Meet Gabriel Anker | Violinist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Gabriel Anker and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Gabriel, how do you think about risk?
I believe creative audacity is a powerful force, inherent to the artistic process. While the risk evident in open-heart surgery is absent from performance, for the artist, the act of taking the stage, to reveal innermost expressions, implies a risk of existential proportions. Some formative violin lessons echo in the recital hall of my memory with clarity:

The first is from an early, sage influence, Nathan Milstein protégé, Mirecourt Trio violinist, soloist, concertmaster, baroque master, immortal pedagogue at the Shepherd School of Music in Houston, Kenneth Goldsmith; it goes simply, “Individual interpretation propels the art form.” Mr. G, as I and his other students affectionately knew him, illuminated every violin lesson and musical space he inhabited. His clairvoyant, musical presence, fabulous dress shirts, infectious wit and acute timing, his generosity of spirit, and genuine care was pivotal for generations of musicians. In addition to inspiring private lessons, Mr. G also led a unique seminar on what was from his nuanced perspective the modern misconception of musical virtuosity. Through his animated lectures and this invaluable interview (https://youtu.be/BBwNP-oiO-w), Mr. G proposed that the true artist is foremost endowed with an insatiable curiosity, flourishing beyond one’s instrument into history, various art forms and ideas, in order to create something original.

A complementary mantra comes from a masterclass led by renowned violinist and then professor of violin at the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique de Paris, Régis Pasquier; it goes, “La beauté c’est dans la puissance du caractère…,” or, “Beauty lies in the strength of character…” These words met my awareness at Domaine Forget in Québec, a summer music academy and festival held in the idyllic, Charlevoix countryside on the banks of the peaceful St. Lawrence river. Mr. G, also in residence at Domaine that summer and always nearby, beamed in agreement with maestro Pasquier’s poetic justice. Their combined opinions reflect a similar notion : that what is both enough and required of an interpreter of music is authentic, intentional expression.

A most practical, recent lesson added to this list comes to mind from the wisdom of musical titan, soloist, chamber player, and San Francisco Conservatory of Music Isaac Stern chair of violin, Ian Swensen. I have never encountered a more remarkable violinist and teacher who with a smile advises frustrated students to, “just drop the fingers, and move the bow…” In a field and world which urges us to overthink every move, Prof Swensen’s instruction, simplistic as it may sound at first, contains volumes even and generations of insight, as he first heard it from his legendary teacher, Robert Mann. Within this maxim is the notion that the primary elements of music making include : the nerve to pick up the instrument and play, as well as the realization that the natural ease and organic ideas held within one’s individual physicality carry the aesthetic weight of that which we elect to perform; this compels the trained and new listener, ultimately allowing the musician to breathe.

These artistic conclusions, succinct yet crystalline, are incomprehensive, yet timeless, even universal. Behind the words lies the responsibility for artist-teachers and humanity to encourage individual voices and characters, on and offstage. In doing so, we can strengthen the vast tapestry of voices, cultures, identities in our sphere.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
My artistic voice is an amalgam of : a childhood love for classical music and later the twentieth-century masters of violin playing ; an awareness of historical tradition with an affinity for the unheard and uncanny ; as well as a belief in the power of art to invoke souls, memories, and emotions. I think the most precious gifts I have reaped from this musical life stem from centuries of wisdom represented in my teachers and colleagues. I am fortunate enough to have studied and performed in the US, Canada, and in Europe, and this has granted me a precious confidence, both toward repertoire and life itself. Credit is also inordinately due to my extra-musical teachers, principally the feeling of Love in all its complex hues, which I am grateful the universe shares with me in abundance. Through rare experiences and encounters, I have developed a profound respect for the artist’s way, both as a spiritual as much as a scholarly practice. Good art is ultimately devotional, uninterested in achievement; rather, it is invested in the humble exchange of energy, with the air, composer, and audience. We are vessels for that which is perfect before we lay our hands upon it.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
first visit to Los Angeles was in 2016, following a kitchen incident which rendered me unable to play violin for an entire semester. The trip was spent engaging with the world without my instrument for the first time since I could remember, and it was the first step toward a then unimaginable regeneration. I eventually had the privilege of returning to call LA home from 2018 – mid summer 2020, and part of me has always remained there. Though I have moved three times across nine time zones in the years since, I consider LA and by extension all of California to be my adoptive, artistic homeland. While living in LA, I worked as a freelancer and pursued a master’s degree at the Thornton School of Music under the mentorship of lifelong violinistic inspirations, Pamela Frank and Midori. The city, its vibrant community, and breathtaking landscape however, was as formative a teacher as my professors in the art of living authentically.

A good week in LA probably looks very different for different people, but for me it would include seeing my friends, visits to the Museum of Contemporary Art (including the Geffen), the Broad, LA County Museum of Art, and Hammer museum. My favorite place to watch a film will forever be the Los Feliz theater, well earned after a hike to Griffith Park, just up the steps behind my aunt’s house, followed by candlelit dinner at Speranza. I used to live in the Sawtelle area on the west side and salivate at the mere thought of breakfast at Urth Caffé in Venice, lunch at KazuNori in Santa Monica, and sunset dinner at Geoffrey’s Malibu. In daydreams, my soul astral projects, roaming from Topanga Canyon to Point Dume…

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I would like to personally dedicate my shoutout to the artist who put my name forward, Rūta Kuzmickas. Rūta is a brave, authentic person and a consummate virtuos@ in the realm of what is heard, seen, as well as the unseen. I am honored to call her my friend.

Next, I would like to take advantage of this space to thank every teacher, collaborative artist, and organization who has believed in me or had the patience to watch me learn. They say, “it takes a village,” but in fact it takes having the stars in one’s favor… (et al)

Lastly, I would like to dedicate this space in gratitude for my ancestors, immediate family, chosen family of friends across the globe, anyone with whom I have shared a profound connection, to the island which gave me life (Puerto Rico), to every audience past and hopefully future, and especially to Johann Sebastian Bach.

Website: gabrielanker.space

Instagram: @notfaure

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gabriel-anker

Youtube: https://youtube.com/@gabrielanker9858

Image Credits
Portraits by: @__ruta @stradcopy @clementstalhberger