All Focus articles – Page 37
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FocusA blank slate: recording Bach’s Cello Suites on viola
In this extract from January 1999, Simon Rowland-Jones shares the challenges encountered when recording Bach’s Cello Suites on viola
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FocusDid Bach dance? Stylised dance in his Solo Violin Partitas
Following his analysis of Bach’s solo violin sonatas in the July issue, Lewis Kaplan discusses the elements of dance found in the solo violin partitas
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FocusThe Strad Podcast Episode #4: Francesca Dego on playing ‘Il Cannone’
Violinist Francesca Dego speaks about her unique opportunity to play and record on Paganini’s violin: the Guarneri ’del Gesù’ ’Il Cannone’
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Focus‘We aren’t going back to how it was’ - Esther Yoo on being a musician during the pandemic
In this extract from the August 2021 issue, Esther Yoo shares her experience of the sudden silence brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic and how her positive attitude helped her through dark times
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FocusFinding character in Bach’s Sonata no.1 in G minor BWV1001
In this extract from the July 2021 issue, Lewis Kaplan, senior member of the Juilliard School faculty discusses harmony, character and ornamentation in Bach’s first solo violin sonata
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FocusViolin making at Beijing’s Central Conservatory of Music
In this excerpt from the July 2021 issue, Sisi Ye examines a violin making programme in Beijing
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FocusThe Strad Podcast Episode #3: Benjamin Baker on performing solo Bach
Violinist Benjamin Baker speaks about performing all six sonatas and partitas by Bach, as well as how playing solo Bach can inform his playing of contemporary works, and vice versa.
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FocusTalking heads: 'Bergonzi definitely did not mean to make Stradivaris'
In this extract from the July 2021 issue, Andrea Zanrè examines Carlo Bergonzi’s unique head craftmanship
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Focus‘A time of gathering clouds’ - Marius May’s early departure from the spotlight
In this extract from the July 2021 issue, Simon May tells the story of his brother Marius May’s withdrawal from performing life, following the cellist’s immense blossoming as a teenage musical talent
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FocusPlayfulness, humour and religion: character in Bach’s solo violin sonatas
In this extract from the July 2021 issue, Lewis Kaplan, senior member of the Juilliard School faculty, introduces his discussion of character and interpretation of Bach’s three sonatas for solo violin
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FocusYehudi Menuhin's marked-up copy of Bach's Solo Violin Sonata no.2
Have a small peek into the workings of Menuhin's interpretation. Taken from The Strad's May 2016 issue.
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FocusViolin making at Xinghai Conservatory of Music
In this extract from the July issue, Sisi Ye examines one violin making school in China teaching the art of lutherie to young people
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Focus‘The way I like to work is not to spend three hours banging my head against a wall’
Violist Timothy Ridout reflects on his ideal working conditions surrounding his new recording of arrangements of Schumann and Prokofiev, as well as how he mimics word-settings on his instrument
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FocusThe Strad Podcast Episode #2: Maja Bugge’s five tips for teaching improvisation
Cellist Maja Bugge shares some helpful ways to incorporate and explore improvisation in lessons
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Focus‘I Got Rhythm’: using ‘rhythm changes’ to explore improvisation on the double bass
In this excerpt from the April 2011 issue, bassist John Goldsby writes about using the harmonic structure of Gershwin’s classic song as a basis for new jazz melodies and improvisations
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FocusVilla-Lobos and the cello: an early start
In this extract from the July 2021 issue, Felipe Avellar de Aquino writes about Heitor Villa-Lobos’s early leanings towards the cello which sparked his extensive output for the instrument
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Focus5 tips from Max Grosch for improving jazz rhythm
The jazz musician shares his wisdom on ways to improve our jazz rhythm and internal sense of pulse
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Focus’I remember one festival promoter describing him to me as being “tough as old boots” – Julian Lloyd Webber on Marius May
Marius May, who died last year, led the generation of British cellists that emerged after Jacqueline du Pré. Here, cellist Julian Lloyd Webber remembers him
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FocusHow can I play jazz bowings on the violin?
Do you sound uninspired when you try alternative styles? How should you interpret the printed notes? Julie Lyonn Lieberman reads between the lines to bring life to your right hand
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FocusThe Strad Podcast Episode #1: Lisa Batiashvili on the Sibelius Violin Concerto
Lisa Batiashvili shares her insights on the piece, as well as advice to violinists learning the work
