All Blogs articles – Page 9
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BlogsFinding inspiration in collaboration and Frida
Violinist and vocalist Lizzie Ball blogs about about her forthcoming show ‘Corrido: A Ballad for the Brave’, inspired by the life and work of Mexican artist Frida Kahlo
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Blogs
Natalie Clein on Bloch's solo cello suites – and connecting with her Jewish roots
Ahead of her Wigmore Hall recital on Sunday, the British cellist recalls her first contact with Ernest Bloch’s music and its deeper significance to her
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Blogs
10 things you need to know about Eugène Ysaÿe
Thomas Kemp shares some key facts about the 20th-century composer and violinist
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Blogs
Two 1st-class seats only option for cellist on American Airlines flight
Guy Johnston found himself presented with a compulsory extremely expensive option when booking to travel with his cello on a regional US flight
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Blogs
7 tips for breaking free from the classical treadmill
The London-based Phaedra Ensemble explores the spaces between classical, experimental and contemporary music, taking the string quartet as a starting point. Here the members share some ideas on how to start your own explorations
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Blogs
Putting students and professors in chamber music groups together is invigorating for both
In the run-up to the Guildhall School’s first chamber music festival, cello professor Ursula Smith reflects on the mutual benefits of its unique approach
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Blogs
Layale Chaker on the violin as cultural chameleon
The Lebanese composer and violinist discusses the ease with which the violin can drift between genres – and why she has devoted her creative life to doing just that
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Blogs
Thomas Bowes: a Bach Pilgrimage
On Tuesday 1 May I will set out again on a Bach Pilgrimage, taking round the solo violin music of J.S. Bach to communities up and down the country. My odyssey this year is a little more modest than the marathon of 2013 when I covered some four thousand miles ...
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Blogs
Life on the front desk: the BBC National Orchestra of Wales' concertmaster
On the day of the BBCNOW’s 90th anniversary, Lesley Hatfield offers some thoughts on leading and life in the orchestra
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Blogs
Playing the violin places constant strain on the body, yet we leave posture to chance
A holistic approach to teaching should treat healthy body position as seriously as scales and etudes
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Blogs
If you want the industry to change, you have to be willing to enact a change yourself
The violinist and co-founder of the Manchester Collective on her musical philosophy and forging new ground in an increasingly conservative music world
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Blogs
6 mindfulness techniques for music teachers
Mindfulness is an invaluable tool for teaching students how to concentrate on-stage, improve awareness in the practice room, play pain-free, and move on from disappointing auditions or performance experiences, writes Dr. Travis Baird
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Blogs
9 ways for musicians to think like top athletes
Carole Talbot-Honeck earned her Masters degree from The University of Ottawa studying the psychological prerequisites for optimal musical performance. Here, she outlines a number of sporting attitudes, which are of equal value to musicians
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Blogs
String ensemble skills are life skills – not to mention professional imperatives
Damian Iorio, violinist, conductor and Music Director of the UK-based National Youth String Orchestra, writes about the importance of ensemble skills
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Blogs
‘Just think of love’: Vadim Gluzman on Leonard Bernstein's Serenade after Plato's 'Symposium'
As the violinist heads to London to perform the work with the BBC Symphony Orchestra, he tells The Strad what is special about this violin concerto in all but name – and of his surprise that it is not programmed more often
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Blogs
Learning how to lose control is Paganini's gift to violin music
With his new album of music by and inspired by Paganini out today, Michael Barenboim writes that the great violinist’s legacy as a composer is the invention of a specific kind of headlong virtuosity
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Blogs
Conquering performance nerves: sweaty hands, losing bow grip
Brian Hodges answers student questions on coping with stage fright
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Blogs
Tamsin Waley-Cohen: 7 tips for making a successful recording
Making a recording comes with its own special set of pressures, and moving from the stage to the studio isn’t the easiest transition for a musician to make. Here violinist Tamsin Waley-Cohen sets out her advice earned through experience
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Blogs
Clare Howick on finding inspiration in the personalities of the ‘Maurin’ Stradivarius and 'DeLay' Guadagnini
Like many violinists I have had the occasional opportunity to play on some lovely violins. For example, for my recently released recital disc, British Music for Violin and Piano, I was fortunate to play on the ‘Dorothy DeLay’ Guadagnini (1778), and for my forthcoming world premiere recording ...
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Blogs
10 tips for buying a new bow
Are you considering upgrading to a better bow but not sure where to start? Violinist and bow maker Mariia Gorkun gives practical advice on how to go about choosing the right bow for you and your instrument – Register for free to read
