Featured Stories
-
Blogs‘Del Gesù’ Club brings together 17 Guarneri violins
Organised by David Garrett, the annual two-day event allows owners and players of Guarneri ‘del Gesù’ violins to play and examine each other’s instruments
-
Premium ❘ Feature50 years of the Takács Quartet
As the Takács Quartet celebrates its 50th birthday, its members talk to Pauline Harding about the ensemble’s legacy, the intangible ‘fifth spirit’ that has shaped its character even as its players have changed over the decades, and the importance of teaching and other projects and challenges
-
Premium ❘ FeatureRégis Pasquier: the complete violinist
Now nearing his ninth decade, the great French violinist Régis Pasquier has enjoyed a dazzlingly varied 65-year career taking in everything from core repertoire to contemporary music to jazz. He shares some of his memories over tea in Paris with Jessica Duchen
-
NewsRachel Barton Pine plays sonatas of Arcangelo Corelli
Rachel Barton Pine’s new album of Arcangelo Corelli’s Op. 5 violin sonatas, on which she is joined by period-instrument specialists David Schrader (keyboards), John Mark Rozendaal (cello) and Brandon Acker (guitar), reflects the experimental spirit of Corelli’s original scores.
-
BlogsJulia Hagen makes her Vienna Philharmonic debut at the Lucerne Festival
US correspondent Thomas May interviews cellist Julia Hagen, winner of the 2024 UBS Young Artist Award, on the eve of her breakthrough debut with the Vienna Philharmonic at the Lucerne Festival
-
Blogs‘One of my most loyal musical companions’: violinist Irène Duval on celebrating the music of Fauré
Ahead of the centenary anniversary of Gabriel Fauré’s death and the release of her new album Fauré and Friends, Irène Duval writes on what the great composer’s music means to her and dives into his lesser known second violin sonata in E minor Op.108
-
Premium ❘ Feature‘He has brushed aside all the absurd habits’- From the archive: September 1934
Violinist and conductor Henri Temianka gives some thoughts on the teaching style of his former tutor Carl Flesch, on the occasion of the latter’s 60th birthday
-
Premium ❘ FocusSentimental Work: Raphaël Merlin on Charles Mingus’s Goodbye Pork Pie Hat
The Charles Mingus jazz standard Goodbye Pork Pie Hat has become the cellist’s own farewell to the Ébène Quartet after more than two decades performing together
-
BlogsWhat can string players learn from tennis players?
Strength of mentality, discipline, adaptability and an understanding of the basics are all skills that cross between the fields of tennis and string playing, writes cellist and tennis enthusiast Davina Shum
-
BlogsHow to adapt the Suzuki Method for adult learners - violinist Meghan Faw
Using the method while teaching adults requires a different approach from teaching children, writes the Suzuki-trained violin teacher
-
BlogsHow I found my violin (or rather, how my violin found me) - Lois de Cruz
Lois de Cruz shares how buying a £150 violin led to a musical journey that has helped her through a time of need and grief
-
BlogsChromatica: the birth of a new orchestra
Violinist Maren Bosma, concertmaster and associate artistic director of the brand new orchestra Chromatica, writes about the journey of setting up an ensemble from scratch
-
BlogsJoshua Bell and Steven Isserlis on their passion for Mendelssohn
US correspondent Thomas May interviews violinist Joshua Bell and cellist Steven Isserlis on their new album of Mendelssohn’s piano trios, which they recorded together with their longtime colleague, pianist Jeremy Denk, for Sony Classical
-
BlogsThrough the Stargate: a deep dive into Bach’s B minor Partita
Max Baillie shares the inspiration behind a programme centred on Bach’s lesser known and performed Partita, exploring the work’s multi-layered celestial writing via a team of improvisers and collaborators
-
Premium ❘ Focus‘Get to the core of why you want to share music’ - Daniel Müller-Schott’s life lessons
The German cellist reminisces on his soloistic journey and finding purpose
-
Premium ❘ FocusOpinion: What makes a good stand partner?
It takes much more than turning up on time and playing the right notes to be a reliable stand partner, says violinist Alexandra Gorski. There are many essential rules to be followed
-
Blogs‘Teaching, touring and technology’: the Curtis Institute’s Dover Quartet on the future of string playing
Thomas May visited the US’s pre-eminent conservatoire of music, the Curtis Institute in Philadelphia, as part of the school’s 100th anniversary celebrations. While there, he spoke to the Dover Quartet’s cellist, Camden Shaw, about what being part of Curtis’s faculty means to him and to his colleagues, and to the ...
-
BlogsUncovering her own interpretations: the latest from violinist Coco Tomita
The young violinist updates The Strad on her career since the pandemic, as the release of her latest album Echoes approaches
-
FocusSentimental work: Jennifer Stumm on Rebecca Clarke’s Viola Sonata
For the American violist, this 1919 work brings back memories of early successes and the inspirational teacher who introduced it to her
-
Blogs‘I think of strings with a vocal quality’: Anna Clyne on SHORTHAND
The composer shares her insights on writing for strings on her new album, which features a star-studded line up including Yo-Yo Ma, The Knights, Colin Jacobsen and Pekka Kuusisto