MASTER OF MUSIC
Linnebach talks life, family
The NAC Orchestra’s Edmontonborn associate concertmaster Jessica Linnebach is the featured soloist at two concerts to be conducted by New York’s Karina Canellakis. Linnebach, a former child prodigy, spoke to Lynn Saxberg about everything from music and family to finding her perfect instrument and the Zukerman influence.
Q You’re in the spotlight with the NAC Orchestra next week. How big of a deal is this for you?
A A lot of things are cool about the concert. The Bartók (Violin Concerto No. 2) is a piece that I’ve loved since I first heard it when I was 13. It’s one of my favourite pieces, and I’ve always wanted to play it with the orchestra.
Q Why do you like it?
A It has a certain kind of intensity that I’d never heard before. It has so many different colours with different instruments playing. It has this emotion that’s very raw. There’s nothing dainty about it. It’s a good, deep intensity as opposed to just sort of getting something off your chest. I feel it gets deep down into my emotions. I first heard a recording of it and it was unlike anything I had ever heard. It was this mind-blowing moment where I was like, ‘Whoa.’ I knew all the standard violin concertos and that’s all anybody ever played around me. It was a little bit like when you get into heavy metal music as a teenager. It was my first exposure to badass music.
Q At 13, were you already on the path to a career in music?
A Oh yeah. I was already at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. I went there when I was 10. My mom moved there with me, and my sister and father stayed behind in Edmonton. I had made my choice. I lived and breathed music all the time.
Q Do you come from a musical family? A Yes, my father is a piano
teacher. My mom is a biologist. Q Are you and your husband, NACO concertmaster Yosuke Kawasaki, raising your family in a musical environment? A Yes, totally. Same instrument even. We both play violin.
Q Was violin your first instrument?
A I started on the piano when I was, like, one or one-and-a-half. As the story goes, I heard the violin when I was two, and I thought, ‘Oh that’s way better.’ So I asked for a violin.
Q Are your children showing interest in music?
A When my daughter turned two-and-a-half, I thought, ‘OK, time for you to start playing something.’ I gave her a violin, expecting, of course, she’d be interested, and she had no inclination. She didn’t want to. She could barely hold it. But that’s OK. I just thought it was normal to start so early.
Q How often do you perform with a female conductor?
A I performed with one last year for the first time. This time, I actually went to Curtis (Institute) with Karina, but she was a violinist then. Now she’s a conductor so it’s pretty awesome.
Q Is it a challenge to cross the floor like that?
A A lot of women don’t even attempt to get into conducting because it’s so challenging. But now, with everything going on in the world, we have younger generations in orchestras now and both males and females are a lot more used to the idea now. It’s not as shocking anymore that a women should be up on the podium. Everyone is going, ‘Wow, girl power,’ and I’m like, ‘Really? What’s the big deal?’ But it’s true, we don’t see it often.
Q Talk about your instrument.
A It’s old. It’s from 1840. I bought it about five years ago from a violin dealer in Montreal. I was borrowing instruments from the Canada Council instrument bank, so every three years I’d audition for another instrument. After 12 years of doing that, I thought, ‘I’m 30, it’s time to buy my own instrument.’ So my husband and I invested in a violin for me, and I love it so much. It has a very rich tone. I like instruments that have a darker sound, less shrill. It just spoke to me. The first time I played on it, I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, this is amazing.’ It was love at first play. Q You performed with Pinchas Zukerman for years. How much of an influence is he?
A Huge. I feel like he’s the one who helped me discover who I was and what I wanted to say and what my own sound was. I was very influenced by his sound and just the way he plays, the control of the instrument that he has. He taught me a lot of that, and he plays with so much instinct. He’s a natural musician and that was always amazing for me to hear. I played in a quintet with him and we toured all over the world together for years. He was a huge influence. It’s because of him that I’ve travelled all over the world and played in some of the most amazing concert halls. I’m very grateful.