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Highly Strung (2016)
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[string quartet: avant-garde] [solo violin] [man] I was recommended to the players that were there at the time. We went in and played and I thought, This is really cool. Move to Adelaide, get away from the madness of Melbourne and really focus on doing one thing. [man] Kristian had been asked to join. Then he gave me a call and convinced me, Why not come and have a play? A friend of mine had met him and said, Look out for this guy. Youll get to know him and meet him. Hes a good bloke. We had that introduction and then, yeah, became friends after that. [woman] When the previous second violinist and cellist were moving on, I just immediately thought, I have to express my interest to Kristian, so he organized for us to play together. That was a very good experience. [woman] I got a call from Steve King. He offered me a trial. I came to Adelaide for the first time and rehearsed with the guys. Then we did a national tour. That served as my trial. At the end of that tour, Steve and Kristian told Ioana and myself that wed got the gig. We had the job. Kristian and I had the privilege of really forming our own quartet in a way. I think its about finding the people that have the same level of passion. [audience murmuring] [applause] [Kristian] Its my very great privilege to introduce to you the two new members of the Australian String Quartet-- Ioana Tache and Sharon Draper. [applause] [man] Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of Kristian and Ioana, I welcome you all to this ceremony today. [Kristian] Yeah, we kind of took everyone by surprise. [laughs] But I think that surprise is something that will be remembered as part-- Theres that experience that youre talking about, of people saying, Wow, theyve only been together, like, for a couple of weeks, and, you know, now they get married? Were just lucky that we both felt this strong musical connection with working with each other. But then the other side of things also happened to be just as powerful. [minister] And Kristian and Ioana love each other. [man] The bride should be in the middle. What am I supposed to do? Ive never done this before. Hi! How many have you put me in? I guess its not uncommon. You have two married couples in the Goldner Quartet. ...to share my life with me. I dont think having a relationship or marriage in a quartet should affect it. [man] Normally its on the left, but being a violinist, the ring gets in the way. And the world will know that I am yours. [all exclaiming] Naturally these things can work. It can become a match made in heaven. Or it could fall apart. [Sharon] I think were the only string quartet in the world with a set of Guadagnini instruments. For Ulrike, this has been her passion-- to have the Australian String Quartet playing on a set of four Guadagninis. Theres something within me that... is music. I came to Australia with no capital, no assets, no money. I came with a vision. My husband, Jurgen, and I planned to create a skin care company based on the healing properties of herbs. Jurlique became a successful company. Music was from the very beginning a part of our life here. It was hard work, but it was very fulfilling. And now Im on a different journey, something which gives meaning to my life. [Sharon] She heard the quartet play with a guest artist who had a beautiful instrument. Im not sure if it was a Guadagnini or a Stradivarius, but it was an instrument of that sort of quality. [Ulrike] The sound he could produce on that instrument had such a magic, had such a warmth. The nuances were so obviously different to the nuances that musicians of the ASQ could produce. Suddenly I thought, We just have to do something about that. [woman] I was manager of ASQ at that time. I was sort of thinking, Really? What do you mean by good instruments? Then it became clear that she meant really good instruments. From there, the journey started. [man] When they asked us to help with sourcing some instruments, of course, we immediately started looking, very aware that the project was about acquiring very top-level examples. So we do have an interesting Guadagnini, as it happens. [Ulrike] The name Guadagnini came up. I had never heard about it. It was a totally new name. Guadagnini was an unusual maker inasmuch as he worked in a number of cities. So he was slightly outside of the normal mold. [Ulrike] I had no idea about price tags. [Morris] If you want the very best, youre really paying a huge premium for that final 20%. [Ulrike] I must say I was a little bit overwhelmed, but I could see that there is behind that is a much bigger vision. Something could be done for the culture of Australia to have these instruments permanently in Australia. We set up a foundation so that they could be held in perpetuity, and thats actually how Ngeringa Arts was born. [Morris] Its unusual to have a quartet of the same maker. Youve got a whole group of instruments that are, if you like, equally sought after by the players. [Kristian] Its got huge power. It has depth. Its like a king-- a really good, very noble, wise, understanding, but powerful king. You can tell instantly that this is a really special instrument. The whole room, it seems, just starts to buzz and vibrate at the sound of these four instruments playing together. Ive never experienced anything like that before. [Ioana] The first day that I got it, it was on my back-- We were just walking to the taxi, and it kind of hit me. I have a Guad. Its in my possession now. [Stephen] To think that this thing-- 250-plus years old-- that in all that time nobody has come up with a better design. Its stood the test of time more than anything else I can think of, apart from the wheel. If you want the very best, youre going to be looking at one of those great 18th-century instruments. [violin: tuning] [all murmuring] [man] At the time in Cremona, it was a perfect storm of craftsmanship... generations of expertise. These violin makers really had it down to a science. They really understood acoustics, I believe, in a way that we dont even understand today. Thats why Cremona becomes the fountain of violin making. [Ulrike] When I learned that luthiers from all over the world would come to Cremona to have a look at this set of Guadagninis, I must say I was a little bit nervous. One of the luthiers came up to me and said, Thank you for taking care of our heritage and allowing now these instruments to have a voice. That really touched me, because thats how I see it as well. We are the custodians of four incredibly rare masterpieces. [Ulrike] They treated them as a very fine-crafted jewel of the past, of this master. [Alison] We made this trip to Cremona, and we were led by Roberto. Ciao. He opened the door into the world of violin making as it is today. [Roberto] Here is a violin maker. This is another violin maker. Another one. You know, in Cremona today, we have something like 150 violin makers. [speaking Italian] Questo il mio amico Scott. Scott Hicks, he is making a movie. [Scott] Is this what youre working on now? Is a copy of-- The violin of Paganini, which is very good acoustically. Bravo, Gaspar. Very nice. -Grazie. Ci vediamo. Ciao. -Ci vediamo. Ciao. [Alison] Just to have the four Guadagninis back in Italy, to have them in Cremona, was like those Guadagninis had come home. [man] You were most likened to our distinguished violin makers from Cremona. Well share the beauty of this instrument made by Giovanni Battista Guadagnini. [Alf] I can look at a work of Guadagnini and say, well, What would another great violin maker do, knowing what he knew about Cremona and Stradivari instruments? Learning what you could learn from Strads, theres a precision of the workmanship that is studiable, copiable. This is the next chapter of the story of violin making. [Ulrike] So Roberto came into our lives. We really connected straightaway. And this idea came to have a copy made of the cello, which is the oldest and most mysterious instrument of the four. [Alison] Having a copy made to give to a young musician, it seemed like a really worthwhile thing to do. Okay. Perfect. [Roberto] Making a copy is a very traditional way to learn how another master did it in the past. [Scott] Isnt that how Guadagnini learned? [Roberto] Exactly. Bravissimo. The next step is going to be choosing the wood. [man, in Italian] Theres a long tradition of knowing and selecting wood. Okay. Already 200 or 300 years ago, in the time of the great master luthiers... this knowledge existed among the forest rangers. So if we want to select a bit of wood for violins, we should look from this part here to this part here. These can easily be for violins. We mark it like this with R for resonance. [Roberto] R is for resonating. [thumping on tree trunk] [trunk reverberating] [backup beeper beeping] [Roberto] As we have to make a copy-- We have this flaw, so I find pieces with the flaw around this area. When you work on a top like this, youre starting from a big piece of wood. [wood creaking] All these noise, they are really nice. I think an interesting violin is one thats made freely, where you see the hand working. People love them. They sense that. They feel it. They also sound better. [Roberto] Very good. Its certainly what I love about Italian violin making and what I try to do in my own work. The culture of violin making, the culture of... [Roberto] Voil. ...loving the piece of work that you nurture by hand and bringing out the sound, theres something really beautiful about that. Good. I like it. And it harks back to a beautiful time in European history. [object rattling] [rattling] [Chiesa] I have a tool for retrieving the sound post, but-- [chuckles] this way, its much easier, more fun. This is the sound post. [Alf] What is it that makes a violin? The genius of putting a sound post in an instrument-- that changes the way an instruments working. Its so sensitive and so important for the quality of the sound. It actually creates the possibilities of sound that dont exist without it. [Chiesa] We have to check if the position is right. [Alf] Uniquely, with a sound post, you have a bass bar under the left foot of the bridge and this dowel of wood that connects the top and the back. Its not glued in. Its just wedged in under the treble foot. When the strings vibrate, it makes the bridge vibrate. So its a whole way of transmitting the vibrations from the string to the sound box. The vibration is transferred to the back. A tenth of a millimeter is enough to completely change the setting of an instrument. In Italian, we call it the anima. And in French, its the soul of the instrument. And in-- Of course, English-- sound post. [chuckles] [Alison] You know, string quartets are a really specialized, unique form of music making in the classical world. It takes four very special, unique, gifted musicians to make it work. [Ioana] Its very important for each member of a quartet to be in a team that is all heading for the same direction. [Stephen] As a viola player, sitting in the middle of a quartet and being part of the harmony, part of the motor, part of the driving, part of the movement forwards or backwards, all of that, and then occasionally getting a melody as well. [laughs] I love that role. [Ioana] Playing second violin in a quartet is a complete challenge all the time. I havent had an experience like the one Ive had in ASQ ever. Theres nothing that compares to it. -[laughing] Come here, come here. Please. -Im not interested. Please. Its only three minutes long. In my head, Im here for the rest of my career. Im happy with that. -[violin rehearsing] -[Ioana, Sharon laughing] The quartet is like a bottle of wine. I dont know if youve heard this. But the first violinist is-- definitely, I remember-- the label. Second violin and viola are the actual wine. And the cello is the bottle. Whats most important? Is it the label? Is it the wine? Is it the bottle? All of those things need to be kind of perfect. [Alison] Its four equal voices. String quartets are inherently complex. I think it goes well beyond actually the way you play the notes. It has to do with how you function as a group and your ability to interact and relate to each other and also have a life. [cello playing haltingly] -[off-key] -[piano: hesitatingly] [cello continues] [piano: off-key] [Stephen] I love-- After a day of intense rehearsing, I go home and theres just this chaos sometimes. It just sets you straight, puts things into perspective. -Lets just listen to that again. -Yeah. -Was it-- Do you think it was high or low? -High. -Yeah. -Sharp. So you know it, so you just adjust. Yeah. Music is for sharing. Music is for the joy of everyone to get involved in. [Sharon] I think, in a string quartet, I dont believe that you all have to be best buddies that want to hang out every night together after rehearsal and gather or anything like that. [baroque] Its such an intense medium, and rehearsals are so intense. I think its really healthy to have some space from each other. Music is my life. Playing music is what Im passionate about. But at the same time, my life... has other things around it that add to my music. Nice. Run, Max. [Sharon] Its a ridiculously good job to have. I mean, the fact that youre paid to play chamber music and to get to play these incredible instruments as well, its just-- Its a dream come true. I shave my armpits enough? I dont think theres one role thats more important than another in a quartet. Every first violinist in the country will agree with me. Everyone else will say no, youre wrong. The hardest part is you have to take care of the first violinist. If youre the second violin, viola, cello, you have to take care of the first violin in pieces where the first violin is prominent. And this can-- Where, at the F? So the F-line needs to be higher. Can we do it again from 14? It needs to crescendo more, or maybe it-- [whimpers] Guys. -[Sharon] Whyd you make a face at me? -Like, wheres the beat? -I dont know. Its still not-- -Oh, fuck. Okay. Lets do it again. Just one more time. Sorry. [Sharon] The cellos the foundation of the whole quartet, you know. Youre the rock that they all sit on. [Stephen] Viola is a go-between-- between the cello and the violins. I like the way that it can subtly push them in a way, not that Im pushy. Just do that fifth bar again. If the bottom three parts are not completely just like, I am going to support you through this hell... you know, Mr. or Mrs. First Violinist, then its just-- it becomes really, really difficult. Just by the nature of it-- because the first violin is playing the melody most often-- theyre responsible for leading a lot of the time. Ah! One more time. [Ioana] And again? I did it that time. Again. Itll be okay. Our job is often to try and make them look as good as we can make them look. And yet it can be frustrating cause, you know, everyone has to take care of first violin. [laughing] Unfortunately. [Stephen] Were always shifting roles within the group. Sometimes theres a trio playing and a soloist. Sometimes two duos happening at the same time. Sometimes four voices yelling at each other in total... disagreement. [all practicing simultaneously] [avant-garde] [Kristian] To have four instruments made by the same maker played in the same quartet, I think its a really cool vision. [Ulrike] Its quite amazing to see how the instruments relate to each other and how they resonate with each other. [Kristian] Everyone is saying that, you know, obviously, that in a string quartet, you have to blend and you have to, you know-- Its so good that you sound the same. Thats the worst possible thing that you can have in a string quartet. You have to have four people that sound as completely different as possible, because thats where the energy comes from. [Ulrike] Kristian, he almost goes into a space where its totally beyond intellect. He creates it in the moment. And to be able to do that, he goes really deep into the music and into himself. -[Scott] Hmm. -That doesnt make it easy for himself. [Sharon] Hes got an incredible mind and incredible memory, which is awesome, and Im really quite in awe of him for that. Sort of every time I hear him, its like a homecoming. Not without challenges, because he challenges as well. His facial expression, the way he holds the instrument. He has this tendency to have the instrument and then go off with it, almost like the instrument and Kristian go somewhere else-- take off. [audience murmuring] [avant-garde] [Roberto] When you start to do the arching of the back-- It is hardwood, so we have to go down, mmm, till five or six millimeter. -[out of breath] -[Scott] Tough work, yeah? Yes, it is. You still have a piece of wood here. [siren blaring] [woman] Good-bye, Stefan. [woman] I brought them up by myself, right? And I made them-- I mean, they are entrepreneurs, musicians, whatever you want. I never had a whip in my hand. I guided them. And thats it. Im not a stage mother. This part is gonna be called Keeping Up with the Carpenters. [laughing] [Lauren] Someone wanted to do a reality show about us. We want to make it Mozart meets the Gossip Girl. We trade in Stradivaris made in the 1600s. If we had all the money in the world, wed buy the greatest collection of violins. This whole notion of obsession-- We were all probably four, five years old when we started. You guys look like Men in Black right now. -Oh, I know. Sorry about that. -[laughing] [David] Sean and I didnt really think this through. Scott, Im sorry we didnt bring our Strads to play in the park. We could have made some extra money. You know, its expensive to live at the Plaza. [man] Everybody say, uh-- -[Lauren] Stradivari! -[David] Stradivari! [camera shutter clicking] [classical] -Ta-da. -Bravo. [woman] Bravo, bravo! [Lauren] Being New Yorkers, you have to be resilient. You have to have thick skin. -[David] Any kind of goal we had-- -[Lauren] Was always done as a team. [Lauren] Thats one thing that we learned at Princeton. If youre going to do something, no matter what, be disruptive, shake things up. Bring something to the table that people before you havent done. [Sean] Lauren in particular brings a lot to the table, and thats why we poached her from Google. Shes probably the most organized and disciplined person on the planet. [Lauren] Were also trying to be the bridge between Stradivaris world and the 21st century. So were doing everything in our power to make the Stradivari brand mainstream, to make it sexy. He already has an incredible brand appeal. Were just here to proselytize further. Were spreading the gospel of Stradivari. The type of flame that inspired us to recently trademark a brand of Stradivari wood will be called Stradivari Legno, where we outfit luxury items with a Stradivari flame by using the same wood from the forest that Stradivari would use. -[David] Were constantly-- Every day-- -[Lauren] Is a new day, yeah. Were doing 20 or 30 different things. We have the music side of things. We have, you know, the business aspect. We work with institutions, banks, hedge funds. [Lauren] Roy is our angel. Basically, we call him our angel investor. He believed in our company. He believed in us. He believed in our market. He did independent due diligence on the investment side of the instruments. Actually speaking about that world, we have Roy over here too. Hey, Roy. -Hows it going? -How are you, Roy? And this was not staged. So this was, like, all natural. [Lauren] We do business with people that we enjoy being around. [David] First off, congratulations for being the top hedge fund, year-to-date, in the world. Thats a big accomplishment. [Roy] Your vision was an inspiration to us, and I was happy to be your first client here. [Scott] What have you brought with you? [David] So these are-- These are both from the Niederhoffer collection. So this is the Strad from 1694. For the last 300 years, Strads have never, ever -gone down one penny. -Theyve never lost their value. My entire life is spent with very, very intangible objects-- prices of commodities and exchange rates and individual stocks. Theres nothing that I do in the world I invest in that I can actually touch. For literally hundreds of years, there have been people playing it, playing the same music that I like to play. It really is easy to forget that youre playing something that is a work of art and a piece of history and that it dates back to a time when Mozart was just a glint in someones eye. And yet here it is today making beautiful music and, you know, maybe someone played Mozart for the first time on this instrument. Its both beautiful as a work of art... and meaningful as an object of history as well as quite interesting as an investment. [Sean] People are saying, okay, this is a great way to protect your wealth, so youre getting these hedge fund managers in a bank and people in Europe-- [David] But these hedge fund managers also play the instrument, like Roy. They also loan instruments out to musicians. Its a win-win for everyone. These instruments are being controlled by people who arent musicians. Thats what I worry about for the future of these instruments and for the people that deserve to be playing them. Stradivarius did not make them for musicians. He made them for the Medici families. He made them for the top families, the royal families who then loaned it to deserving artists. Its not the other way around. [ending together] -Nice. Thank you. -[David] Bravo. -[Lauren] Yeah. -[Roy] Thank you. [Morris] The instruments being looked after by a collector is a very positive thing. It means that instruments will be preserved and passed on to the next generation. If every instrument had been used every day since it was made, we wouldnt have some of these really finely preserved examples that we can enjoy now. When instruments go into a glass case and they cant be accessed and held and enjoyed with that direct human contact, they do die behind glass. An instrument will spin off into an institution, and it wont reemerge and will never see the light of day. Its a delicate thing because-- You do want some of-- You want them to be preserved. Theres a lot of wear and tear on an instrument when youre taking and playing it and traveling with it. But, you know, in the late 1700s, Im sure it was rattling around in the back of a horse-drawn cart or something. [Morris] There are some that have to be very well preserved. And if everybody picks them up all the time, future generations wont be able to enjoy them in the same ways. Museums always want the instrument as an art object just to be kept for the future. Violin players always want to have the instrument as tools. [solo violin: Bach] [Morris] Its often quite a long process for a musician to find an instrument that really suits them. Theres also a learning process involved for the artist very often, particularly if theyve grown up playing the same instrument for a very long time. [Bach continues] [Balanas] You need to quickly adjust, because, as violinists, we sometimes have to perform on many various instruments, different instruments. [Morris] You try something else, and, however good it is, it wont have some of the comfort of what youre used to. [Balanas] You have to listen to the instrument more than telling it what to do. You know what I mean? [Ioana] Its not so easy to just kind of, have your way and, you know, expect that it will do everything you tell it to do exactly the way you tell it. -[Balanas] Yeah. -Basically, we lowered the top nut here. -Yeah, I could feel that. -And we lowered the bridge a little bit. And you changed the E string, which I broke. Yes, thats right. Its such a delicate balance to get the violin sounding at its optimum. [Chiesa] Changing the bridge or the strings or whatever, then they change it completely. And at that point, they were the perfect tool for that musician. Picking up this instrument, its like a person. Its really getting to know the sound and color. The more you play, the more you discover. Every day, I dont know exactly how the violin is going to respond to me until I take it out that morning. And some days, I have incredible days and I think I can do anything. Its like when you get to know someone. You start talking to them, you find out and you meet again. And every day you spend so much time. Its like a relationship. This Pressenda that I used to play, it was like living with a nagging mother or something. Or an unbelievably naggy wife or something. I dont know. [Beare] I think a lot of wives have lost out where the violins have-- Somebody said, Just wish my wife would stop telling me that if only I could look after her like I look after my violin. [chuckles] My greatest concerts, the times when I felt I was-- that-- really on, so much of it has to do with how the instrument and I were getting along. [Morris] That relationship you have with the instrument will also give you things that you just didnt know were there. [Bell] Music is all about nuance. Its like if you were a painter, you were suddenly given a million colors to work with instead of three or four. [Kristian] The process of discovering new sounds is never a sudden thing. Its something that takes a lot of time. [Sharon] I keep on discovering new things that I can do on this cello, new sounds that I can create. You never really feel that youve reached its limit. [Stephen] The subtleties I didnt have on a modern instrument are all in here. I just had to find out how to tap into them. [Kristian] To feel comfortable playing it, let alone actually getting to a point where youve-- hes found all the sounds, maybe it took me eight or nine months. And then, you know, the real journey starts-- you know, this thing which just lasts a lifetime. [both laughing] [man] Once I spoke with Yehudi Menuhin, the great violin player, and, just by mistake, I said your violin. He said, No, no, no. Its not my violin. Im his player. Im trying to be a good player for the instruments. You know, very often I got these comments when at the concert. Oh, Ulrike, its so fantastic what you do. And How lucky are we to have these instruments. The instrument without the musician who brings it to life-- its a dead piece of wood. [Morris] Actually, when you pick it up and play it, all the reasons why people spend a lot of money on these instruments becomes completely clear. [woman] So what about trying to design an experiment where we actually investigate its superiority. Are these old violins really superior to new violins? Because, in terms of science, nobody has been able to prove it. So we thought to design a blindfold test where players would play new and old instruments and see what they like, what they prefer. Can they tell if the violin is old or new? [Lauren] A modern instrument, like, it sounds fantastic. -Theyre usually very-- Some of them are-- -Brighter. Very bright, very powerful, very immediate. So you will find a modern violin that you can just tear into. Itll keep giving sound, like a Lamborghini. The more you press, the more itll go faster. On a straight road, that may be the best thing you want. On a road where you need real expert handling, that may not be the right one for you. [Lauren] These are things that have existed for hundreds of years. Theres-- Theres a complexity. Theres an added dimension which takes sometimes months, sometimes years to peel away. [Scott] Bravo. [Berman] What the great instruments give you, the most important thing for me, that inspires you somehow. So playing this instrument, you find inside yourself something more than what you would have done with some other instrument. [Beare] If youd asked Isaac Stern his approach-- He said, I want the best violin for keeping me calm and accompanying me in the heat of battle. [chuckles] [Fritz] So with the blindfold test, new were favored compared to the old ones. And the ratio is about three to two. Its not far from 50-50, which is what we would have expected. Many makers came to see me saying, Ah, you cant imagine. It has liberated me. I just feel so relieved. Now I can do my own violins and not have to copy Stradivarius. This is what we need to truly understand whats going on. The myth part is so profound in this that you will hear what you think you hear. The new instruments that are coming out on top or coming out equal are probably made with the same love. So why shouldnt they sound the same way? [Roberto] And when you warm up the wood, it does perfume. Profumo. [sniffs] And its really nice. [Scott] Beautiful. Yeah. Hoo. -Im exhausted watching. -[both laughing] Okay. [man] Its been so wonderful to get to know the Carpenters. And theyre incredible people, incredible musicians and have great vision and enthusiasm for what they do. -Awesome. -Wow. What a view. -Its all right. -Put this right here. If youre in the arts-- any area of the arts-- when you meet with that kind of energy, its just tremendously exciting, because you think about collaboration. And so were having just the beginnings of a conversation about that, and well see where it goes. One of the points you had made to me about these instruments is that they are in a way the first speakers. Yes, the first stereo system. [Sean] This one sounds great. [Lauren] Weve been talking with Harman Kardon and JBL to create a Stradivari Legno version of their top-end speakers for their 70th anniversary in which they-- You know, youre combining both the excellence in engineering design-- sound design-- from JBL, as well as the aesthetic excellence of a Stradivari violin. We operate in a world of $200,000 bows, $5 million, $10 million violins. -$4 million diamonds. -$45 million violas. $45 million violas. These are numbers that are quite staggering. We did the most expensive concert in history. -We had-- -Most valuable instruments in one stage. [Lauren] We had eight Stradivaris. [playing tango] [Scott] What was the value? -Probably was about $120 million. -Over $120 million of instruments. [Morris] Compared to, say, the 1960s, if you had a really decent job in an orchestra, you could actually buy an 18th-century Italian violin. Forget it now. With one lottery win, you could buy a Strad. Now you have to win twice. I worry about the value of these instruments. I really do. And I would love it if the violins stayed reasonable enough for musicians to buy them outright without sponsors, but that just simply hasnt happened. So I feel a bit gloomy about the poor old musicians. I feel very gloomy at times. You know, Ive pretty much mortgaged my life away to buy an instrument like this. Its my most proud achievement, but its also the most important thing Ive done. [Kristian] I mean, look, they sound great. Do not get me wrong. These instruments sound fantastic, and they are the best instruments in the world. But why do they cost 100 times as much as something that sounds half as good? [Adamson] If you look at any well-designed and well-made object, theres going to be a balance between functionality and aesthetics. And the two things intermingle and support one another, and I feel thats something about the humanity of a well-made thing. [Roberto] One thing that I like of every step of the making is that actually you put your body on it. Its like putting all yourself inside this instrument. [Adamson] Its almost impossible to imagine a great maker not considering both the usefulness and the beauty of what theyre doing, because theyre pouring themselves into it. You know, like a great violin maker will be putting into an instrument not only their own lifelong accumulated knowledge but also the knowledge that has been accumulated in previous generations. There are energies that exist that we dont have a name for, and some of them work in the artistic world. And its that-- the care we have for something we have-- that somehow projects into the work that we do. And if an instruments not made with that same kind of care and devotion, it doesnt come out as well. Youre working with your hands. Theres a constant sense that youre-- Like a massage therapist projects their energy past their hands into the body doing healing work. But its a sense of your intention and your will going into the instrument youre working on-- the love I would say. You can see when Im going in the wrong direction, the wood is not happy. [Scott] Oh. And it tells me also by the sound, so you have to turn in the other way. And the sound is much better and the wood is much happy. [Alf] Love is a funny word. Im not sure it was just that. It was maybe care or something that is in the Italian instruments that make them so endearing. Why do players just want to hold them and, you know-- I think they vibrate with that too. They appreciate it. They sense it. And Guadagninis instruments are full of it. Its a person being who they are, the humanness of a person coming out in their work, in their eye, being communicated just through their tools. [low-frequency humming] [Scott] So what does that tell us? Its for testing frequency that responds to the right vibration. We have three different tests. They all make different shape on the top. When you have all these three frequencies matching perfectly with the thickness you want, you have a very good starting with your top plate. In the past, we know they did it by hand, and they did a very great job. Their knowledge of this, of the rules of nature-- the grains of the wood that we have to follow... the rules of acoustics and structural strength that we have to follow-- but also the beauty of how to do a nice corner, a nice F-hole, a nice scroll, and all of it happening at the same time. And the beauty of some of the great instruments is that you see that they were made freely and with enthusiasm. [Morris] I always find that the real magic of it is this voice that is just created by human hands. But when you hear a really great player who can speak with their hands, thats something really magical. [Kristian] I feel like with Strads and del Gess, you have this element of godliness. Like the Strads are these, kind of, shining, fiery angels, you know, and the del Gess are these really dark, kind of, darker gods. I dont know, I suppose. I think Guadagninis are kind of more human somehow. Theyre-- Humble is the wrong word, because theyre still very powerful. But theres just an element of reality to them as opposed to something supernatural. [Adamson] The amount of just human energy thats being put into one of those objects is truly breathtaking, and I think that that is what we mean by aesthetics really. Theres a lot of debate about what beauty in art is or beauty in design, but for me its absolutely the way that human beings take their experience and they somehow resolve it in an object in a way thats satisfying to us. And even if you dont know anything about violin design, you can somehow feel that off a great instrument. I think that is the magic of a great work of art or great work of design. Okay, perfect. [Stephen] In Europe, they ride with instruments all the time. I know that this is a very valuable instrument. And then I think, Is it worth more than me? Surely with this tied to my back, were in this together. [chuckles] [Sharon] I think Ive become a more interesting musician because of playing this instrument. Im certainly feeling more confident as a player and Im enjoying playing more because of it as well. Hopefully the audiences pick up that, too, because performing in music is meant to be about enjoying it and living it. [Stephen] Its the unexpected that could happen, the car door. You walk around a corner and theres a banana skin on the ground. You cant see everything coming. [Ulrike] Kristian and Ioana said they didnt want to continue to play into 2015 with Stephen and Sharon. And if they couldnt form their own formation, they would leave at the end of 2014. [Scott] It must have come as a shock when first and second violin go to the board and say they want to find other people to play with. -Thatd be a surprise, yeah. -Well, it must have been. Yeah. And how did you respond to that? Well, I mean, if your partner comes to you and says, I want to sleep with somebody else, naturally you think, Well, okay, this isnt working. [Scott] As I understand it, it wasnt that you and Ioana said you wanted to quit. You said you wanted other people to play with you and continue to be the Australian String Quartet. Yeah, I mean, look-- So what was that process like for you? It-- Its... really, really tough. It was an abyss between them. It was almost impossible for the whole board to decide. Yeah, its harder than you might think to get four people completely on the same page musically, really wanting the same things and the same results in the long term. [Scott] Look, the catchall that people always said, Oh, musical differences. But, I mean, what does that mean? -[scoffs] -And if you cant-- Scott, I dont know if I can help you on this line of questioning. Youre one of the few people who can. Possibly, but its not something that-- Quartets are very private things. I mean, I do feel responsible for that. I was very pushy towards the rest of the quartet to try something very different. [avant-garde] -[Kristian] You heard us play Ligeti. -[Scott] Mmm, and Schnittke. Hes completely blowing the string quartet up. Its just exploding. We played Louis Andreissen, played Crumb, an electric string quartet called Black Angels. [avant-garde] People wrote letters saying, This is extraordinary. What an incredible thing. People never write letters-- audience members, you know-- to us. There were maybe two or three bad ones. If you ever present that kind of shit again, Im out of here. And the board, a lot of them were not happy. We were told, Maybe you shouldnt be playing... this music here... at this time. We played with raw gut strings. Its a very different sound to this metal crap we use today. Discussion in the audience. Some loved it, this more mellow sound produced. Some didnt like it. I was part of those people who didnt like it. It gives you the sound welds, particularly with Beethoven. But I am so grateful for that experience. You really get the feeling of Beethoven, cause Beethovens always expressing this kind of feeling of, like, trying to-- trying to say something incredibly beautiful. And yet youre saying it as this really, like, this fallible-- this like really, really, kind of tragically fallible human creature. [scoffs] Look, Im-- This is-- Were just talking about gut strings. But that was one of the things that was, kind of like very clearly from the board. They saw it as a risk and they saw it as something which maybe would not-- would not make money. No, no. That was not at all. A quartet, its really important that it has that daring, that courage to find new grounds. At the end, the question was: Two parties, with which party do you go? And I had an immense sense of loss and sadness when I became aware it was almost impossible to go with Kristian and Ioana. We, kind of, found out that, uh-- that Steve and Sharon would take the quartet into the future and that Kristian and I would, you know, just begin our new chapter. Its a business. And we were not comfortable that they would find, would select players, and then in a years time, it would be the same situation. It sucks and it would have sucked, like, whatever way the decision went like. I dont know. [applause] [Kristian] We played the instruments while they were making the decision, which took, you know, over a month... which was weird. Suddenly my doorbell rang and in front of me were Kristian and Ioana with the instruments. Ulrike, here are the instruments. That pulled me right into that emotional moment. So I was really shocked that they would be wanting to give them back when they still had to play with the quartet for three months. I was really shocked. It really made me question, What have we done? We just spent the last five years working our guts out to make this possible, and it was being handed back and what are we going to do with them? [plucking] And I have to say, I was confronting to actually have to put those instruments into the safe... to put them in a bank vault. Musicians dont get an opportunity to play this type of instrument very often in their careers. Shall we see if the other ones okay? The fact that theyre beautiful works of art, but they dont mean anything if no ones playing them. [Scott] Yeah. Your decision to return the Guadagninis. Why was that necessary? I mean, obviously theres something heartbreaking about, you know, being with the instrument and knowing that its not going to be yours. I cant understand sometimes. I-- I know that they loved playing the instruments. So why choose not to when you could? I dont know. There will be a reason that will sound very reasonable, and Im sure that that will be in the next frame of this documentary. [laughing] We felt like the instruments were fighting us. It starts to be, How can it fight you? Its a piece of wood. There were times I wanted to scream at Kristian, absolutely. I wanted to shake him to say, Look, just wake up. Thats the thing, its not you stop connecting to the instrument, but it somehow feels like it stops connecting with you, like it is cutting off as well. I mean, obviously it all comes from the person, rationally. But the board really didnt understand, and they were furious. You cant talk him around. Theres no way. [Scott] Did they think you were just being spiteful? Absolutely, yes. I mean, and fair enough. Thats a really logical conclusion to come to. Id not had such a strong emotional attachment to an instrument until Id started playing this Guadagnini. And just knowing I had to give it back at the end of the year was-- It was just simply too sad just to keep playing it. [exhales] Id want to try and play that for as long as possible before I had to give it back. Maybe those guys thought it was too painful or something to continue playing them. It was like ripping a Band-Aid off. [Scott] And the Guadagninis now live at the bank. [laughing] Its, like, in the morgue. Thats how I feel, you know. I might be still in the process of mourning, because its dead. [slow-tempo, minor key] -Do you reckon we should move the chairs? -No. Rehearsals were becoming more and more frustrating. -I guess-- -What are you saying? Im wondering whether we should get them out of the back row with their iPhones. All four of us would try to discuss something, whether it be how to shape a musical phrase or a particular collective sound that we wanted. We knew that they wouldnt agree and vice versa. It wasnt a pleasant time. It was very stressful. [tuning] It was a different-sounding quartet without half a quartet of Guadagninis all of a sudden. Its not like this thing shoots fireworks out of the scroll. [Sharon] It was a shame, because it really was a special sound, having the four instruments match. Im very happy playing my little English Datsun. [chuckling] [avant-garde] To think that Brahms was only 31 when he wrote this piece as well. Im nearly that age, and its a scary thought. But just the scope of this piece, you have to feel this live and-- ...recording doesnt do justice to and which a documentary doesnt do justice to or anything. Its real chamber music. Its something that should be experienced from-- almost from if you are sitting right here or here or next to Anna. If you want to come closer-- [Stephen] Its about the music still. We all think its about the music. Amongst all that hardship and tension, you know, those little moments of amazing music making in performances. [classical march] [continues, quietly] Its a string quartet. Were all meant to be incredibly finely tuned players. You need to have respect for your colleagues. Not one person in the quartet should be thinking, Im the soloist in this group or Im the director. It spells death for chamber music. Its meant to be four equal people. [Kristian] The first violinist always has this stereotypical characterization of being the diva, so Im very wary of just adding more fuel to the fire for that subject. Is that going to make it into the documentary? [laughing] [sneakers squeak] Theres something really magic about that piece. Its like an abyss. It feels never ending. And even that ending of the piece-- [vocalizing] It doesnt even finish. [vocalizing] -Its still going when it finishes. -[ends] [vocalizing] You know, like, its just-- [sighs] It-- Yeah. Amazing piece. [laughs] You cant talk about it and do it any justice. -You were listening hard, were you? -[chattering] -I had to go to toilet. -You had to go to the toilet during it? Okay. -Yeah, and I did a poo. -Great! -Fantastic. -Highlight of the concert. I did a poo. It would be much better if we do it again. [Scott] The shame of it is that now theres so clearly two factions. Its apparent to me and its apparent to all of us. I mean, its a struggle. Its difficult definitely if youre divorced and youre told you have to keep sleeping with your partner, even though youve signed the papers and its all happening. [Scott, reading] Thursday, the 16th of October, 2014, 1:01 a.m. Dear Scott, I hope you enjoyed filming the Brahms. I just wanted to send you an e-mail regarding the four of us as people. For quite some months, the four of us have lost an element of comfort with each other when it comes to informal social situations outside of the rehearsal studio and performance venues. Due to all of our musical and artistic differences, weve also lost the natural friendships we had in the beginning of our time together. I suppose the social and musical are one in the end. What Im getting at, you mustve picked up on it already from this afternoon at the gallery, is that the four of us dont get together outside of work hours to have coffee and chat about everyday things... which is why the atmosphere today felt fairly unnatural, for you too, Im sure. And the conversation was limited. Sorry we wasted yours and everyone elses time. I thought that might be helpful for you to know for the future, even though Im sure its blatantly obvious after today. Thanks again and see you tomorrow, Ioana. [cello and viola duet] [duet continues] [Scott] Here we are, the Australian String Quartet. Otherwise known as the Australian String Duo. But what actually happened yesterday? Because obviously things changed since Friday. -We saw the quartet playing together. -Indeed they did. -Now what happened yesterday? -A good concert too. [Stephen] It was a pretty good concert. Both of us got a call from both Kristian and Ioana, and they both told us that they could no longer commit to their word and play with us, even though we have a concert on Friday. And that was Sunday. A concert Friday, concert Saturday, concert Sunday, a workshop Monday, yeah. [Scott] Ive actually had further news. Kristian and Ioana have told the ASQ that they have played with them for the last time... and they are not going to fulfill the rest of their contract, uh-- The Melbourne Festival is being canceled. Yeah, thats very tough. [Sharon] Were still in shock. It hasnt really sunk in. Yesterday morning, Kristian called. Theyd made the decision to leave the quartet, effective as of now. My God, are they insane? Its unforgivable to walk away. And leaving two behind in such dramatic circumstances... you are casting a shadow over the whole group. We have to do whats right for us, you know, Ioana and I as musicians. I was not happy with how I was playing. Im ashamed to say it, but I just started losing the ability to concentrate. Also the fact that all of this is happening and theres a whole crew of film people here shooting all of it. It was quite a shock to find out that theyve been that unhappy, so unhappy that they couldnt go on. It all sounds like excuses and whatever. I dont care. Thats fine. Cause its true. [woman on PA, indistinct] Lets do some of your clothes, okay? [Sharon] Kristian and Ioana have very different views and priorities towards why were here in the first place. And Steve and I have very, very different reasons too. But I did not think that it was something that would result in, you know, the quartet breaking up. -[man on PA] Flight 694 to Melbourne. -[Stephen] Its about personalities. You can weigh up things, you know. Look at the way people have behaved over their lives and think, Well, you know, it doesnt matter. Ill risk it anyway because theyre fantastic at what they do. Or theyre super talented or whatever it is. [Kristian] It has less to do with personality and how well you get along with people as it does just having people that share the same... obsession or the same kind of level of passion and commitment. [children] Hip, hip, hooray! Hip, hip, hooray! Hip, hip, hooray! [Stephen] Ive got family and Ive got a string quartet, and I divide my time between the two of them. Were getting paid to do this. Why arent we doing it to the 100%, like, utmost, you know, like-- This is our job. [up-tempo] I know that Ioana and I are totally unreasonable in that regard. We just want to be doing it all the time. [two violins practicing] [violins continue] [David] These are probably the worlds most expensive shoes. I think theyre $128,000. I feel like Galasso went down in price recently. Were doing a partnership with Amex Black. So were thinking we should make a $100,000 discount on a Stradivarius. -Credit towards the purchase of a Strad. -I like it. Im gonna get it. That glamorous world of the classical music world, were always trying to bring that back. -This is more for David. -Im watching my brothers buy everything. [Scott] This isnt sibling rivalry, is it? -Only for suits. -What do you think, Scott? -[man] Only 6,500. -[Lauren] That is very sharp. Were Laurel and Hardy here. [Lauren] Within the context of an industry, it is a business and we are entertainers. -Look, its moving. -There you go. -Like a snake. -[Lauren] Its still alive. -A bit scary. The python one right? -Yeah. -What do you think, Scott? -Its good for when you go down under. Exactly, to go to Australia. -Hundred-thousand-dollar jacket. -A hundred thousand? -You sold two of them. -No way. Is that mink? I think weve killed enough animals for this jacket. Theyre $128,000. I think hes gonna give me a discount on it though. Wow. I need to show this to Scott. These are all diamonds, little diamonds over here. I dont know if its too much for my style, a little too blingy. Can you imagine if youre walking in New York City and one of these diamonds falls out? -Ma, you realize Scott is taping this. -[Lauren] Her professional hobby. Exactly. We hold the most expensive violins in the world. These are the most expensive shoes in the world. -Cheers, Sean. Cheers. -There we go. -No, I dont want to. -What do we do with our lives? Its made in Italy. Some of the greatest things in life come from Italy. [bells tolling] [tuning string] [resonating] Ciao. -Roberto, ciao. -Sharon, how are you? -Great. -So come in. -Its gorgeous. This is it? -Yes, Im really pleased to meet you now. I know. Its so nice to finally meet you and to meet this. Yes. The difficult part at the beginning was to choose the wood, because this one-- Because its actually in the wood itself. So how do you-- -Exactly. -Yeah, but you did it. I chose three different pieces of wood, and two of them disappeared during the work. [laughing] Here we go. This is the big moment. -Nice smooth pegs. -Thanks. [tuning] You are the first one to play the bows on it. -Wow. -Well, I did it, but doesnt matter. Hmm. [playing slow, sustained notes] -Its so open already. -Wow. Wonderful. We still have to put the varnish on it. You can imagine what it means to work around an instrument for four months and the feeling now to have this cello being played by you and to realize that it does sound nicely. -It does. -And it can be only better. -Its great. Thanks. -Yeah. [both chuckling] Boom. Boom. Thank you. [chuckling] -Its got that initial energy-- -Yes. -...and liveness, which is what you need. -Energy. Brava. -Thats the right word. -Sounds beautiful. -You should be happy. -Yes, I am. [Ulrike] Its just such a wonderful, wonderful resonating moment to hear that cello almost being born by being played for the first time. Its a beautiful, beautiful instrument, and it will be in Australia for young musicians to play and to enjoy. [classical] [Ulrike] Players come and go, but this set of instruments will attract excellence and will be played by fine musicians, I just know it. [Alison] It really became apparent what it actually means to copy. Roberto put so much effort into making it an exact copy. Its so special. [Alison] The commitment, the time, the passion, the energy. They carve an instrument out of a block of wood. It is a thick plank. [laughing] And its hard work. Its physical work. And I hadnt had an appreciation of that until we visited Cremona. -I only can say congratulations. -Thank you. -And thank you. Yeah, its great. -Thank you. Thanks. [bells tolling] [Ulrike] I see myself like a person who brings dreams and visions into reality. The project of the Guadagninis is just the physical manifestation of a dream. What I really stand for is a person who dares to dream a life and not be afraid of having a big vision, a big dream. [classical] [ends] -[applause] -[man] Bravo! Bravo! [Ulrike] This longing for music, it was a very, very strong force in me from the very beginning. [man] Bravo! I had a teacher who was full of music, so every morning we started with singing. I actually started to get deeper into music. I so much wanted to play violin. I was wanting a beautiful instrument. Im brought up Lutheran, and then you have confirmation. And I so much wanted a violin. I didnt get one. I got a gold diamond ring, and I thought-- Anyway, my father really resisted because he was kind of afraid that I would drift into this world of art and music. This dream of beautiful instruments, somehow it went underground. Maybe its actually this dream which came to the surface when this vision of acquiring the Guadagninis came up. Suddenly I connected to that little girl again who so much wanted a beautiful instrument. And sort of theres something within me that... is music. -[no audible dialogue] -[chuckling] [Ulrike] When I was a teenager, if somebody wanted to be friends with me, they had to play an instrument. Gustav and I, we were really soul mates. [Scott] Can you point to yourselves in there? Thats the funny one. [in German] And me, top row, far left, grinning. [Ulrike] We loved nature together. We loved music together. Already then I wanted to have a quartet. We didnt have a cello, so Gustav didnt have a choice. But he learned to play cello. Actually, he made a cello which is a beautiful instrument. We couldnt imagine a life without each other. [man, indistinct] [Ulrike] My father was a complicated man. He just didnt want Gustav to be my boyfriend. [in German] You introduced me to what I didnt have at home. Painting, for example. These things werent allowed. [Ulrike] Gustav copied Klee Blau. And the painting, the year when we did matric. And then when it was finished-- [in German] And you put it up in your room. -Of course. -Your father wasnt happy about us. -Yeah. -And didnt appreciate modern art. One afternoon, at 2:00 p.m., my sister was home alone and the doorbell rang. Outside stood a man with a crimson face with a large painting in his hand, saying, Here! I dont want this! I wont have this in our house! My sister took it off him, flabbergasted. So the painting stayed with me and wasnt with Ulrike anymore. [chuckles] For a long time, I just resisted the threats of my father. [chuckling] I was the youngest of three kids. And before I was born, he did write a letter to his unborn child. He didnt know-- Then I turned out just a daughter. He saw my life even before I was born. In that letter, he did write out my whole life, how it would be. And he had a very clear image. I was a possession, part of his life forward. So I left Gustav. Why? Not for another man. I just couldnt bear the tension anymore. So I just went away. [scoffs] It was almost like I left part of myself behind. Because I couldnt-- I wasnt allowed to live that life. Today, I actually, within myself, Im at peace with my father. [exhales] Yeah. -[Scott] Thank you. -Yeah. You can see in quite of these photos how hard it was for me. [chuckles] [Scott] And involved. Im not the one, the person I was when we were 18, 19. Im a different person, yeah. [in German] But in a sense, you havent changed at all, have you? Yeah. Maybe its just the side of you that only I perceived-- Mmm. ...that you werent able to live out that often back in those days. [in German] And the strange thing is that Im living it out now. It had always been there, but I wasnt able to live it out. Yeah. Its fine. [Ulrike] It has been really beautiful to reconnect and enjoy life together, because what carried us when we were young, life has its own current. You know, there is something there and you think you cant let it go, and it goes underground. Thats this love we had when we were young. And then 50 years later, it comes up and is rekindled. After I had left Jurlique, the next step was this vision-- to build a cultural center, to bring together this connection of nature and culture and music. [laughing] That dream has manifested. The concert hall is built. Its an amazing, beautiful building. Just the space, the spaciousness. Its like an invitation. [chattering in German] [Ulrike] Its far more sophisticated than I ever imagined it. Its like an instrument. It has its beauty. And, you know, imagine the Guadagninis, these old instruments, sounding in here. And this is a new instrument, but it fits so well together. Its beautiful. -Gustav, its the color of your shirt. -Yeah. How did you know that? [laughing] [sighs] And its just the beginning. [chuckles] We call this the leaf ceremony. Ill ask each of you to take a leaf. And we go around and put them all back. [Ulrike] This country in the Adelaide Hills has been really special to us. And the way I want to give back is to enrich cultural life. And out of that came this vision... to collect these four very fine Italian instruments. And as an honoring of the land which has given life to all of us, I wanted to express that by giving the name Ngeringa-- which is the farm just down there-- to the cello. Its great. Thats what the country has asked of you. Yeah. If you get something from the country, give something back. [speaking aboriginal language] [in English] Now we all become one. [speaking aboriginal language] [Ulrike] By allowing us to use the name Ngeringa, I had the sense that something became complete. Its just the grace of life to be able to close circles in life. [playing harmonics] [continues] [continues] [continues] [droning fundamental note] [continues] [melody] [rhythmic pulse] [continues] [grows quieter] [continues quietly] [continues quietly] [ends] Thank you. -[chattering, laughter] -[man] I cant stop the compulsion. This is just so wonderful. Roberto! Ciao! [Roberto] All the way from Italy to Australia. Its been a long trip, but we made it. [classical] [applause] Yeah, its just an absolute joy to have played it for a year as well. -[Scott] Im just about done really. I-- -Oh, really? -I wonder-- -Im just getting started. -Oh, good. Okay, well keep going. -[laughing] Uh, do you-- I mean, does it cause you any qualms? Or do you, in that 3:00 a.m., wake up where you think, Oh, shit, you know, like, have I overplayed my hand? Oh, God, no. No, no, no. I wouldnt have done it any other way. [Guitar: classical] [Scott] Nice one. |
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