Focus
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FocusHair’s breadth: postcard from the Shanghai Isaac Stern Violin Competition
In its second edition, the $100,000 competition was decided by a tiny margin, and showcased many impressive performances along the way. Strad editor Charlotte Smith attended the finals
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Alisa Weilerstein's top 5 tips on maintaining a natural stage presence
The American cellist talks about physical gesture, articulation and the value of taking things slowly
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Amandine Beyer's top 5 tips for aspiring Baroque violinists
The French violinist shares her wisdom on giving a convincing historically-informed performance
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Eldbjørg Hemsing's top 3 tips on maintaining the spark in your playing
The Norwegian violinist, whose disc we review in our December issue, shares her insight on warding off boredom in performances
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3 views on developing a positive approach to learning an instrument
Three musicians share their ideas, developed from years of teaching experience
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Leila Schayegh's top 5 tips on historically informed vibrato
The Baroque violinist shares her wisdom on how to use vibrato authentically
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Life Lessons: Alban Gerhardt
The German cellist on an 18th birthday gift and the accessible appeal of the cello repertoire
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Debate
Can a music stand destroy a performance?
Naomi Yandell makes a plea to school music departments for a common-sense approach to performance ‘details’, such as the big black music stand
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Kim Kashkashian's top 5 tips on combatting stage fright
The Armenian-American violist used to get ‘terribly nervous’ when performing as a teenager. Here she shares her tips on preparing psychologically for a concert
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Mischa Maisky on working with Leonard Bernstein
The cellist, who celebrated his 70th birthday this year, reminisces about performing Dvořák’s Cello Concerto with Leonard Bernstein. Interview by Peter Quantrill
