All Feature articles – Page 4
-
Feature
Lisa Batiashvili on the joys of collaboration
Georgian violinist Lisa Batiashvili has recently taken on new challenges, among them artistic directorship of the Audi Summer Concerts festival and performing on the soundtrack to The White Crow. But, she tells Toby Deller, she finds equal joy in creating wonderful interpretations from long-term partnerships
-
Feature
Acting the Part
How can techniques usually confined to the acting world benefit string players on stage? Pauline Harding goes back to school to find out
-
Feature
There’s nothing I play that’s less serious than anything else
Joshua Bell’s new album showcases his deep respect for all musical forms. The US violinist talks to Amanda Holloway about the challenges of making classical cool, and of broadening his professional skills
-
Feature
Sentimental Work: Linus Roth
Weinberg’s Violin Concerto is a work of passionate intensity, as the German violinist found – even though he hadn’t encountered the composer until eight years ago
-
Feature
Gautier Capuçon plays Bloch to mark anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall
The cellist Gautier Capuçon plays the Prière from Ernest Bloch’s ‘from Jewish Life’ at the memorial of the Berlin wall to mark the 30th anniversary of the Fall of Berlin Wall.
-
Feature
How one great family shaped a century of French bow making
Mirecourt’s Émile Auguste Ouchard and his son Bernard are regarded as among the 20th century’s finest bow makers, main characters in a family who created a distinctive style of stick. Writing in The Strad’s December issue, Thomas Martin, Andrew McGill, Martin Lawrence and George Martin focus on Ouchard double bass ...
-
Feature
Witnesses to the fall
First published in the March 2014 issue to mark 25 years since the fall of the Berlin Wall, nine string players and makers from the East and West sides here reveal the stark contrast between life on either side of the divide
-
Feature
Behind the scenes with the New York String Orchestra
The New York String Orchestra Seminar, one of America’s first orchestral training programmes for young musicians, celebrated its 50th anniversary in December 2018. Bruce Hodges attended rehearsals and concerts of the landmark season
-
Feature
Stradivari and the sharkskin sandpaper
This microscope image of what looks like a shark’s tooth embedded in a 1711 cell is evidence of dogfish skin, writes Joseph Campanella Cleary
-
Feature
Why do violin bridges have a waist?
In this extract from his investigation of the acoustical role of the violin bridge, Joseph Curtin sets up an experiment with a waistless prototype
-
Feature
Sentimental Work: Alisa Weilerstein on Mozart’s Don Giovanni
The climactic scene between Don Giovanni and the Commendatore was the American cellist’s bedtime listening for years – and has stayed with her for even longer
-
Feature
Sarah Chang on the limitations of the concerto circuit
The violinist tells Strad editor Charlotte Smith about her growing desire to take on passion projects
-
Feature
Life Lessons: Anthony Marwood
The British violinist on the changing landscape of string playing and what modern instruments can offer top players
-
Feature
Marathon in the Mountains: Postcard from Banff
At the 13th Banff International String Quartet Competition ten young ensembles, their members all under 35 years of age, rose to the challenge of performing a vast amount of wide-ranging repertoire, reports Laurinel Owen
-
Feature
Behind the scenes at the music and wine festival
Burgundy’s Musique & Vin festival has quickly grown from its humble origins to encompass a rich diversity of elements, not least first-rate performances from international artists and an instrument loan scheme for young musicians. Charlotte Gardner spoke to those involved in this unique project
-
Feature
Ask the Experts: should players separate technique and musicality in practice?
A violinist asks if players should separate technique and musicality when preparing a piece for a performance, and if there is a strategy that can help combat performance nerves
-
Feature
How breaking a thumb saved cellist Colin Carr's career
The international cello soloist and chamber musician describes how a cycling accident forced him to rethink the way he played
-
Feature
Should all viola players practise the violin?
It's the ultimate heresy for some violists: the idea of practising the violin as well as the viola. James Boyd, tongue somewhat in cheek, insists that violists can and should practise both
-
Feature
Are dendrochronology reports useful in valuing an instrument?
Dealers and auction houses increasingly include dendrochronology reports along with high-value instruments, but how meaningful are they in verifying an attribution?
-
Feature
The birth of Elgar’s Cello Concerto
To mark the centenary of the completion and premiere of Elgar’s Cello Concerto, cellist Raphael Wallfisch reflects upon the period and circumstances surrounding the work’s creation and subsequent life