All Focus articles
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FocusBomsori: ‘The mentality at Juilliard was so different from what I was used to in Korea’
The South Korean violinist talks to Andrew Mellor about studying in the US and her experience so far of life as a professional soloist
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‘His interpretation has never been equalled here’ – violinist Joseph White’s 1875 New York debut
Cuban-born violinist Joseph White’s 1875 debut with the Philharmonic Society of New York was both a triumph and enormously significant – as the orchestra’s first performance with a soloist of African descent. Yavet Boyadjiev explores the event itself and the circumstances surrounding it
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Chevalier de Saint-Georges: violin virtuoso, composer, champion fencer and French revolutionary officer
This month we’re remembering musical groundbreakers, including violinist Joseph White , whose debut with the New York Philharmonic in 1875 made history as the first time a black soloist had appeared with that orchestra. Read about White’s historic debut in our June 2021 ...
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‘Practise difficult passages while standing on a rickety chair, or spinning around in circles’ – Evan Wilson
The former principal violist of the LA Philharmonic shares ideas to help you improve strength, endurance, flexibilty and control
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‘It doesn’t sound like three instruments but a hundred’ – Sitkovetsky Trio
For the Sitkovetsky Trio, the challenge of recording Ravel’s Piano Trio was combining three disparate solo voices to sound as one – but the reward was a performance far greater than the sum of its parts, the players tell Tom Stewart
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Musical groundbreakers: female luthiers and their experiences in the lutherie industry
In the past few years, women from all walks of life have been reporting incidents of sexist behaviour in their workplaces. Is a violin workshop any different? Femke Colborne discusses the question with a range of female luthiers
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Musical groundbreakers: Ševčík’s female pupils
At the beginning of the 20th century, a small number of female violinists became internationally renowned. Linking the members of this intrepid group was the famous Czech string teacher Otakar Ševčík, as Rosalind Ventris discovers
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‘If my cello could talk’ – by John-Henry Crawford
The American cellist shares the story of his cello - one linked with the history of his family, and their experience as Jews living in Austria during the Second World War
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Bomsori: Professional life is a lot harder than endless competitions
The South Korean violinist talks to Andrew Mellor about competitions and her experience so far of life as a professional solo violinist
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Satu Vӓnskӓ: Life Lessons
The Finnish principal violin of the Australian Chamber Orchestra discusses the importance of cultivating one’s curiosity and taking risks
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Sentimental Work: Carolin Widmann
For the German violinist, Schubert’s Fantasy in C major is a transcendental experience – and not just because of its myriad technical challenges
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What can musicians learn from working with dancers?
Pauline Harding attends workshops, talks to early music specialists and pioneering modern players, and discovers a whole new approach to interpreting classical music
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‘He turned to me, a mere 22-year-old student, and asked my opinion’ – Julian Lloyd Webber on Pierre Fournier
In celebration of his 70th birthday last month, British cellist Julian Lloyd Webber shares memories with Julian Haylock of some of the cellists who shaped him
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How I repaired a cello splattered with hand sanitiser
When a cello suffered a calamitous hand sanitiser accident, it looked irreparable at first sight. John Simmers explains how he restored it to the way it was pre-Covid
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The Inner Monsters responsible for performance nerves
In order to equip musicians for emotionally disconnecting from their negative thoughts, flautist Katie Frisco unpacks the three categories of Inner Monsters she characterises as being responsible for performance anxiety
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How should we articulate early music on modern instruments?
How to use Baroque bow techniques to build variety, lightness and flow into every phrase
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Easing back into performance post Covid-19
Berenice Beverley Zammit, Graduate Teaching Assistant for Music Performance Psychology at the Royal College of Music, gives guidance on getting back into practice after a year of lockdown
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How lockdown inspired me to compose for my own instrument
When the first lockdown hit in March 2020, composer-cellist Colin Alexander was finally inspired to write multi-layered solo music for his own instrument - something he had never tried before, as he explains here
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‘I think there’s a feeling that you expect out of an encore’ – Hilary Hahn
The violinist Hilary Hahn speaks to Charlotte Gardner about her encore choices
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Does criticising Vivaldi's abundant output miss the point?
Violinist Boris Begelman’s new recording represents a small fraction of the hundreds of violin concertos Vivaldi wrote during his lifetime – but people miss the point when they assume the composer’s prolific output equates to works of lesser quality, he tells Tom Stewart
