Featured Stories – Page 120
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Premium ❘ FeatureSentimental Work: Barry Guy
The British double bassist recalls his first encounters with Iannis Xenakis’s solo work Theraps – including some frank exchanges with the composer himself
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VideoSheku Kanneh-Mason plays Mendelssohn Sonata for Cello and Piano
This was part of the Verbier Festival 2019 concert in which the cellist Sheku Kanneh-Mason and pianist George Li performed works by Beethoven, Debussy, Mendelssohn, and Lutosławski. To watch the full concert click here.
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FeaturePlaying fit for a queen: Postcard from Brussels
This year’s Queen Elisabeth Competition in Belgium was devoted to the violin, and showcased a set of distinct and accomplished performances by the twelve finalists, as Tim Homfray reports
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FeatureHow to shift smoothly and cleanly by cellist Jeffrey Solow
When it comes to shifting, the American cellist and Boyer College professor gets his inspiration from the physics of ball games in this 2007 article
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VideoPortrait of Anne Akiko Meyers aged 12 in 1983
‘When Anne was born we used to play Beethoven’s Violin Concerto when we fed her so that she would naturally love music,’ says Anne Akiko Meyers’s mother in this profile of the violinist from 1983. Includes footage of the pedagogue Alice Schoenfeld who died in May this year. Read: ...
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FeatureAnton Lukoszevieze: Life Lessons
The British cellist, composer and founder of new music group Apartment House on John Cage and how visual art helped to open his mind
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FocusLisa Jacobs’s top 5 practice tips
To tie in with the release of her Nielsen CD, the Dutch violinist shares her insight into getting the most out of your practice
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Premium ❘ FeatureHow to be a successful busker
Summer provides the richest time for musicians to make money from impromptu outdoor performance. Experienced buskers tell David Kettle how they go about it, and why the rewards can be greater than you might expect
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BlogsAaron Rosand: 5 ways good posture will improve your playing
Good standing and sitting positions, and avoiding using a shoulder rest, are all important for optimum performance, wrote the American virtuoso in 2014
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BlogsBaroque music was invented in Italy – and spread like wildfire
Violinist Johannes Pramsohler writes about the latest two albums from Ensemble Diderot, dedicated to the Italian influence on music in Paris and London
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Premium ❘ FeaturePassing the Torch
Expert encouragement in their early years helped turn the Belcea Quartet into one of today’s most formidable chamber ensembles. Twenty-five years after they started out, they talk to Tom Stewart about passing on their experience to the next generation – as well as continuing to gain knowledge themselves
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Premium ❘ FeatureHistory is now
Growing numbers of young musicians are incorporating elements of historically informed performance into their playing. Charlotte Gardner investigates the reasons behind this phenomenon, explores the options for aspiring period artists and receives advice from both fledgling and long-standing practitioners
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Premium ❘ FeatureSession Report: Christian Tetzlaff on Beethoven’s Violin Concerto
At the end of last year violinist Christian Tetzlaff made his second official recording of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto in two live performances, resulting in an interpretation much more in keeping with his own personal understanding of the work
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Premium ❘ FeatureFrom the Archive: October 1959
Violin teacher Noel Hale introduces Kató Havas’s New Approach to the world. This article prompted a huge correspondence in The Strad, reproduced in Havas’s 1968 autobiography
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Premium ❘ FeatureLeonidas Kavakos: Social Harmony
Violinist Leonidas Kavakos this year presented his eighth Musical Horizons Conservatory masterclass series. Toby Deller attended the three-day event in Athens, during which Kavakos proved himself to be not only an intelligent and dedicated teacher, but also an advocate of social cohesion and personal responsibility through music
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FeatureThe human touch: Postcard from Sendai
No first prize was awarded in the violin section of this year’s Sendai International Music Competition, yet the Japanese contest showcased some sensitive and interesting performances, writes Chloe Cutts
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BlogsIstván Várdai on winning competitions and beyond
Having picked up prizes early in his career, and more recently served as a jury member, the cellist offers some advice for those preparing to join the competition circuit
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FeatureThe Strad guide to the best handmade electric violins
For maximum thrills, it’s hard to beat an electric violin at full throttle. There are many factory models, but here Christian Garrick test-drives some of the most innovative handmade instruments available today
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BlogsRachel Barton Pine: 10 tips for practice and performance
The Strad attended a masterclass with the American violinist in 2015 and took down these practical pointers
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FeatureBlaze of glory: Postcard from Montreal
At the Montreal International Musical Competition, Tom Stewart heard a winning performance full of fire among a seriously impressive field of contestants
