to share my music for my eleventh performance at Music@Menlo.

July 30. Day 11

My trio performed in a masterclass with Laurence Lesser today. Today was the first day working on the second week's repertoire, and though the piece came together quickly, there was a short period of time to rehearse before we went on stage. That is a situation professional musicians are constantly thrown into and I am grateful that I had the chance to experience this. Mr. Lesser's masterclass was a vastly different experience than the Danish String Quartet. The principal difference was in the numbers involved — there was one of him, as opposed to the four members of the quartet. This made the session more personal, as just one person was teaching and giving his opinions.

Mr. Lesser gave us significant historical insight into the piece, explaining that the piece (the Arensky Piano Trio in D Minor) was dedicated to Arensky's late friend, the great cellist Karl Davydov. This insight gives the movement a sense of nostalgia. He also said something that had a deep impact on me. He said, "If you play technically perfect, but the audience leaves without knowing what you were trying to say, it has no meaning.” This is something I have been trying to incorporate into my playing for some time — being able to communicate with the audience and convey my emotions through the music.

Through generations, the teachings of the masters are passed to their students, and vital aspects of their artistry and wisdom transmitted through time. Being able to learn from one of the greatest cellists in the world was such a privilege. Mr. Lesser conveys his message with wisdom while still incorporating a sense of humor into the masterclass. Listening back to the masterclass later in the day, I was able to hear the drastic improvement in our playing. He added spice and feeling into our sound, encouraging us to sing through our instruments. Whether this was accomplished by a change in color, tempo, or tone, the difference is unmistakable. This was a fantastic start to week two — I cannot wait to hear how our trio develops.

July 29. Day 10

Such a performance as yesterdays could not have been completed without the time, dedication, and tutelage of the Chamber Music Institute coaches. Every single one of the six of them was instrumental in the development and improvement of the chamber groups. The same five coaches have returned each year since my first summer at Music@Menlo (Gloria Chien, Dmitri Atapine, Hyeyeon Park, Sean Lee, and Kristin Lee), and this year they were joined by the fantastic violinist and violist Sunmi Chang. They have facilitated my growth into the musician I am today, and not nearly enough thanks can be given to them for what they have taught me.

The environment at Music@Menlo is truly special. The support coming from not only one’s peers and coaches, but from the international performers, artists, and community makes the festival one of the most inclusive, encouraging environments I have ever had the privilege of being exposed to. The relationships that I have made here in the past four years are bonds that I am sure will last a lifetime, and it’s sincerely a blessing that I have been able to be introduced to such fantastic musicians at a young age. Even though we might get spread throughout the entire world during our careers, the friendships that I make at the festival will always have a special quality because we shared an experience like no other.

Music@Menlo has had a very drastic impression on the way that I view music. It has taught me not to just be a musician, but to be an intelligent musician. The festival encourages me think about what I am playing, which helps both myself and the audience understand the piece in a deeper way. But intelligence only makes half a musician. Music@Menlo also helps their young performers play from the heart, and be true to the music. It is that kind of thinking that has transformed me into the pianist I am today.

This festival is unique for countless reasons, and I am truly grateful that I have been so fortunate to return year after year. It is at this festival that I am always reminded how lucky I am to be a musician. Music@Menlo is my home away from home, and the people here are my family.

July 27. Day Eight.

It seemed as though the theme of the day was the creation and maintenance of instruments.  A Luthier (a violin maker and string technician) named Ryan Soltis visited the Chamber Music Institute participants and demonstrated, for example, how to fix an open seam, usually caused by a fluctuation in humidity, on a cello. He brought two violins that he made, and had CMI coach and festival artist Sean Lee play the first few bars of the Tchaikovsky concerto on each of them. He purposely adjusted the instruments so that the sound was not as flawless and well balanced as it could be. He had us listen critically to the sound that the instrument was producing, and then tell him what we thought could be improved. It was amazing to see what a vast difference in color could be caused just by adjusting the sound post of the violin less than a millimeter. Even though I myself am not a string player, I found the demonstration fascinating. The mechanics behind any instrument are so delicate, that even the minutest change in temperature or location can change its sound drastically.

This evening was host to the festival’s second encounter, entitled “Keyboard Evolution: How Bach’s Instruments Became the Modern Piano,” which was lead by pianist and writer Stuart Isacoff. We took a journey from the Baroque era, which was the time when the harpsichord was king, to the current day, which boasts the modern piano. The lecture was especially intriguing as several of the mentioned instruments were performed, such as the harpsichord, clavichord, and eventually a Steinway grand piano. Before tonight, I never knew that the history behind the piano that is performed on today had so many twists and turns. For instance, there is a Pedal Piano, which is a regular piano, with another keyboard on the ground to be played with one’s feet. It is still in use today, though rare. The piano went through countless alterations, adjustment and modifications before it became the beautiful instrument it is today. It was quite amazing to see and hear the stark contrast between the limited harpsichord and the range of colors and dynamics that the piano is able to produce. This evening not only gave me more insight into the history of my instrument, but made me appreciate it even more, now that I know what a long saga its journey has been.

July 25. Day Six.

Today’s Café Conversation was lead by renowned cellist Christopher Costanza who discussed the “Mystery of Bach’s Cello Suites.” Having recently performed and recorded all six of the suites, Costanza was certainly the right musician for such a task. The festival’s theme this year, “From Bach,” has taken shape with almost every performance starting with a work of Bach and the first encounter being solely about him. Still in the first week of the festival and with the majority of festival events yet to come, I feel as though we have just begun a magical journey exploring the vast realm of the musical genius that is Bach.

Costanza’s conversation was an engrossing hour-long train of thought, showing the audience clips of his own recordings and discussing his favorite movements from each of the suites. He talked about Pablo Casals and his famous interpretation of the suites, stating “Casals brought these pieces to life. I’ve heard many recordings of people trying to imitate him, but I’ve yet to hear anyone pull it off so flawlessly.” Costanza told a fascinating anecdote about young Casals when he first came across the cello suites. Not very well known before the 1900’s, Casals found Grutzmacher’s edition in a thrift shop in Barcelona. He began to study them, at age 13, but it wasn’t until he was in his sixties that he agreed to record them. Costanza then showed the audience a page out of the Grutzmacher score, along with one of his one recordings of that dance. We were all shocked to see and hear the difference between the Anna Magdelena version, which is the closest to Bach’s, although his own manuscript was never found, and Grutzmacher’s. The edition added notes, and took some out, to the score was nearly unrecognizable when paired with the audio.

This in-depth discussion about Bach makes me want more. It is hard for anybody to understand exactly how genius he was both mathematically and emotionally, a combination not commonly found. I cannot wait as we dive in deeper and learn more about the composer who is widely known as the father of all western music.

July 24. Day Five

Today I participated in the festival masterclass led by the Danish String Quartet. On Sunday they performed a truly amazing concert featuring works ranging from Bach to Shostakovich. The most memorable part for me was the third movement of the Beethoven String Quartet Op. 132, which was simply spellbinding. The movement was written after Beethoven had recovered from an illness that lasted for several months, and depicts his hopes during his sickness followed by his thankfulness to God after his recovery. The whole audience held their breath, not wanting to miss a single note. The entire program was so breath taking that the audience was talking about it days afterwards.

Prior to the masterclass, I was extremely nervous as people started filing into the hall before my group performed the third movement of the Brahms Quintet. This was due to routine pre-performance jitters, the fact that this was my first presentation of the piece before an audience, and because I knew how impossibly talented the Danish String Quartet is. But as soon as the first unsettling, spine-chilling pizzicato sounded, a wave of calm washed over me. I stopped worrying about how I could have better prepared and started listening to how I sounded in the present. My adrenaline jumped up but my nerves went down.

After we finished our piece, it was time for the real heart of the masterclass to begin. All four members of the Danish String Quartet were exceptionally friendly and supportive, though they had plenty of suggestions. One suggestion in particular, which was also given they also said to the group that followed us, stood out to me. “It is the details that make the difference between good and great.” This is important to me as a young musician, because occasionally I get swept up in the virtuosity, beauty or grandeur of whatever piece that I am playing, and neglect to truly study the score. As I listened to what tremendous improvement ensued from the most miniscule adjustment or tweak, I saw clearly what they meant. Even the smallest change can make a big enhancement when properly placed. This masterclass was an eye-opening experience, and I am truly grateful for it.

July 22. Day Three.

A violinist by the name of Soovin Kim made his Music@Menlo debut today at the second Carte Blanche of the season. The concert was breathtakingly beautiful, and was one of the most expansive concerts I’ve ever heard, both in breadth of repertoire and in the length of performance. He played works by composers ranging from Bach to Paganini to [Esa-Pekka] Salonen. It was a journey that encompassed ten pieces, three intermissions, and one encore. The sheer endurance that Kim displayed throughout the concert was astounding.

The truest aspects of music were incorporated into this concert. As an aspiring musician, this is the type of artistry one looks up to and learns so much from. Soovin Kim was technically amazing, musically incredible, and connected with the audience in a way that had everybody on their feet before each break. He showed mastery of all genres of music, from baroque composers such as Bach and Telemann to contemporary composers like Harbison and Widmann.

Connecting with the audience, no matter how big or small, is one of the most crucial aspects of music performance. Whether this is by making a small speech at the beginning of the performance, or by using the music to reach out and connect with the audience, Soovin Kim did both. I was captivated by each minute of his performance, not simply because of the dazzling technical feats such as octave trills or harmonic runs, but also because of the true passion and genuine care Kim showed for the music.

The concert was inspiring in multiple ways. Though the technical ability of playing can only come from methodical practice, one must be born with musicality. It is vital that a musician not only feels deeply what he or she plays, but also conveys that feeling to an audience as well. That is what made this concert so remarkable. I could tell that each member of the audience was feeling the music and left more complete and whole than when they entered the hall.

That is the true beauty of music, and why it is the only universal language. Through whatever barriers we, as humankind, may come across, music will always be there to bridge the gaps between us.

July 21. Day Two.

The second day of the festival was as productive and enjoyable as the first. A brief warm-up session preceded the initial, official rehearsal of the first week’s repertoire — for me, the third movement of the Brahms Piano Quintet.

It is truly inspiring to see, hear, and feel such tremendous improvement after just an hour of rehearsal. My first coach was the second violinist of the Danish String Quartet, Rune Sorensen. The back-and-forth between teacher and student is one of the elements I love most about music, especially when working with such an accomplished and amazing musician. After working on the endurance-testing piece, all five members of the quintet were exhausted.

The second Café Conversation of the festival followed the coaching, and featured the festival artist, a painter by the name of Sebastian Spreng. He spoke about his life, taking the audience on a journey from his early childhood to the present. He discussed his big breaks, and his moments of disappointment, his greatest breakthroughs and his biggest setbacks.

Music@Menlo is unique in that, even though it is a music festival, it incorporates other art forms by inviting one featured artist per year. This brings together both music and visual art in a way that isn’t replicated anywhere else.

For me, this day marked the official beginning of the festival because now we start to work out the details and intricacies of our pieces. This is the time when the repertoire transforms from its beginning stages and emerges as a work of art and beauty. The process is painstaking, but incredible. In order to achieve the level of play that all young musicians strive for, we must collaborate, share ideas, and listen carefully to one another. This is the very essence of chamber music, and no place teaches it better than Music@Menlo.

July 20. Day One.

The first day of the festival arrived in full-force: seven hours of rehearsals, coachings, and a brilliant Café Conversation led by Patrick Castillo, featuring three percussionists. The day began with orientation for both the Young Performers and the International Performers, wherein the general rules and guidelines were explained.

The Young Performers rehearsed the repertoire they will be performing for all three weeks, starting with the piece that they will play the second week, followed by the third week repertoire, and lastly, but certainly not least, the first week. Playing a new chamber music piece with new musicians is truly beautiful. There is a certain fragile balance between what one already knows, and what one has yet to learn. Trying to incorporate what I discover in my solo practice with what I hear with the entire ensemble is always a challenge, but wholly rewarding. After the piece matures, the musicians transform from being soloists in the same room, to performers of the same mind, body and breath, thinking as one. The first day of each week is my favorite, because it brings the most excitement and insight to the piece.

The Café Conversation was not only educational, but entertaining. Titled, “Behind the Drum,” it featured three percussionists: Ian Rosenbaum, Christopher Froh, and Ayano Kataoka. We learned about two pieces, one composed by Steve Reich, featuring a compositional technique called “phasing,” in which a subject is stated by two people, then one slowly goes out of sync by getting faster and faster. This creates an effect that voices different melodies than the one previously heard. The percussionists also performed a piece wherein they played on a table with pieces of wood, and used various touches to create different sounds. They also spoke about how they started in percussion and how composers notate their percussion compositions.

This was an excellent first taste of this year’s festival.