Master Class with Jordi Savall (II/VI)

Jordi Savall–renowned gambist, conductor, composer, musical researcher and leader in the field of early music–collaborates with conductor Michael Tilson Thomas in a series of six master classes featuring alumni of the New World Symphony (NWS). He works with the young string players on solo pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach, exploring with them the significance of style, technique, musicianship and historical context in the performance of baroque music.

NWS alumna Elizabeth Phelps performs selections from Bach's Sonata for Solo Violin No. 2 in A minor, a sonata belonging to a set of six works for solo violin. These sonatas and partitas have formed part of the core of the violin repertoire since the mid-19th century, when Joseph Joachim began performing them himself. In this master class, Jordi Savall, Elizabeth Phelps and Michael Tilson Thomas address phrase tension, use of vibrato and articulation as a means of differentiating between melody and accompaniment.