New Sounds on an Old Instrument

by Andrea Wallick, cellist 

and Andy Fein, Luthier at Fein Violins

Why does that cello sound like a seagull? How are the sounds I'm hearing coming out of string instruments? It sounds like percussion and overtones. 

If you've ever asked these questions after watching a string performance, the performers were most likely playing their instruments using extended techniques. 

Watch this George Crumb piece being performed to get an idea of what extended techniques are: 

Ensemble intercontemporain

20 Hours To Montréal & the Philip Glass Ensemble- The 2023 Version of Bach's Walk

Story in Four Parts 

by Andrea Wallick, Cellist at Fein Violins

Part 1: Conceptualization 

I was in the thick of finals, having performances every night, working on my massive paper about Einstein on the Beach, and I randomly had the urge to check out what the Philip Glass Ensemble is doing now. There I saw it... the list of performances with one happening on May 24th in Montréal, Canada. With a quick glance at their performance history over the past three years or so, I realized that if I wanted to ever see them live anytime soon, it would have to be at the May 24th Montréal concert.