All Features articles – Page 13
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Premium ❘ FeatureBach 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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Premium ❘ FeatureBrodsky 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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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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Premium ❘ FeatureG.B Guadagnini’s 1773 ‘Cozio’ viola: The only constant is change
The commercial relationship between G.B. Guadagnini and Count Cozio di Salabue allowed the luthier greater freedom to experiment. Alberto Giordano and Barthelemy Garnier examine a 1773 viola to show how the 62-year-old maker continued to adopt new methods and ways of working in this period
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Premium ❘ FeatureSerbian string playing: Free spirits
The Serbian school of string playing, characterised by its startling originality, developed out of the Balkan nation’s chequered history and unique place in Europe in the 20th century, finds Jacqueline Vanasse
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Premium ❘ FeatureSession Report: Looking to the future
Tim Homfray speaks to members of the Navarra Quartet, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year and recently welcomed two new players, about recording chamber works by Edward Gregson
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Premium ❘ FeatureFluorescence: Reflected glories
Viewing instruments in different kinds of light has become standard in documentation and assessment. Leonhard Rank explains how, in addition to ultraviolet light, researchers can now use infrared, and even parts of the visible spectrum, to reveal even more secrets
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Premium ❘ FeatureAdult beginner cello: Never too late to learn
When Billy Tobenkin decided to learn the cello from scratch at 25, he ignited a lifelong passion. He shares what turned out to be a bumpy but ultimately deeply fulfilling journey
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Premium ❘ FeaturePavel Haas Quartet at 20: Coming home
The energetic and eloquent musicians of the Pavel Haas Quartet are celebrating 20 years of music making with a new recording of Brahms quintets joined by some old friends, as they tell Tom Stewart
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Premium ❘ FeatureBaroque Set-up: In a Land without Rules
With the growth in popularity of historically informed performance, more players are requesting Baroque-style instruments – but the process of converting an instrument is fraught with uncertainty. Sarah Peck presents an overview of the Baroque set-up process, and corrects some common misconceptions along the way
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Premium ❘ FeatureHistorically informed performance: Baroque revolution
Historically informed performance requires no secret code, argues Baroque violin professor Walter S. Reiter. The information is out there for the taking, and modern music colleges need to get ahead of the game
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Premium ❘ FeatureSession Report: A royal consort
Richard Boothby of Fretwork speaks to Robin Stowell about the ensemble’s recording of fantasias for viol consort by Thomas Lupo, the Italian who made a name for himself at Queen Elizabeth I’s court
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Premium ❘ FeaturePietro Castrucci: Resurrecting a Baroque maverick
When Gerald Elias unearthed music by the little-known London-based 18th‑century composer and virtuoso violinist Pietro Castrucci, he discovered a unique and independent musical voice
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Premium ❘ FeatureAugust Rau: The old-fashioned way
At a time when bow making in Germany was leaning towards industrialisation, August Rau kept up the tradition of independent craftsmanship. Gennady Filimonov tells the story of his long career and examines several examples of his work
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Premium ❘ FeaturePaul Makanowitzky: From prodigy to pedagogue
Swedish-born violinist Paul Makanowitzky ultimately helped create the American school of violin playing. David Hays explores his life and multifaceted career
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Premium ❘ FeatureViolin making in Seoul: Gangnam style
Over the past decade, a wide community of violin and bow makers has grown up in the Seocho district of Seoul. Luthier Hagit Gili Gluska speaks to colleagues young and old, both local and from overseas, who have made this area their home
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Premium ❘ FeatureViktoria Mullova: Her infinite variety
Violinist Viktoria Mullova talks to Toby Deller about her eclectic musical collaborations, mastering the art of improvisation, experimenting with technique, and her new Schubert recording with pianist Alasdair Beatson
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Premium ❘ FeaturePekka Kuusisto, a green violinist
Elegy for the Forest, Pekka Kuusisto’s short film made in collaboration with Greenpeace, aims to build awareness of deforestation. He speaks to Peter Quantrill about combining art and activism
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Premium ❘ FeatureJacob Stainer’s birth: A question of dates
For centuries, historians have tried to settle on a definitive birthdate for Tyrolean luthier Jacob Stainer. Heinz Noflatscher explains how we now have an upper limit for his birth year – and why researchers were foxed by the elegant handwriting of the master
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Premium ❘ FeatureCasey Driessen: Music in other lands
In 2019, American five-string fiddler Casey Driessen and his family took off around the world for nine months for his music-sharing project Otherlands: A Global Music Exploration. In a tantalising snapshot of his journey, often into the musical unknown, he recalls meeting and playing with some of the great regional ...
