- You clapped! You clapped! You clapped! Ohhhh! - I clapped! Oh no...
Hello everyone.
Welcome to another episode of TwoSet Violin.
Now you might be wondering, "Why are we out here?
- This is not the studio!" - "Whoa!"
Fun fact: This is where we studied, for music university.
How long ago was this?
- It was a decade...ago, - Wait...
can you believe that?
2023, I graduated at 2013, it's a decade!
- 100%. - No way...!
Well, today's a very, very exciting and special episode.
We were invited back to our uni,
to adjudicate, as music adjudicators.
So there's a competition going on tonight, called the Bach Prize,
which is basically a competition at the Con, for string players,
specializing in Bach repertoire.
We have both done the competition,
- I think you've won the competition, right? - I did, yes, I did once.
But yeah, never would I have thought, 10 years ago,
- that we would be back here, on the other side. - Adjudicating! I know!
I'm kinda nervous, a little bit excited, but uh...yeah.
Let's see! Whoa!
Wow, we made it in here.
This is the Ian Hanger Recital Hall.
We have done many performances, competitions,
workshops, recitals...and recordings back in our day here.
I remember the days, when I brought my violin here, came in...
...hands are shaking, walk on stage here.
The adjudicators were up there, ready to judge me.
Please play.
Why am I getting nervous?
I'm just used to being nervous in this room.
- Too much association! - The bad associations in this place!
By the way, this is Michele, our teacher, when we were here!
- Hello. - Hello! - In uni.
Good to see them back again.
Michele's been giving us some...tips, on how to adjudicate,
- so, I think we'll... - Just be yourselves.
- Mmm. - Yeah.
- Were you judging...the year I was doing Bach Prize? - I could've been.
I just know I didn't win the Bach Prize.
So you're not qualified!
I'm not qualified, well, just go with Brett!
Whatever Brett decides I'll be like, "Yeah, yeah, yeah."
So does that mean we blame you tonight,
if we don't like the decision?
- Ohh...! - Oh, yeah, I like that. - Yeah.
Alright, we're here, ready to judge.
Let's get the adjudication game on.
And so the first person played Allemande and Gigue,
and, you can see at this point,
we're trying not to write too much,
and we're just trying to listen.
But you'll see later down the line, that...that changes.
Okay, so at this point I'm like,
"Wow, Eddy's full on writing!"
And I was like, "No, I don't know if we have much time!
I want to hear the next person!"
I didn't write at all.
There's no rules,
- but basically you want to give some good feedback, obviously. - Mm-hmm.
- But then you want to think of something constructive to say. -Yes.
So I was just trying to think about what can I say
in the least amount of words and space,
that I feel like could help them.
And so I'm trying to think about that,
and trying to form like these nice sentences,
and then I see Brett just done, I'm like, "Oh, crap."
- (Brett) See, look, I go... - (Eddy) You're not even writing, bro!
Yeah, I dropped my paper, and I was like, "Oh-ho-ho!"
And yeah, I felt bad, I was like,
"Should it just keep moving on?"
- (Eddy) And you were like, "Yeah yeah yeah..." - (Brett) And I was like, "Yeah yeah yeah..." I didn't even write!
And that's when we realized, "You know what,
we need to start writing during the performance."
And so the second person was playing Loure and Gavotte,
from the 3rd E Major Partita.
Yeah, at this point, all my focus was trying to listen,
but also remember what the previous performer did.
So you could see I was writing frantically after the second performer.
(Eddy) By the way, apologies for the occasionally out-of-focus camera,
we were too busy thinking about adjudicating,
that we didn't set it up properly.
(Brett) So the third one played Siciliano and Presto.
(Eddy) I promise I'm not falling asleep, I'm just...
- ...closing my eyes so I can focus on hearing better. - Yes.
I was just trying to listen,
(Brett) and be an adjudicator and stay as still as possible.
I kind of felt the pressure, for some reason, being an adjudicator.
- We've been there, so you can feel the nerves. - Mmm.
I remember at this point, I'm like,
Dude, there's 3 people, I'm like,
everyone had their different strengths and weaknesses,
and I can't remember how the first person sounded exactly,
- by the time I finished hearing the 3rd person, you know? - Yeah.
- I was just freaking out. - We were just whispering to each other, it's like,
"God, this is hard!"
(Eddy) Alright, so the fourth player was double bass.
- (Brett) Prelude and Sarabande! - Which is adapted from the Cello Suite.
I remember at this point I was thinking like,
"If a double bassist is slightly out of tune compared to a violinist,
is that weighted equal or different?"
- You know what I mean? - Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Some double bassists say...
...well cellists, say it's easier on a big instruments.
- No way, bro. - (Brett) No, no! Because...!
- The margin of error is small... - The margin of error is small, so if you go there, you'll get it.
Whereas the violin, you have to kind of even to the point
where you have to wiggle your fingers a bit, to hit the right note.
Yeah, but, at the same time...
- But... okay. Yeah, so it's like... - Proportionally, you still have to move so much further.
...further distance, but more space to hit the note.
Violin, it's closer distance but just a millimetre can send you off.
I was thinking, "Man, we got like, 3 more to go."
I remember by this time,
- (Eddy) I was starting to take notes, dock points during the playing. - (Brett) Yeah.
- I was like, "I'll form nice sentences afterwards." - Yeah.
So number 5 was another violinist,
(Eddy) everyone was smiling at this point behind, and we're smiling too,
and that's because this guy...when he walked on stage,
he was dressed in a full immaculate suit,
and he had his violin, and he goes...
And he waved at us!
Yeah, that was pretty cool, and then, and then...
- ...you guys will hear this. Watch this, watch this. - Yeah.
Yeah...! I kind of like that!
- What a legend, bro! - Yeah, what a legend, he said it!
Gotta break the ice a bit, I was like, "Good job!"
If I could go back in time and I had to do like competitions,
- I'd do that too, man. - I would do that too.
- "Sibelius Violin Concerto, 1st movement." - Yeah...!
I'd rather have my voice be heard first,
than the op...my first note.
Okay...in case...
- Dude, the double side-eye you did... - Did you see my side-eye? Yeah...
Like, one, two...like you did it twice!
Like, bro! Why were you looking at me?!
I tried to stay very still.
- I reflexively, immediately, went to grab the score to check, - The score...
'cause I was like, "Something sounded wrong."
And then I realized,
"No, no, no, there's a bunch of people behind me, watching,
this...it's just a wrong note, it's fine."
So what happened was, there was a wrong note.
It's pretty crazy how,
even though we haven't played this piece for years,
- like over a decade, we can still remember the notes. - Yeah.
But look, honestly though,
that did not go into my adjudication at all.
- Yeah, yeah. Yeah, that was... - I did not care about the wrong note.
(both) It was just funny.
- (Eddy) What... - I kept looking up...
Anyway, anyway, that...
- ...he played well. Very well. - He played very well.
So now we have the sixth contestant, and this...
...was a viola player.
She was playing Suite no. 5, Prelude and Gigue.
It's the Cello Suite adapted for viola, 'cause...
- ...viola doesn't have any good Bach stuff to do. - Ohh!!!
Nah, I'm just...
Your expression...!
Do you guys pick up on Eddy's subtle facial expression?
The funny thing is, this violist actually played really, really well,
and I totally understand this!
We've all been there, you know?
- Yeah. - The first chord, out of tune.
The first octave, and it's a...
- ...pure octave, it's so obvious when it's out of tune, its like... - Yeah.
And the other side note too, was...
As we were going to the competition earlier, we were preparing,
so we were listening to some of the repertoire.
The person that we listened to also played the first octave out of tune,
and I remember when we were listening to it, we're like...
"Oh bro, if that happens tonight...
- Yeah, yeah. - ...we'll try so hard not to like, react."
And then it actually happened, that's why I'm just like...
It's just so relatable, like I've been there, we've all been there.
Bro, I was trying so hard not to like...
- ...look at you at the point, I just wanted to be like... - I know, and look at your...
You know when I did this?
- You know why I was stressed out? - Why?
That was the moment I realized,
"This viola player's good."
Hahahaha! Yeah.
And it was the first point in this whole competition
that I was like, "Is there a possibility that
we're gonna have to award first place to a viola player?!"
I was stressed, bro! I was like, "Nah, come on, violins!"
Yeah, you...!
You can see it, what I was thinking! I'm like:
- Brett: "Hmm, big sound!" - "Hmm...!"
Yeah, I remember the violist had a really big projection,
and just really open sound.
Good sound, good phrasing, expressive.
That's my nod of approval from a violinist.
"Hmm!"
Yeah!
HAHAHAHAHA!
- You clapped, you clapped, you clapped! Ohhh! - I clapped! Oh no!
The cardinal sin!
We don't know the cello suites, I'm sorry—
Okay, the thing though is,
the Prelude has a slow intro, and then
- a completely separate, like, fugue-like section! - Yeah! Yeah.
And so... it just sounded like two movements.
- I'm just glad to say... - You're about to clap!
Eddy: I didn't! Look, look! I stopped!
I stopped, I was like:
"Nnngh, let's go! I didn't clap!"
And look, everyone laughed!
Have to blur their faces out, but everyone's just smiling here.
This is so funn—and then someone put their hands up like this!
Oh no!
Oh, that is pretty funny.
Eddy: For our last contestant was a cellist.
Brett: The cellist plays Prelude & Sarabande.
Eddy: This is me looking at the cello music now. I'm like,
"I don't wanna mess up again,
I don't wanna clap the wrong moment,
I need to get the music!"
Legit, I was thinking that!
I was like, "It sounds like it's coming to an end,
but I don't know it...
I'm gonna check to make sure I don't clap at the wrong time."
All right! So that's it for the competition,
now we go to the deliberation.
*Pwsh!*
Eddy: Bro, I have no idea.
Wow, that was so hard.
It was so hard!
Do you have a clear winner in your mind?
No...
Yeah, me neither.
Allemande was nice, but she played too... little.
She needed to project, have a more soloistic sound.
She had a really smooth and creamy sound.
Just, bit more confidence, just play more.
Intonation was good.
The octaves were clean.
Yeah, they were clean.
Sometimes a bit tense, especially the vibrato.
He had some colors there, yeah, but maybe even more.
Just... be more confident, just kinda...
You had the right idea, just keep going with it.
Yeah.
It's hard for me, because I've played the Sicilienne,
and I know it's so hard.
So in my mind, I naturally wanna be more lenient,
'cause I know just how much harder that—
for me, that piece is, compared to the rest.
For me, she definitely had a more soloistic sound
compared to the first two,
but then, sometimes the chords, it gets a bit crushed.
But that's just like, a Sicilienne. It's just like, it's so hard.
I wrote "confident" for sound.
Rushed a little bit, right?
- In the Presto? Yes. - Presto.
But... I'd do that too.
I get it, why they rush.
I remember the Presto kinda felt like,
it could've been a bit of more breathing space.
- I think it was the nerves, probably. - It was the nerves!
And I, I know that feeling.
It's like just, oooh! This went out on the edge.
I like the sound.
- Mm! Good sound. - Smooth.
I think maybe just the double stops...
- must be tricky on double bass, right? - Yeah.
She missed it a little bit. But otherwise her sound was really good.
I felt while the sound was really nice and the phrasing was nice,
just sometimes, just... the intonation
and the chords and the shifting
just disjointed that a little bit too much for me.
- The coordination wasn't quite there sometimes. - Yeah.
- There would be an unintended accent as she shifts up. - Yeah.
But I mean, you guys have to travel like, a kilometer.
I thought his pacing was really nice.
He has real nice bow changes, bow control.
There was a lot of bow. I like that confidence.
But his intonation was a little bit... not too centered for me.
It was a little bit like, enough for me to, like...
- Oh, pay attention to it. Right, okay. - Think, pay attention to it.
Can't believe I'm saying this, but I was impressed by the violist.
Hahahaha!
The viola had the great sound.
- I, that's what I think. - She's quite open.
Great sound, and something about the way she plays,
- is just a bit more like... - It's more bow? Yeah.
Think her opening was good, for the Prelude.
I thought she had a nice balance of like,
it's not overly romantic, but still like a good, expressive sound.
But towards the second half of the Prelude,
I think I lost a bit of the phrasing.
Like, I couldn't tell where the big picture...
When she changes chords, *singing string change*
it kinda stops, the sound stops.
So if she'd kept the sound going, it would've been a lot better.
That happened kind of more than once,
so that's why I kind of... picked up on it.
But overall, it was nice. It was a good sound.
It was okay. Her contact could do a bit of work.
A lot of the pedal notes bits,
her bass G was just so much louder than the melody.
Moments of great tone,
just sometimes she loses her contact when she gets...
- ...to the high part. So it kinda, - Higher strings, more—yep.
the sound kind of diminuendos away,
- rather than, sometimes a phrase could be - Yep.
going forward.
I dunno, what do you think?
I'm not judging, I dunno.
- Bro, you're...! - Hehehehe!
You're the one that won Bach Prize. I need your help, bro!
Uuugh!
Aw...
Dude, I'm stressed.
Bro, I dunno.
I hate adjudicating, it's so hard.
Eddy: Aw, man...
Brett: Yeaaah!
Competition sucks!
- *Competitors and Brett chuckle* - Yeah.
I just wanna say first of all,
everyone, you guys did an amazing job.
We were saying earlier today that
Brett, you've won the Bach Prize.
I didn't win the Bach Prize.
Because Bach is so scary and traumatizing,
I'm pretty sure I just got shaky bow for the whole time, I remember.
Obviously interpretations are subjective, enjoyment is subjective.
Even on a technical level,
is one A flat out of tune vs. one dodgy string crossing,
which one's... how many points is each one?
You can't really do that.
So I guess... if we make the wrong call, don't hate us—
- no, just kidding. Um, - *Competitors laugh*
but to say really, like, competitions are great.
They inspire us to practice and do better,
and I always think,
we wouldn't be able to have done what we do
if it wasn't for all the times we played on this stage.
Having toured the world, all the concert stages we've been on,
somehow THIS still feels more stressful.
- It is more stressful! It's so stressful. - So this is as stressful as it gets.
That's the great thing about competitions,
they really kinda accustom you to that pressure.
At the end of the day, we do have to decide on someone.
I think everyone played amazingly,
and you all should feel really proud of yourselves.
On that note...
The winner of this year's Bach Prize is...
Ella!
*Competitors exclaim and clap*
Congratulations!
Awesome playing!
Well played, well played!
Good playing.
Who would've known we'd picked a violist?
I know, right?
So that was our first time becoming
music adjudicators for a competition!
And it's funny, it's... it's a competition we've done before so,
interesting times.
Yeah, it was really fun. It gave me a huge appreciation of
what the task is like for adjudicators. 'Cause it's hard,
listening to so much music,
and trying to remember and compare.
'Cause it's not like you can go back and re-listen to it, right?
Like, it's just in that moment.
Exactly. And part of you wants to give a prize to everyone.
But because it's a competition, you have to pick a winner.
Yep.
You always try to tell yourself like,
"Hey, competitions don't really mean you're better or worse,
they just competitions." Right? Like,
the times I've lost I've tried to tell myself,
"That doesn't necessarily mean I played worse."
And the times that I have won,
that doesn't necessarily mean I was better,
that was just how it is.
Being the adjudicator, it really feels that times ten now.
I think we did our best to choose
the person we felt "should have" won, but
it feels weird to say that they were the best musician there.
Like, in that moment, that snapshot
of all the different pros and cons
and all the different memory biases,
- that was the most objective thing we tried to come up with. - Yeah.
But who knows?
One of them might've just been slightly more nervous on the day,
or like, some other factor.
Moral of the story is:
if you don't win, don't worry!
If you win, yeahh!
But don't worry.
Yeah, that.
At the end of the day,
it's just your own personal journey,
your personal progress.
And if you wanna push yourself more,
PRACTICE more!
Speaking of adjudicators too...
come watch our world tour.
- There's a secret here, but... - Hmm...
I don't wanna say too much, but...
Check out the tickets in the links below!
We'll see you there!
Sign up for the cities that you wanna go to!
And once you've done that...
go practice.