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Geminiani’s scales: a portal to the past
Geminiani’s scale exercises in his seminal 1751 treatise The Art of Playing on the Violin may look puzzlingly random to modern eyes, but violinist Benjamin Shute argues that they can reveal useful insights into the thinking behind performance practice of the time
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News
How I created a dedicated bass part for the sextet version of Mozart’s Sinfonia concertante: Uxia Martinez-Botana
Achieving sounds ranging between delicacy and boldness, as well as everything in between, the double bassist shares her thoughts and advice on fulfilling multiple roles in a chamber arrangement of Mozart’s work, which was recently performed at the Solsberg Festival
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Focus
Practice diary: cellist Jan Vogler
The German cellist gets to grips with gut strings, Schumann, Elgar and Kabalevsky. From April 2016
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Focus
11 stretching exercises for musicians
Do you feel tired and stiff after performing? Pilates instructor John Black explains how some simple stretching exercises can make all the difference
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Blogs
Community, outreach and fun: violinist Yevgeny Kutik on the Birch Festival
The violinist speaks about the motivation behind setting up a festival in the Berkshires, MA, ahead of its second edition from 18 to 20 May 2024
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‘Dream big and give yourself time to try things out’ - violinist Tim Kliphuis’s life lessons
The Dutch violinist recalls his journey to discovering his own distinct style and sound
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Creation and evolution: Manchester Collective
Manchester Collective is an ensemble that doesn’t shy away from either transporting its listeners to unexpected places, or embracing change within its own identity. Members including co‑founder and violinist Rakhi Singh talk to David Kettle about the group’s unique philosophy
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Blogs
Unveiling Marco Anzoletti’s Concerto for Violin and Viola: one soloist, two instruments
A concerto from 1915 that requires its soloist to switch between violin and viola is receiving its world premiere on 26 April 2024. Orchestrator Kenneth Martinson shares details about this long-lost work
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Blogs
‘New works come to life in such different ways’ - Violinist Fenella Humphreys on working with living composers
Ahead of the release of her album Prism on the Rubicon Label, violinist Fenella Humphreys shares how varied the musical experience can be when working with different composers, and how rewarding the end result can be
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Gallery
Photo gallery: Patricia Kopatchinskaja’s ‘Everyday Non-sense’ at the Southbank Centre
The violinist and the Aurora Orchestra presented a performance of virtuosity, spontaneity and spectacle at the Purcell Room on 24 April
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A musical smorgasbord: violinist Fabio Biondi on recording Roman’s ‘Assaggi’
Italian violinist Fabio Biondi speaks to Robin Stowell about recording Swedish Baroque composer Johan Helmich Roman’s assaggi – solo musical morsels to whet the appetite
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Blogs
Creating an immersive musical experience as an adult learner: violinist Julia Reddy
Alongside regular lessons and practice, Julia Reddy shares four ways to inject more music into your daily life for adult students
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Blogs
Uncovering Arthur Foote’s Cello Concerto: Julian Schwarz
Following a recent performance with the Buffalo Philharmonic, the cellist speaks about his journey to reconstruct and shine a light on the forgotten work by US composer Arthur Foote, which was written in the same year as the widely performed concerto by Dvořák
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‘The most original musician I’ve ever met’: remembering violinist Yehudi Menuhin
Yehudi Menuhin’s extraordinarily multifaceted life and career more than surpassed the traditional role of the solo concert violinist. Here friends, family and colleagues who knew him, studied with him and worked alongside him describe their association with and memories of the great man
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Focus
Great violinists: Yehudi Menuhin
Julian Haylock examines the player whose openness and sincerity gave even lighter music a profound emotional resonance
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Postcard from Detroit: Sphinx Competition and SphinxConnect convention
At the Sphinx Competition and SphinxConnect convention, Rita Fernandes experienced an array of inspiring events that went beyond simply addressing diversity in classical music
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Making her mark: violinist María Dueñas
Although she’s only 21, the Spanish violinist María Dueñas is already a rapidly rising star in the musical world. Tom Stewart speaks to the young virtuoso about how she has created her own unique and distinctive voice on the instrument
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‘The lama was a clever performer’ - From the archive: May 1894
T. L. Phipson recounts an impromptu recital by a lama in a remote Mongolian village, on an instrument that, from its description, may have been a morin khuur
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Sentimental Work: Christian Poltéra on Ravel’s Sonata for violin and cello
The challenges of Ravel’s Sonata for violin and cello led to a memorable encounter between the Swiss cellist and his childhood hero, Mstislav Rostropovich
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From the archive: Neville Marriner on his musical education
The violinist, chamber music player and conductor was born on this day in 1924. In this excerpt from a 1986 interview, Neville Marriner speaks to Dennis Rooney about his first encounters with violin playing and his early teachers