All Premium ❘ Feature articles
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Premium ❘ FeatureItzhak Perlman: If you teach others, somehow you teach yourself
He is the reigning king of the violin, whose contribution to his art has been recognised by US presidents and British royalty. Now entering his eighth decade, what can there possibly be left for Itzhak Perlman to learn? Plenty, he tells Charlotte Smith
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Invitation to the Dance: Bach’s Cello Suites
A knowledge of French Baroque dance can open up new ways of approaching and performing Bach’s Cello Suites, argues cellist Ulrich Heinen. In this practical guide, he highlights the many steps and gestures evoked in the works.
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Masterclass - Bach Cello Suite no.5, Prélude, by Jean-Guihen Queyras
Practical tips to help you master the challenges of this most fundamental of repertoire
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From the Archive: December 1909
The pseudonymous ‘L.H.W.’ gives his thoughts on teaching, in an article he might himself call ‘profuse and extravagant in expression’
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Technique: Teaching rhythm and bowing to beginners
How to inspire very young musicians to learn new cello playing skills
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Leila Josefowicz on Berg Violin Concerto Second Movement - part 1
ln the first of two articles, Leila Josefowicz explores ideas of feverishness, hallucination, death and resurrection in the second movement of a great 20th-century concerto
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Making Matters: a phoenix from the ashes
Luthier Shlomo Moyal explains how he restored a 1685 viola da gamba that had been almost destroyed, in a project that took a whole year of patient reconstruction
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Trade Secrets: Flattening planes
A sadly necessary task for all luthiers, which should have been taken care of by the manufacturer in the first place
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In focus: an 1819 violin by David Stirrat
David Rattray examines an instrument by the Edinburgh maker
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Lights, Camera, Action
As the founder of Music in Vision, Kathleen Ross has built a business from supplying professional musicians for on-camera roles. Introducing instrumentalists to the world of film and TV can be challenging, but, she writes, ensuring that musicians in background parts are convincingly portrayed is well worth the effort
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How to play with a flexible bowing arm by cellist Gary Hoffman
The American musician explains how he developed a supple and varied bow arm motion, guided by his ear and musical instinct
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A Massive Achievement
Made in 1677, the ‘Romanov’ Nicolò Amati viola is one of the maker’s late masterpieces. Alberto Giordano and Rudolf Hopfner investigate its turbulent history and examine how it fits into the Amati family’s oeuvre
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A Treasury of Sound
The Royal Danish Orchestra has been adding to its collection of fine stringed instruments for centuries – but there is revolution as well as evolution behind its distinctive string sound, which is unmistakable whatever the repertoire and whoever the conductor, finds Andrew Mellor
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Into the Light
Rebecca Clarke’s 1923 Rhapsody for cello and piano was never publicly performed during the composer’s lifetime, and has only recently received proper attention in the hands of champions of British music Raphael Wallfisch and John York - who makes the case for the forgotten masterpiece as its score is ...
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Like Fathers, Like Sons
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the death of Émile Auguste Ouchard, as well as the 40th of his son Bernard – both regarded as among the 20th century’s finest bow makers. Thomas Martin, Andrew McGill, Martin Lawrence and George Martin examine the legacy of the Ouchard dynasty, particularly ...
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A Conductor’s Tale
Music director Manfred Honeck has brought a distinctly European flavour to the Pittsburgh Symphony. Gavin Dixon spoke to him at his summer festival in Wolfegg, Germany, as he prepared to embark on a tour of Europe with his Pittsburgh forces – and discovered how his time as a violist in ...
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Violist Cynthia Phelps on studying with William Primrose and Donald McInnes
For some players, only the viola sound will do. But to bring out its full power, the New York Philharmonic violist sought help from a number of teachers, writes Ariane Todes
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Is repetitive practice a good or a bad thing?
A prolonged, sickening and monotonous repetition of a section of music or the legitimate means of mastering a difficult passage? Joseph O'Doherty weighs up the two sides.
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How to develop fourth finger strength
String students often suffer from weakness in the little finger, but this can be overcome, writes James Winram in the Strad's July 1913 issue
