All Blogs articles – Page 15
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BlogsMy years performing with Benjamin Britten
The violinist Nona Liddell first met Britten at Sadler's Wells during rehearsals for the Aldeburgh Festival. She performed alongside him for many years, and remembers an extraordinary musician with very high standards
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BlogsJanine Jansen on the struggle and pain of Britten's Violin Concerto
Benjamin Britten, born 100 years ago today, produced only a small number of string works, but musicians rate them among the greatest – and most testing – of the 20th century. Violinist Janine Jansen describes the enduring lure of his Violin Concerto
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BlogsCultural learnings from Russia's ‘window to the west'
When the Calder Quartet was invited to visit St Petersburg, its players leaped at the chance to learn more about the music they grew up playing. Violinist Andrew Bulbrook shares the struggles and rewards of visiting Russia
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BlogsLeonidas Kavakos on modern violin making: 'This is an art that I want to support'
The Greek violinist offers an enlightened view of modern instruments that might inspire other players, as Ariane Todes reports
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BlogsSteven Isserlis on his long-time collaborator, the late John Tavener
The British cellist talks to Chloe Cutts about the conception and premiere of The Protecting Veil
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BlogsTechnique aplenty, but musicality wins the day in Weimar
Young players are well represented at the Louis Spohr Competition, but a little more experience goes a very long way. Rebecca Schmid reports
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BlogsImportant violin memorabilia at the Library of Congress
The editor Ariane Todes pays a flying but revelatory visit to the string archives of the largest library in the world
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BlogsA Brief Survey of Summer Festivals Without All the Bother of Joining a String Quartet – Part Six
The American String Quartet heads for the Cape Cod Chamber Music Festival, enticed by the invitation to perform Schubert's Quintet – and the promise of fresh lobster
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BlogsA Brief Survey of Summer Festivals Without All the Bother of Joining a String Quartet – Part Five
American String Quartet violist Daniel Avshalomov reports from Aspen, where he and his colleagues perform Janácek, Haydn, Korngold and Brahms against the backdrop of the Rocky Mountains
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BlogsA Late Quartet – the new DVD reviewed
Ariane Todes watches a film that pushes all the buttons of the string world, and quartets in particular
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BlogsA twist on tradition
Peter Somerford visits Cremona's new Museo del Violino to see if rare violins and state-of-the-art technology make a welcoming combination
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BlogsTwists and turns – and a deserving first prizewinner in Munich
For the first time in its history, women alone made the solo instrument finals at the International ARD Music Competition – and there was only one first prizewinner. Heather Kurzbauer reports
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BlogsThe story behind the cover of The Strad's October issue – part one
Designer Elma Aquino reveals the detailed thinking that took place and the decisions made in putting October's unusual cover together
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BlogsThe life and times of a historic London studio – part one
The private residence where some of the legendary players featured in the October issue of The Strad performed is under threat. Nicholas Lane revisits those glorious days – and nights – via first-hand accounts from the time
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BlogsA Brief Survey of Summer Festivals Without All the Bother of Joining a String Quartet – Part Four
American String Quartet violist Daniel Avshalomov and his colleagues brave the Beijing heat to bring a diverse programme to the city's concergoers
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BlogsA Brief Survey of Summer Festivals Without All the Bother of Joining a String Quartet – Part Three
American String Quartet violist Daniel Avshalomov reaches Winona, Minnesota, and reflects on the challenges of Mendelssohn's Octet
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BlogsRemembering London orchestral players of the 1950s
Ariane Todes's chance discovery of a box of old concert programmes led to an outpouring of tributes to a golden generation of string players
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BlogsDo violin competitions face extinction?
A day trip to Switzerland yielded some provocative conversations about the future of string music contests for Ariane Todes
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BlogsA Brief Survey of Summer Festivals Without All the Bother of Joining a String Quartet – Part Two
American String Quartet violist Daniel Avshalomov continues his blog tour of US festivals in the clean mountain air of Crested Butte, Colorado
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BlogsViolinist Ivry Gitlis remembers George Enescu
Our October issue will focus on great players of the past, including interviews with people who knew them or revere them. Ariane Todes has just interviewed the inimitable Gitlis about his former teacher and gives a sneak preview
