What does Zigeunerweisen sound like with no E string?
Step back with me to August of 2004. It was summertime in Chicago, I had just started dating Akiko, and I was about to fly across the world for my first ever international competition. Things were good. Here’s 2004 Nathan looking ahead to that summer’s doings:
Before a competition or audition, it’s not a bad idea to schedule one or more warm-up performances so that you can wrap your mind (and your hands) around playing your repertoire on stage. As Dr. Seuss said in Oh, The Places You’ll Go:
“out there, things can happen
and frequently do”
On this particular day in August, something did indeed happen, something I’m not proud of. Finally, after more than a decade, I’m ready to laugh about it with all of you. Turn up your speakers or pop in your earbuds, because you’re visiting the Chicago Cultural Center for the Dame Myra Hess concert series. Kuang-Hao Huang joined me on piano, and the listeners of WFMT joined us live on the air. Carl Grapentine was our genial radio host, and fortunately he was quick on his feet that day!
Before the concert, I was a bit nervous because just a day earlier, I had broken an E string. I worried that the new one wouldn’t hold its pitch. I worried that it might whistle. I was blissfully unaware of what should have been my biggest worry.
After some Beethoven (the Romance in F and the Sonata No. 8 in G), we launched into Sarasate’s Zigeunerweisen. Things started off without incident:
Just before the devilish final section of the piece, there is a long lamentation that climbs ever upward, finishing on a high C. As we reached that moment of calm, I could feel the blood start to course through my arms, preparing my hands for the frenzied fun ahead. Kuang-Hao handled the sudden mood change, and I nearly jumped in early:
At first, both hands kept going as if nothing was wrong, but my left hand quickly realized that there was no wiry E string underneath its fingers. As I turned to Kuang-Hao, I gritted my teeth imagining the hasty retreat backstage, the hurried string change, the brief retune, then a desperate attempt to refocus the dissipated energy in the room.
Then I had a sickening realization: that new E string I had put on the day before had been my last. There were no more. I remembered thinking, as I had unwrapped the string, “Make sure to get another one before tomorrow’s show.” But other things must have seemed more important: a new episode of Fear Factor, perhaps. Now tomorrow was today.
And this wasn’t a concerto performance, where I could just switch fiddles with the concertmaster. It wasn’t even a string quartet concert, where my fellow violinist might have a spare string in his case. I was well and truly sunk unless someone there had a spare violin or at least an E string.
Akiko was in the audience, but she didn’t have her violin with her. Plus, I remembered her telling me that she had never broken a string in performance. How is that even possible? I thought. We just started dating…is that one of those lies you tell to make yourself more attractive? Well, this isn’t going to help my standing with her.
My cry for help, “Do we have an extra E string in the house?” got a nice laugh. Carl Grapentine carried on the broadcast for our remote listeners, while the live audience murmured away. Carl’s pause and “Hmmmm!” pretty much said it all:
After what felt like five minutes but was really just fifteen seconds, I saw that I was out of options. Short of digging up Paganini (or maybe Roman Kim) and having him play the end of the piece on three strings, I had to call it. My goose was cooked. I managed something between a bow and a curtsy, which brought the audience to its feet, in order to leave. There was applause, though I assume most of it was for my intrepid pianist.
Let’s throw it back to Carl Grapentine for the call:
So, to recap:
- Don’t be like 2004 Nathan.
- Every time you change a string, make sure you have another…better yet, two!
- Every time you perform, make sure you have a friend in the audience with a spare violin.
- It turns out that John Gerson (who’s now a good friend) was in the audience, with a spare violin. That was the first time he had ever laid eyes on me, and when disaster struck, he thought: I’ve got this violin. But it isn’t even mine. I’m borrowing it. Should I run up and offer it to him? I can’t be the only person here with a violin. Oh wait, he’s bowing. Was that a bow? Wow, I guess it’s over. I’ll never find out if he had a decent left-hand pizzicato.
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18 thoughts on “What does Zigeunerweisen sound like with no E string?”
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Curious as to what strings do you prefer to use, especially E-string, and has this ever happened since!
I use Pirastro Passione strings (gut core with metal winding), except for the E. For some reason, I find the E that comes with those sets goes false too soon. So generally a Pirastro Gold Label E. I’ve broken many E strings since that day! Fewer these days though. I believe I used to be less disciplined about my attacks at the frog… too many “crash landings” rather than starting things from the string when there’s time.
That was very entertaining, thanks for sharing your cautionary tale with us. I especially enjoyed the pacing of the story coupled with the audio snippets. I’m a regular at the Myra Hess series concerts, I could picture exactly what that must have been like for you. I was at a Perlman recital at the Auditorium Theater about 20 years ago where he broke an A string. While he was having his Strad restrung, he treated us to a little comedy as only Perlman can. The concert was during the Superbowl iirc, so he gave us the score, then shared with us a funny anecdote about his morning. So, if this ever happens again, simply grab the mike and do a little stand up comedy. The people came to be entertained by you, you have an obligation to accomplish that one way or another…
Well, I do have a few jokes always at the ready… My trouble that day would have been how to wrap it up! 🙂 Great story, and really shows why Perlman is still relevant today, 50 years after he burst onto the scene on the Ed Sullivan show!
What a Story Nathan!!!
it deserves a couple of gray hairs even when you are reading ))))
Had it been one of the other strings that broke, would it have been practical to attempt to replace it on the spot considering it takes so long for new strings to stretch and settle in?
Well, I would have had no choice! And of course, I would have preferred that it had been any of the others since I had extras! As you say, those take longer, but you can speed up the process a bit by running your finger over the length of the string after you put it on, heating it up and helping it stretch more right away. Other than that, you just have to deal with it and make the best of it! Gut strings are even worse, as you can hear in so many of the classic recordings (Heifetz for example). So many of those guys’ double-stops involving open strings are a bit off until they adjust. It was an expected part of performing back then.
Doesn’t Carl Flesch have a list of ‘opportune moments to stop everything and tune while performing major repertoire’ in The Art of Violin Playing? I always imagined stopping a performance of the Chaconne to tune to be like flipping an old 78rpm album.
Hmm, I haven’t seen this! This would be very interesting, do you have a link by any chance?
Thanks for sharing!
Did you break your E string while playing the same piece the previous day?
Actually, it was during something else! I would have remembered that coincidence so it must have been one of the other competition pieces. I’m guessing that Vieuxtemps Concerto No. 5 was a likely candidate.
Sounds pretty embarrassing. But I can’t see the videos, I can hear them but not see them.
I wish I had video of this incident (oh wait, maybe I don’t…) but these are just audio files!
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https://youtu.be/I5lWHadNM2Q
It wasn’t a broken string, but nevertheless it was funny (to me, not to Kavakos). Nobody is immune to string problems.
You played wonderfully (up to the string breaking) and it was pity that you didn’t have a spare string so you could carry on with a concert. But, it was just an experience and permanent reminder that you should always carry spare strings with you. And not just spare, but already stretched strings (if possible). So that they have minimal adjustment period.
Maybe you should try playing in baroque orchestra where breaking and changing strings on stage are normal thing. Just to see how it was for musicians in these days. 🙂
I know, the violinists in those days were practically surgeons too!
You think that’s embarrassing – the first time I played for an audience (4th grade with about 5 group lessons under my belt) I stood up and played Mary Had Little Lamb. It went well enough except the A string on my 1/2 size school-issued fiddle had fallen by about a 3rd, and no one had thought to tell me to tune before I went on stage. I pressed on, but I’m sure I’m still affected by the embarrassment I felt. It’s only been about 50 years, so maybe there is hope for a full recovery.
Haha!