Featured Stories
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Premium ❘ FeatureSession Report: Second Viennese journey
Sara Wolstenholme and Christopher Murray, both of the Heath Quartet, talk to Toby Deller about their pre-pandemic recording of intense Second Viennese School quartets – music from another time and place, in more ways than one
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Bach Cello Suites: What do we really know about Bach’s Cello Suites?
Bach’s sublime Six Suites for solo cello are possibly the most frequently published works in western music history, yet their source editions are shrouded in mystery. Cellist and writer Jeffrey Solow puts forward an intriguing new theory as to their origins
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Lost arts of string playing: Unlocking the secrets of the past
Did the great string players of old know something that we didn’t? Some of today’s virtuosos reveal to Charlotte Gardner the various technical and musical tools of the trade that are in danger of being lost in the current pursuit of perfection
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Brodsky Quartet at 50: Life is an adventure
The Brodsky Quartet is celebrating 50 years of pioneering music making that spans genres from Beethoven to Björk and beyond. Amanda Holloway catches up with the four musicians during their anniversary tour
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Hsin-Yun Huang: Life Lessons
The Taiwanese violist on what she learnt from her early years, and her move to the UK’s Yehudi Menuhin School
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‘I recall lessons with teachers texting on the phone while I was playing’: Letters to the editor July 2022
A selection of letters The Strad receives each month from its readers around the world: July 2022 issue
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Sentimental Work: Kenneth Sillito
Performing Benjamin Britten’s 1931 String Quartet in D major for the composer was an eye-opening experience for the former leader of the Gabrieli Quartet
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‘Dvorak was a brilliant specimen of a bad conductor’: From the archive: July 1932
The great cellist and pedagogue Carl Fuchs (1865–1951) recalls some of the great players and composers seen during his time in Manchester – including the original Brodsky Quartet
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Opinion: Playing by numbers
In theory, it is possible for a student to gain their ABRSM Grade 8 having only learnt 24 pieces in their life. Davina Shum argues that such a quantified approach to learning is no way to become a rounded musician
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Music by the sea: Postcard from Cornwall
The annual series of masterclasses held in the spectacular setting of Cornwall’s Prussia Cove celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. Rita Fernandes explores its welcoming and nurturing atmosphere
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Blogs
The Danish Quartet: ’Our string quartet is the pot into which we can each pour our personal dreams and ideas’
Violist of the Danish Quartet Asbjørn Nørgaard shares the ensemble’s need to further explore string quartet repertoire through its Prism project
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Focus
10 essential pieces for string orchestra
As Endellion Quartet violinist Andrew Watkinson prepares to lead the Guildhall String Ensemble, he tells us his favourite works for strings – and we put them in a convenient playlist. From 2019
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Blogs
Violinist Fedor Rudin on performing and directing post-Classical concertos from the violin
How does one conduct violin concertos by Prokofiev, Brahms, Tchaikovsky and Khachaturian - and play the solo part as well? French-Russian violinist Fedor Rudin shares his approach
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Blogs
‘Full of golden sounds’: Andrew Bernardi’s top 5 string pieces from Sussex
The violinist and founder of the Bernardi Music Group shares his favourite pieces that have originated or taken inspiration from the English counties of Sussex
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Focus
The harmonious string quartet - a balance of four personality types
No one said that living in a quartet was easy - but the most successful groups develop a unique identity that survives vitriolic relationships and even personnel changes, writes Paul Robertson. From 2005
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Blogs
‘Paganini’s Caprices can actually be fun!’: Violinist Fenella Humphreys
The violinist illustrates her love of Paganini’s 24th Caprice with why she commissioned twelve composers to write a new variation on the theme
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Opinion: The power of imagination
To enhance a pupil’s learning, it is useful to build a list of words and catchphrases that conjure images relating to different techniques. Jeffrey Howard introduces his own ‘violin vocabulary’
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Focus
‘Don’t take yourself too seriously, but take what you do seriously’: Johannes Moser answers your questions
Cellist Johannes Moser shares his expertise on performance, life as a busy musician, plus his favourite concert to date
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Blogs
Crash course: are there benefits when things go wrong in a competition?
There was drama at the inaugural Carl Nielsen International Chamber Music Competition this week, in everything but the string result, writes Andrew Mellor. From 2015
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Focus
The Inner Monsters responsible for performance nerves
In order to equip musicians for emotionally disconnecting from their negative thoughts, flautist Katie Frisco unpacks the three categories of Inner Monsters she characterises as being responsible for performance anxiety
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