All Features articles – Page 13
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Premium ❘ FeatureStrings and Piano: a sound balance
Producing a nuanced, well-balanced and blended combination of piano and strings can be a difficult performance feat to achieve. Pauline Harding talks to chamber musicians, soloists and teachers to discover some of their secrets
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Premium ❘ FeatureDavid Garrett: His own path
At the age of 40, German–American violinist David Garrett is a bona fide crossover star, in non-Covid times playing regularly to thousands at sold-out arena shows. But, as he tells Charlotte Smith, he has no intention of deserting his classical roots
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Premium ❘ FeatureLudwig Bausch: Gone… but not forgotten
Respected during his lifetime, Ludwig Bausch was almost unknown just a few years after his death – and his bows were considered unremarkable junk. Josef P. Gabriel reveals why the maker and his family were almost lost to history, and why his work deserves to be listed among the greats
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Premium ❘ FeatureSession Report: Shining a light
Polish virtuoso Janusz Wawrowski’s new arrangement of Ludomir Różycki’s Violin Concerto reveals a far more optimistic work than its wartime origins suggest, writes Harry White
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Premium ❘ FeatureIvry Gitlis: an individual voice
When Ivry Gitlis died on Christmas Eve last year at the age of 98 there was an outpouring of love and affection from the musical community. Tully Potter pays tribute to the great violinist’s life and career
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Premium ❘ FeatureAstor Piazzolla: a tango phenomenon
In celebration of the 100th anniversary of renowned tango composer Astor Piazzolla’s birth this month, Argentine violinists Rafael Gintoli and Gabriela Olcese pay tribute to him and offer basic guidance to violinists on how to interpret tango music
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Premium ❘ FeatureLutherie Dynasties: a family affair
In this globalised era, there are still many families that keep up their strong lutherie traditions, with parents passing on their secrets and skills to the next generation. Peter Somerford asks how such formative influences can affect their craft, for better or for worse
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Premium ❘ FeatureOrchestral Tricks: in plain sight
Gerald Elias has spent many years as a professional orchestral violinist – in the Boston SO and Utah Symphony – and has been music director of Salt Lake City’s Vivaldi by Candlelight chamber orchestra since 2004. Here he explores some of the universal challenges faced by orchestral string players which ...
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Premium ❘ FeatureSession Report: in good time
The Engegård Quartet’s third album of Mozart string quartets was all about timing – from allowing enough space between learning and recording the works, to faithfully honouring the composer’s tempo markings – as Andrew Mellor discovers
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Premium ❘ FeatureLutherie in China: the enterprise system
China has become a world leader in stringed instrument making, based on a system of bulk production combined with respect for craftsmanship. Sisi Ye speaks to the heads of manufacturing firms in Pinggu, Queshan and Huangqiao to learn more
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Premium ❘ FeatureFrancesca Dego: chance of a lifetime
For Italian violinist Francesca Dego, the opportunity to perform and record on Paganini’s ‘Il Cannone’ Guarneri ‘del Gesù’ of 1743 was a dream come true. She shares with Tom Stewart her experiences with the rarely accessed instrument – which came complete with security guards and its own dressing room
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Premium ❘ FeatureModigliani Quartet: the more the merrier
For the Modigliani Quartet, working with other artists has always been a priority – one that continues this year as the group turns its attention to Schubert. Charlotte Gardner speaks to the French foursome about their early development, working through Covid times and acting as artistic directors
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Premium ❘ FeatureDawn of Parisian splendour: Charles François Gand
A talented luthier and a shrewd businessman, Charles François Gand had a seismic effect on the Paris violin world despite his relatively small output. Florent Boyer presents an in-depth examination of several Gand instruments to show the development of his style
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Premium ❘ FeatureNikolaj Szeps-Znaider: parallel careers
Autumn 2020 was scheduled to be a big one for violinist and conductor Nikolaj Szeps-Znaider, with the start of his first music directorship in France and his conducting debut at the Royal Danish Opera. Did it go to plan? Very nearly, he tells Andrew Mellor
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Premium ❘ FeatureSession Report: clowning around
For violinist Patricia Kopatchinskaja a bout of tendonitis was the perfect opportunity to widen her musical perspective by taking on the title role in Schoenberg’s Pierrot lunaire, as she tells Toby Deller
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Premium ❘ FeatureBehind the Curve: the evolution of the bow
The evolution of the bow is inextricably tied up with the needs of the player, and the changing face of society. Paolo Sarri examines the development of the ‘ancient’ and ‘modern’ curves of the bow stick, dispelling a number of myths along the way
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Premium ❘ FeatureChevalier de Saint-Georges: the remarkable revolutionary
Too long overlooked, the extraordinary life of 18th-century violinist and composer the Chevalier de Saint-Georges has once more been celebrated over the past 25 years. Yet his compositions remain unfairly neglected, writes Kevin MacDonald
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Premium ❘ FeatureJean Guihen-Queyras: A journey through time
Recording Beethoven’s ‘Triple’ Concerto last June allowed French cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras to step back into near normality, among colleagues and friends. He tells Pauline Harding about recording at a social distance, the importance of musical ‘family’, and why working with living composers has helped him to find contemporary relevance in ...
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Premium ❘ FeatureGeorge Neikrug: Memories of a legend
Cellist George Neikrug, who died in 2019 at the age of 100, was a celebrated performer and orchestral principal. However, his skills as a pedagogue were second to none, writes University of Wisconsin-Whitewater professor Benjamin Whitcomb, who has gathered personal recollections
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Premium ❘ FeatureBasic Maintenance: Avoiding instrument carnage
Luthiers often see the same basic problems when repairing instruments – and most of them could be solved by some simple care and attention from the players themselves. Korinthia Klein presents a simple guide to violin maintenance, without encroaching on the experts’ territory