Featured Stories – Page 4
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Premium ❘ FeatureTales of bassist Domenico Dragonetti - From the archive: March 1906
To mark the 60th anniversary of the death of Domenico Dragonetti, The Strad recalls some incidents from the legendary Italian bassist’s life
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Premium ❘ FocusSentimental Work: Mihaela Martin on the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto
For the Romanian violinist and pedagogue, learning the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto in E minor was a formative experience, and one that all students should have the chance to enjoy
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BlogsThe final 21 days: structuring psychological preparation before high-stakes performance
While it’s tempting to practise more in the lead up to an important event, it can actually do more harm than good! Instead, cellist Joanna Latała shares a 21-day framework for mental preparation that supports technical execution as well as artistic presence
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Blogs‘Nearly dying has a brutal way of clarifying what actually matters in music’ - Jacob Shaw on his cancer journey
Four years on from his stage 4 cancer diagnosis, Jacob Shaw, professor of cello at the Royal Northern College of Music, reflects on what the experience forced him to prioritise and the realities of returning to performing in an industry that forgets quickly. The journey is recounted in the upcoming ...
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VideoCellist John-Henry Crawford performs Ravel’s ‘Pavane pour une infante défunte’
In celebration of the composer’s birthday, the cellist gives a multi-tracked performance of the work
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BlogsCharting women’s voices across the centuries: the Brompton Quartet releases ‘Constellations’
Spanning composers from Hildegard von Bingen to Jessie Montgomery, the Brompton Quartet’s debut album explores how women’s voices resonate across nearly one thousand years of music making
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BlogsViolinist Daniel Lozakovich: lost to the world, led by the heart
Daniel Lozakovich speaks to The Strad about his new album Lost to the World, which comprises a deeply personal programme inspired by early memories, poetic masterpieces and a decade-long musical partnership with pianist Hélène Mercier
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Premium ❘ Focus‘The spirit of debate is extremely important in a quartet’ - Edward Dusinberre’s life lessons
The British violinist on developing your own voice and putting things in perspective
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Premium ❘ FeatureSession Report: the Neave Trio on recording Chaminade, Pejačević, and Clara Schumann
The musicians of the US-based Neave Trio speak to Hattie Butterworth about their latest recording, which champions the varied music of three female composers
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Blogs‘Chamber music at its finest is an act of generosity’: Daniel Hope on shaping Wolf Trap
This season brings a new vantage point for Daniel Hope: guiding Wolf Trap’s Chamber Music at The Barns as artistic advisor before taking the stage himself, and navigating the growing intersection of performance and artistic direction
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BlogsForm Revealed: Bruch’s Violin Concerto and the Discipline of Fire
Jiro Takahashi reflects on Bruch’s Violin Concerto no.1, following a performance by 14-year-old violinist Himari with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and conductor Jaap van Zweden on 15 February
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Blogs‘Let’s Clarice it up!’: The Takács on Assad’s new commission
Violinist Harumi Rhodes on the Takács Quartet’s touring commission, NEXUS, which receives its New York premiere at Carnegie Hall on 4 March.
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BlogsOscar Strasnoy: reinventing the double concerto
Prompted by Jean-Guihen Queyras and Alexandre Tharaud and guided by a revelation from Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante, the composer charts the evolution of a five‑movement work where orchestra and soloists blur, collide and ultimately redefine each other
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Premium ❘ FeatureHarness your superpower: self-efficacy for adult learners
Cellist and teacher Billy Tobenkin reveals how adult learners of stringed instruments can improve their sense of self‑efficacy, thus helping themselves to achieve their goals
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Premium ❘ FocusOpinion: why string players should pay attention to large muscle groups
Fleet fingers may be the ultimate goal for string players, but it’s the larger muscle groups that form the foundations of solid technique, says cellist Davina Shum
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Premium ❘ ArticleAnalysis March 2026: Persistent issues with secondary ticketing
As secondary ticketing websites continue to rake in vast profits, a group of affected parties are calling on the EU to take action at long last
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BlogsIn my studio: multi-instrumentalist, composer and producer Anna Phoebe
From a bespoke violin to an array of electric instruments, pedals and recording gear, this studio offers a detailed look at the equipment behind Anna Phoebe’s composing, practising and producing routines
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BlogsThe road to a world premiere: notes from a composer and duo
What do the first stages of a new work feel like to a composer and the performers? Ahead of its world premiere on 2 March in Hamburg’s Elbphilharmonie, violinist Hellen Weiss, cellist Gabriel Schwabe and composer David Philip Hefti share their experiences behind the scenes of Aus Licht gewoben (‘Woven ...
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BlogsWhy practice doesn’t prepare musicians for performance
Violinist and educator Maggie Watson explores why performance feels so different from the practice room, revealing how perception, the nervous system and psychological skills shape what really happens under pressure, and how musicians can train for the stage as deliberately as they train their technique
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Premium ❘ FeatureNemanja Radulović: music in the moment
Charismatic Serbian violinist Nemanja Radulović chats to Charlotte Gardner about the importance of artistic freedom and musical friendships, and recording his latest album of music by Prokofiev
