It was a real pleasure and honor to be coached on Leoš Janáček’s String Quartet no. 1 “Kreutzer Sonata” (1923).

We were accompanied in this difficult but so fulfilling work by David Yang, the American violist and educator whom we met in April 2019, in Brussels. He showed a lot of passion and patience to allow us to enter the crazy and tender world of Janáček. On Friday evening, David explained the piece and its philosophy in an introductory conference, with audio support. It lasted almost 2 hours and we were already shocked by the deep feelings expressed in the piece. We shared a buffet altogether after the conference.

We were two string quartets of amateur musicians from Brussels – and members of ACMP:

Quartet 1, working on the first movement:

Marcelline Bosquillon, violine 1

Bernard Respaut, violine 2

Françoise Longree, viola

Sylvie Mariage, cello

Quartet 2, working on the second movement,

Anais Gassin, violine 1

Marc Mignon, violine 2

Nancy Terlaak Poot, viola

Dorores Velasco, cello

On Saturday and Sunday, David coached each quartet alternately for an hour and a half in the morning and an hour and fifteen minutes in the afternoon. He coached Janáček’s String Quartet no. 1 all day, from 10am to 5pm!

On Sunday, after a whole day of coaching with David, we played for friends and family members who came to support us, at 5pm.

The location of the masterclass was my apartment and that of a neighbor and friend on the rue de l’écuyer, right in the heart of Brussels.

We want to thank ACMP for the exceptional support ($600) we received for this occasion and we could say we will never forget the energy, kindness and professionalism of David Yang.

A wonderful time was had by all – and from his perspective, David Yang said:

It is always great to work with a serious group on terrific music like this. We took the score apart measure by measure, looking at the beginning, middle, and ends of notes with a microscope but then zooming out for the global picture – where does the phrase go, where does the section go, what is the climax of the movement, what is the composer trying to say? I find this kind of working is like one of those theoretical Renaissance perpetual motion machines in that the more energy you pour into a group the more comes out, Laws of Thermodynamics be damned! Both groups were great to work with and played beautifully. 

Many thanks again to David and to ACMP, and best wishes from Europe,

Françoise

Guest writer Françoise Longrée is ACMP’s representative in Belgium on the International Advisory Council, and the director of the local chamber music membership organization I Cambristi Brussels. If you are traveling to Belgium, please reach out to Françoise!

Interested in working with David Yang? Find him in ACMP’s Chamber Music Coach Directory.