Viktor van Niekerk - ProfilesArchive

About Me

"Viktor van Niekerk is a conscious artist, with a total understanding of the ten-string guitar as envisioned by Narciso Yepes." Fritz Buss , 2007
VIKTOR VAN NIEKERK (*1981) has taught at universities in South Africa and Australia, and has been active as scholar and artist in performative, visual and literary disciplines.
Since the age of fourteen he has concertized exclusively on the ten-string guitar , inspiring new works and dedications from composers, including the late David Hoenigsberg's four-movement African Sonata , works by Fritz Buss , Bob Dickinson and others. He is the recipient of awards for excellence both as performer and scholar, including a first prize at the Classical Guitar Competition of South Africa and more recently the New South Global Scholarship for Doctoral research.
Presently a PhD candidate, his inter-disciplinary doctorate on music, mythology and the writings of Nobel laureate J.M. Coetzee has attracted praise as a "challenging, innovative, important" thesis. Another research project he has been involved with for over a decade centres on the technical approach of Narciso Yepes (1927-1997). He has been invited to continue his research in the late maestro's personal library, Madrid, and to extend this research into a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from 2010.
Van Niekerk studied the 10-string guitar with Yepes's long-term student Fritz Buss between 1995 and 2007, and also studied performance with musicologist G. Florian Messner and conductor Bruno Brys.
Standard Tuning of the Yepes ten-string guitar - the only tuning that gives sympathetic string resonance to all 12 notes of the chromatic octave:
For comprehensive information and resources related to the ten-string guitar, visit my web site:
www.tenstringguitar.INFO
Additional information:
All blog entries
Articles
How four strings add EIGHT missing resonances:
1: C, 2: Db, 3: Eb, 4: F, 5: Gb, 6: G, 7: Ab, 8: Bb.
What's up with tenstringguitar.CON?
(the case of the four missing resonances)
Resonance: a comparison of "tunings"
Frequently Asked Questions
Narciso Yepes, as I Knew Him: Interview with Fritz Buss
Videos of Narciso Yepes
Three-fingered (or a-m-i) Scale Technique
Excerpts from the repertoire for ten-string guitar, comparison diagrams of resonance on different 10-stringed guitars (different 'tunings'), as well as fingered examples of three-fingered scales can be viewed in my pics album
"The vital spirits of humankind, tuned to the tones of heaven and earth, express all the tremors of heaven and earth, just as several cithars, all tuned on gong [tonic], all resonate when the note gong sounds. The fact of harmony between heaven and earth and humankind does not come from a physical union, from a direct action; it comes from a tuning on the same note producing vibrations in unison . . . In the universe nothing happens by chance, there is no spontaneity; all is influence and harmony, accord answering accord."
(Dong Zhongzu, on resonance, 2nd Century B.C.E.)
Guitar lessons available: www.musicteacher.com.au/viktor-van-niekerk

My Interests

Music:

Member Since: 1/6/2007
Band Website: tenstringguitar.info
Sounds Like:

"lovely clear playing ... lovely atmosphere ... very evocative and technically impressive ... excellent use of the 10-string guitar ... a very well controlled performance."
(Tessa Ziegler, guitarist, 2001)

"Viktor van Niekerk is a conscious artist, with a total understanding of the ten-string guitar as envisioned by Narciso Yepes."
( Fritz Buss , 2007)

"The recital was greatly enjoyed and appreciated by all my guests. Viktor van Niekerk is clearly gifted..."
(Eduardo GarcÃa, Honorary Spanish Consul-General, 2003)

"Commendable playing!"
(Marian Friedman, pianist, 2001)

"I am convinced that Mr Van Niekerk will...make a strong contribution not only to the academic community but also to broader society".
(Mike Marais, literary theorist, 2005)

"When a young person of age fourteen walked into my studio with a ten-string guitar, of his own choosing, I was sure that here was something special. ... Since his first lesson with me there was never a dull moment. The lessons developed into mutual inspiration and Viktor developed at a rapid rate, technically and intellectually. From the start, he had no lack of understanding for the nature and spirit of the music at hand."
( Fritz Buss , 2007)

"Just wanted to say that your recital in Pretoria was amazing! It was a divine experience and it felt as if you transported my spirit to heaven through your music! Youâ€™ve developed much as a person, but also in your playing: last time I heard you it was Viktor in control of the music and now it was music in control of Viktor! Your interpretation of Romance [an encore] is the most beautiful version I have ever heard. Good luck with your studies; looking forward to the next time! Regards, T."
(audience member from Pretoria, South Africa, 2008)

"On behalf of our staff, parents and special learners, I would like to express our sincere appreciation for your generosity in sharing your wonderful talents with us with the two performances you hosted for our benefit.
"Our school is moved that a musician of your calibre put time aside to support our school.
"The money raised will be put towards our building project that aims to make our school's physical amenities more disabled-friendly to enable our learners access to our facilities.
"Many, many thanks."
(E. Lahoud, Principal, Casa do Sol School, South Africa)

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Type of Label: Unsigned

My Blog

New Yepes Videos

At least seven new clips of video footage of Narciso Yepes in performance and rehearsal have been added to youtube. See the videos here:http://www.youtube.com/profile?user=drewdavis58&view=vi deos
Posted by on Mon, 11 May 2009 09:33:00 GMT

Narciso Yepes speaks about the origins of the famous "Romance" (updated links)

In this youtube video made of a radio interview with Narciso Yepes, the late master guitarist tells of the origins of the world-famous "Romance" (a.k.a. "Romance de Amor"), often attributed to anonymo...
Posted by on Sat, 14 Mar 2009 20:55:00 GMT

New website: 10-string Guitar Resource

www.tenstringguitar.info is now up and running, with a lot more information to come!Finally, an online resource for authentic information about the modern 10-string guitar as envisioned by Narciso Yep...
Posted by on Fri, 27 Feb 2009 12:01:00 GMT

more on resonance; comparison charts

The overtones of a bass string (resonator) that are sufficiently in tune (with Equal Tempered notes fretted on the treble strings) to resonate strongly in sympathy with the plucked notes are:2nd parti...
Posted by on Sun, 08 Feb 2009 04:17:00 GMT

In his own words, Narciso Yepes on his 10-string guitar, resonance, and other "tunings"

I've collected here some interesting statements from Narciso Yepes (published and verifiable), on the two principle, defining characteristics of his particular 10-string guitar and approach to playing...
Posted by on Thu, 05 Feb 2009 06:19:00 GMT

Why the four strings tuned correctly give EIGHT resonances

Inter-string Transmission of Sound and Vibrations1.) The Fundamental and its Octaves: 'When one strikes the G4 key of a well-tuned piano, the strings vibrate with the following list of harmonically re...
Posted by on Mon, 08 Dec 2008 19:46:00 GMT

Articles and Interviews (UPDATE)

(NEW) ...Short article by Narciso Yepes about the 10-string guitar An excellent Interview about the Ten-string Guitar (Yepes, Snitzler): Yepes-Snitzler Interview [to download, f...
Posted by on Sat, 21 Jun 2008 11:03:00 GMT

Three-Fingered Scales technique

View Yepes's three-fingered scale technique in action HERE in "Passapied" by Salvador Bacarisse (especially the scale at the end of the piece): Basic Principles ...
Posted by on Wed, 09 Apr 2008 10:56:00 GMT

TEN-STRING GUITAR: how it's Correctly tuned and what it is about (for COMPOSERS and GUITARISTS)

Note: This page concerns only the modern 10-string guitar invented by Narciso Yepes in 1963. It does not endeavour to discuss other (earlier or later) guitars that coincidentally/arbitrarily have the ...
Posted by on Wed, 31 Jan 2007 07:12:00 GMT

Videos of Narciso Yepes

(Clicking on these links will redirect you to Youtube.)Videos marked with an asterisk (*) are from the same recital. Those marked with a plus (+) are from the same concert. Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranj...
Posted by on Tue, 08 May 2007 19:00:00 GMT