All Featured Stories articles – Page 129
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Video'Playing', a short film from St Mary's Music School, Edinburgh
Violinist Nicola Benedetti and cellist Steven Isserlis feature in this new short film showing them tutoring pupils from Scotland’s national music school, St Mary’s in Edinburgh. The teenage pupils on the brink of leaving the school are violinist Sophie Williams and cellist Hugh MacKay.
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FocusIndependence and flexibility in the left-hand thumb
The first in a two-part article on techniques and tricks to loosen your hands and free up your instrument hold by Gwen Thompson-Robinow
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FocusIt’s so important for Prokofiev's concerto not to become just a showpiece for the soloist
Prokofiev’s First Violin Concerto provides myriad possibilities for interpretation – and Pekka Kuusisto takes inspiration from dreams, diamonds, the Beach Boys and Romeo and Juliet to find them. From the June 2018 issue
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FocusGeared pegs: why isn't everyone using them?
Geared pegs have their advocates and detractors but, as Tom Stewart finds out, the innovation has benefits for a broad range of players, from young students to seasoned professionals
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ArticleA cello quartet with one cello
Four members of the Wiener Cello Ensemble 5+1 perform Ravel's Bolero on a single instrument to great comic effect. Watch: Music teacher loses temper with violinist – with destructive results
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FocusSentimental work: Lynn Harrell on Bloch's Schelomo
For the US cellist, the singing qualities and narrative drive of Bloch’s Schelomo bring evocative memories and spiritual uplift. From the January 2017 issue
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FocusDid Beethoven write idiomatically for the string quartet?
The Casals Quartet has embarked on a large-scale Beethoven cycle, both in the studio and on tour to celebrate its 20th anniversary. The players speak to Richard Wigmore about the demands of the repertoire, which in so many ways was ahead of its time
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FocusTechnique: Minna Rose Chung on double stopping and Tartini tones
Using ‘difference tones’ to perfect your intonation when tackling double stopping passagework
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FocusTwo ♭ or not two ♭ – on the Adagio from Bach's Violin Sonata no.1
Excessive reverence for Bach’s manuscript is leading violinists to make a mistake early in the first sonata, writes Hagai Shaham
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DebateWith vibrato the question isn't just about more or less, but also about variety of sound
It is a wonderfully expressive tool when used sensitively, but soloists especially should take greater advantage of the various vibrato possibilities, writes violist Hartmut Rohde
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DebateIs playing the viola a different art from playing the violin?
Not so, according to Philip Dukes, who argues that the technical requirements of the instruments overlap considerably and players benefit from studying both
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BlogsIf 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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Premium ❘ FeatureMasterclass: Julian Rachlin on Brahms’s Viola Sonata in F minor
The Lithuanian-born violinist and violist discusses technical preparation, character and colour in the first and second movements of op.120 no.1
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FocusLisa Batiashvili: My Most Memorable Musical Experience
The Georgian violinist recalls memories of a pop superstar and clicking with a superstar conductor and orchestra
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FocusYou can only diversify the audience by having a diverse group of people on stage
Half a century since the New York Phil hired its first black musician, the percentage of black and Latino players in US orchestras remains woefully low. But some organisations are taking action towards inclusivity
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Blogs9 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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FocusTechnique: Two-octave scales and arpeggios
An essential way to improve tone and intonation by Michael Frischenschlager, professor emeritus of violin at the University of Music and Performing Arts, Vienna
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FocusMasterclass: Christian Tetzlaff on Beethoven’s Violin Concerto – first movement
How to bring out the mystery and joy of one of classical music’s longest opening movements
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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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FocusBuilding a string sound from scratch at the Estonian Festival Orchestra
In the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, Claudio Abbado established an ensemble with its own sound character in just a few years. How can an orchestra, and its signature string section, form a distinctive sound in such little time? Paavo Järvi’s orchestra project at the Pärnu Music Festival in Estonia offers some ...
