Gwendolyn Masin
Encyclopedia
Early Biography
Born in AmsterdamAmsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, Gwendolyn Masin is the descendant of a long line of professional musicians from Central and Eastern Europe.
Masin began to play the piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
at the age of 3. She took up the violin at the age of 5 and within her initial year of schooling, gave her first public performance in the Franz Liszt Academy
Franz Liszt Academy of Music
The Franz Liszt Academy of Music is a concert hall and music conservatory in Budapest, Hungary, founded on November 14, 1875...
in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
. Aged 11, Gwendolyn was introduced to the Irish public, giving a recital in the National Concert Hall
National Concert Hall
The National Concert Hall is a concert hall located on Earlsfort Terrace in Dublin, Ireland, close to St. Stephen's Green, and is the principal national venue for classical music concerts in Ireland....
, Dublin, and later that year appeared on the country’s most popular television programme, The Late Late Show
The Late Late Show
The Late Late Show, sometimes referred to as The Late Late, or in some cases by the acronym LLS, is the world's longest-running chat show by the same broadcaster and the official flagship television programme of Irish broadcasting company RTÉ...
.
She continues to perform live broadcasts and, reputed as an engaging, charismatic speaker, is a regular guest on TV and radio shows.
Education
Gwendolyn Masin began learning the violinViolin
The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....
in the class of Coosje Wijzenbeek. Following a move to South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, she continued her studies with her parents in Cape Town
Cape Town
Cape Town is the second-most populous city in South Africa, and the provincial capital and primate city of the Western Cape. As the seat of the National Parliament, it is also the legislative capital of the country. It forms part of the City of Cape Town metropolitan municipality...
. She was the youngest violinist to receive a Grade 6 diploma with distinction from the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music
Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music
ABRSM is an internationally recognised educational body and charity that provides examinations in music The organisation, based in London, UK, runs exams in centres all over the world...
at the age of 6.
Discovered as an exceptional talent at a young age, she studied in Amsterdam with Herman Krebbers
Herman Krebbers
Herman Krebbers is a Dutch violinist.Born in Hengelo, Overijssel, Krebbers studied in Amsterdam with Oskar Back. In 1943, the 19 year-old violinist debuted with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and eventually became the Orchestra's Concertmaster in 1962.In parallel he led a shining career as a...
between 1990 and 1996.
She has received degrees and diplomas from four countries and her graduate studies were guided by Igor Ozim, Ana Chumachenco, Professor Zakhar Bron
Zakhar Bron
Zakhar Bron is a Russian violinist of jewish descent and violin pedagogue. He is considered one of the best.His students have included Vadim Repin, Gwendolyn Masin, Daniel Hope, Maxim Vengerov, Denis Goldfeld, Daishin Kashimoto, Tamaki Kawakubo, Mayuko Kamio, Mayu Kishima, Sayaka Shoji and Nikolai...
and Professor Shmuel Ashkenasi
Shmuel Ashkenasi
Shmuel Ashkenasi is an Israeli violinist and teacher.-Biography:Born in Tel Aviv on January 11, 1941, he began his musical training at the Musical Academy of Tel-Aviv studying with legendary pedagogue Ilona Feher, the teacher of such violinists as Pinchas Zuckerman and Shlomo Mintz...
.
Career
Masin tours extensively as a soloist and chamber musician.Appearances with orchestras include the performance of concertos with the Hungarian National Philharmonic, the State Symphony Orchestras of Saint Petersburg and Belarus, the Bernese Symphony Orchestra
Berner Symphonie-Orchester
The Berner Symphonie-Orchester is one of Switzerland's major orchestras and consists of about 100 musicians. It was founded in 1877 in the capital Bern....
, the Musica Viva Chamber Orchestra, and the Savaria Orchestra. She performs and records regularly with Ireland's major orchestras, the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra
RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra
The RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra is the concert music orchestra of Raidió Teilifís Éireann...
and the RTÉ Concert Orchestra
RTÉ Concert Orchestra
The RTÉ Concert Orchestra is one of the two full time professional orchestras in Ireland that are part of RTÉ, the national broadcasting station. Since its formation as the Radio Éireann Light Orchestra in 1948, the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, has grown from a small studio-based recording group to...
, and with its youth orchestras, such as the National Youth Orchestra of Ireland.
Chamber music
Chamber music
Chamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
collaborations include concerts with musicians such as violinist Yuzuko Horigome, violists Isabel Charisius and Roger Chase
Roger Chase
Roger Chase is a British violist who currently teaches at the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University....
, cellists Alexander Baillie
Alexander Baillie
Alexander Baillie is an English cellist. He is currently professor of cello at the Bremen Hochschule, as well as at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.-Early life:...
, Pavel Gomziakov, Gavriel Lipkind
Gavriel Lipkind
Gavriel Lipkind is an Israeli classical cellist based in Germany. Lipkind made his radio debut performance aged eight, left Israel at an age of about 18, and received degrees from three music colleges. He won awards in music competitions and performed with orchestras until 2002, when he took time...
, Martti Rousi
Martti Rousi
Martti Rousi , is a Finnish cellist.Martti Rousi started to play the cello at the age of 8 in Turku. His first teachers were Timo Hanhinen and Seppo Kimanen. He then studied at the Sibelius Academy with Arto Noras and received his diploma in 1983. In 1985-86, he studied with Janos Starker at...
, Alexander Rudin and Julian Steckel, pianists Julia Bartha, Finghin Collins
Finghin Collins
Finghin Collins is an Irish pianist. He won first prize at the Clara Haskil International Piano Competition in Vevey, Switzerland, in 1999, and has performed with many of the world's leading orchestras and conductors....
, Robert Kulek, Peter Frankl
Peter Frankl
Peter Frankl is a Hungarian-born British pianist. He mainly performs music from the Classical period , the Romantic period and the early Modern period...
, Aleksandar Madzar and György Sebök
Gyorgy Sebok
György Sebők was an internationally renowned pianist and Distinguished Professor at the Indiana University School of Music in Bloomington USA....
, conductors Janos Fürst
János Fürst
János Fürst was a Hungarian-born conductor and violinist.János Fürst originally studied the violin at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in his native Budapest. After the 1956 Soviet invasion of Hungary, he continued studies at the conservatory in Brussels. He attended the Conservatoire de Paris...
and Gerhard Markson
Gerhard Markson
Gerhard Markson is a German conductor. His most recent post was Principal Conductor of the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, but his term ended in May 2009.- Biography :...
, and the actor Hanns Zischler.
Gwendolyn has premiered works from Raymond Deane
Raymond Deane
Raymond Deane is an Irish composer of classical music.-Biography:He was brought up on Achill Island and has lived in Dublin, Basel, Cologne, Berlin, Oldenburg, Paris and Fuerth....
, Urs Peter Schneider, Eric Sweeney, Martijn Voorvelt and John Buckley, the latter of whom has dedicated his first violin concerto
Violin concerto
A violin concerto is a concerto for solo violin and instrumental ensemble, customarily orchestra. Such works have been written since the Baroque period, when the solo concerto form was first developed, up through the present day...
to her. Don Li has specifically composed for her, both solo pieces and film music, releasing the works on Tonus-Music Records.
Festivals and Music Series
Gwendolyn Masin established the international, multidisciplinary series In Search of Lost Time in 2004, continuing it in 2010 with a commissioned work inspired by Paul KleePaul Klee
Paul Klee was born in Münchenbuchsee, Switzerland, and is considered both a German and a Swiss painter. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. He was, as well, a student of orientalism...
’s writings, composed by Thorsten Encke. In 2006, she founded the annual GAIA Chamber Music Festival
GAIA Chamber Music Festival
The GAIA Chamber Music Festival founded by the violinist Gwendolyn Masin is described as one of the most important festivals in Switzerland. The festival is hosted in Thun, usually in the month of May.-History:...
, described as one of the most important festivals in Switzerland, and in 2007 she was appointed Carrick Water Music Festival's artistic director
Artistic director
An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company, that handles the organization's artistic direction. He or she is generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the organization is generally a non-profit organization...
, a post she held in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
for 3 years.
Pedagogy
Gwendolyn Masin gives violin and chamber music masterclasses in Switzerland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Hungary, Italy, Germany, Turkey, and Portugal, and is completing a doctoral thesis on historical and contemporary violin playing and pedagogy for Trinity CollegeTrinity College, Dublin
Trinity College, Dublin , formally known as the College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, was founded in 1592 by letters patent from Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", Extracts from Letters Patent of Elizabeth I, 1592: "...we...found and...
. Her award-winning book on violin teaching, Michaela’s Music House, The Magic of the Violin, was published in 2009 by Müller & Schade. At the time of publication, she was the youngest female accredited with her own violin method.
Awards & recognitions
Masin has won national and international prizes and awards in Ireland, South Africa, Switzerland, the UK and the Netherlands. As the Dutch representative at the Global Stipends Awards, she received the International Music Award. She was nominated for The Outstanding Young Persons of Switzerland award for her achievements.Instrument
Gwendolyn plays a Lorenzo Carcassi violin made in Florence in 1761 which has been in her family for more than 50 years.Articles
- "European Strings Teachers Association Book Review" – ESTA Magazine, UK, Issue No. 3, 17/6/10 http://michaelasmusichouse.com/media/ARCO_UK_Magazine_Summer_10.pdf
- "Michaela's Music House" – Schott Musik Paedagogik Online, February 2010 http://www.musikpaedagogik-online.de/journal/um/issues/showarticle,30855.html
- "Michaela's Music House Wins IDEA Grand Prix" – November 2009 http://blog.marketing.ie/?cat=29
- „Michaela's Music House" – The Irish Times, Music in the Classroom, 17/11/2009 http://michaelasmusichouse.com/media/The_Irish_Times_Music_in_the_Classroom_November17_09.pdf
- "Gwendolyn adds yet another string to her bow" – Irish Independent, 1/11/2009 http://www.independent.ie/entertainment/music
- „A Question of Culture" – Irish Independent, 10/10/2009 http://michaelasmusichouse.com/media/Irish_Independent_Oct10_09.pdf
- "The Art of Making Music Fun" – The Irish Times, 29/07/2009 http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/features/2009/0729/1224251556513.html
- "Classical Notes" – The Sunday Business Post 26/07/2009 http://archives.tcm.ie/businesspost/2009/07/26/story43275.asp
- „ARCO Book Review" – ARCO Magazine, Edition 3, 2009
- "Peeling the Parameters of the Grand Delusion" – The Irish Times, 25/09/2004 http://www.gwendolynmasin.com/wiki/gm.php?pagename=Reviews.Articles
- "Das Ausnahmetalent" – Berner Zeitung, 23/03/2002 http://www.gwendolynmasin.com/wiki/gm.php?pagename=Reviews.Articles
Further reading
- Lüthi, B. “The Approach.” Michaela’s Music House, The Magic of the Violin – July 2009 http://www.michaelasmusichouse.com/approach.html