All Features articles – Page 4
-
Premium ❘ Feature
Violinist Rachel Podger: Music from every angle
The celebrated British violinist and Baroque and Classical specialist Rachel Podger chats with Tom Stewart about her new guest director role, her approach to teaching Baroque playing and striving to create an exciting musical experience for her audiences
-
Premium ❘ Feature
Raising the bar: Bass-bar experiments
Joseph Curtin reports on a series of experiments at the 2023 Oberlin Acoustics Workshop, which attempted to ascertain the acoustic effects of altering the height and scoop of the violin’s bass-bar
-
Premium ❘ Feature
Violinist Samuel Grimson: a life of triumph and tragedy
British violin virtuoso Samuel Grimson had his playing career cut short by a wartime accident in 1918, but he went on to co-author a groundbreaking book that paved the way for modern violin teaching. Clifford Hall explores his life
-
Premium ❘ Feature
Serge Koussevitzky: 150 years of the double bass virtuoso and conductor
July 2024 marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of Serge Koussevitzky – the Russian-born double bass virtuoso turned music director, educator and mentor. Fellow double bassist and conductor Leon Bosch examines his hugely influential life
-
Premium ❘ Feature
Violinist Daniel Rowland reflects on his career
Dutch–British violinist Daniel Rowland has had multiple strands to his career – among them soloist, concertmaster, festival director and quartet leader. He speaks with David Kettle about trusting himself to make meaningful connections and go with the flow
-
Premium ❘ Feature
Remembering Ida Haendel: Grande dame of the violin
Following Ida Haendel’s death at the age of 96 in July 2020, Tully Potter surveys the career of an exceptional performer and a remarkable woman. From September 2020
-
Premium ❘ Feature
Session Report: the Takács Quartet on re-recording Schubert
For the Takács Quartet, re-recording two of Schubert’s string quartets, albeit with a new line-up, has been an eye-opening experience, as first violinist Edward Dusinberre and violist Richard O’Neill tell Charlotte Gardner
-
Premium ❘ Feature
A closer look: Examining the ‘Salabue, Martzy’ violin
The Strad’s lutherie consultant Philip Ihle put together this month’s poster of the ‘Salabue, Martzy’. Here he points out several extra details to help luthiers make an exact copy of the instrument
-
Premium ❘ Feature
Resplendent harmony: Carlo Bergonzi ‘Salabue, Martzy’ violin 1733
The 1733 ‘Salabue, Martzy’ is one of the finest instruments by Carlo Bergonzi in existence. Jason Price examines the violin and looks at its travels over the past 300 years
-
Premium ❘ Feature
Bridging the decades: Bridges from the archive
Instrument bridges have become pretty much standardised in the modern era, but in days of yore they came under as much scrutiny as strings, mutes and chin rests. These advertisements taken from the first half of The Strad ’s history testify to their designers’ ingenuity
-
Premium ❘ Feature
The Henschel Quartet: ‘Music will never let you down’
The Henschel Quartet celebrates its 30th anniversary this season. Co-founder and violist Monika Henschel-Schwind speaks to Andrew Stewart about the group’s longevity, and looks forward to the premiere of Freda Swain’s neglected ‘Norfolk’ String Quartet at Aldeburgh this summer
-
Premium ❘ Feature
Three’s company: the rise of piano trios
Are piano trios having a sudden renaissance? Charlotte Gardner hears from industry professionals and from musicians who relish the repertoire offered by this flexible but underrated chamber grouping
-
Premium ❘ Feature
The luthier's guide to good customer relationships
As a general rule, luthiers tend to be better at making instruments than making friends. Violin maker Korinthia A. Klein gives some hints and tips on good customer relations – both for the people entering the workshop and for those running it
-
Premium ❘ Feature
Session Report: the Miró Quartet on recording new album ‘Home’
Their latest recording gathers new music and 20th-century works by US composers, but the Miró Quartet musicians are always mindful of melodic accessibility. Harry White hears from cellist Joshua Gindele about the group’s commissioning process and recording the album
-
Premium ❘ Feature
Taking acoustic measurements from internal vibrations
Normally, acoustic measurements are taken from outside the instrument – but the internal vibrations can reveal even more. Colin Gough presents a method for listening inside the soundbox and demonstrates what it can tell us about the sound
-
Premium ❘ Feature
Cellist Laura van der Heijden: new ways of thinking
Although British cellist Laura van der Heijden is well versed in live performance and studio recording, she is still discovering new facets of her musical personality, as Toby Deller finds out
-
Premium ❘ Feature
Decorating a bow frog: let the flowers bloom
A very specialist part of the bow maker’s craft is the addition of decorative inlay into a bow frog. Vladimiros Sorokin-Andreou presents his method for this intricate and delicate part of the process
-
Premium ❘ Feature
Geminiani’s scales: a portal to the past
Geminiani’s scale exercises in his seminal 1751 treatise The Art of Playing on the Violin may look puzzlingly random to modern eyes, but violinist Benjamin Shute argues that they can reveal useful insights into the thinking behind performance practice of the time
-
Premium ❘ Feature
A mystery unveiled: the makers of Ferrara
While scholars have scrutinised the making traditions of various Italian cities, the luthiers of Ferrara have been largely neglected – until now. Florian Leonhard presents the results of recent archival research into Alessandro Mezzadri and the Marconcini family, along with notes on their making styles
-
Premium ❘ Feature
Creation and evolution: Manchester Collective
Manchester Collective is an ensemble that doesn’t shy away from either transporting its listeners to unexpected places, or embracing change within its own identity. Members including co‑founder and violinist Rakhi Singh talk to David Kettle about the group’s unique philosophy