All Focus articles – Page 57
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FocusHow do you go about making your first recording?
From capturing the attention of a suitable label to choosing appropriate repertoire, making your first album isn’t easy. Charlotte Gardner talks to those in the know about how to get it right.
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FocusThe secrets of the Brescian lutherie tradition
While the Cremonese making tradition has been well documented, that of neighbouring Brescia has remained mysterious. Evan Davenport examines the available evidence for clues to the working methods of the region
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FocusPostcard from Verbier Festival
Peter Quantrill reports from the 25th anniversary of the Verbier Festival, where a wealth of A-list musicians rubbed shoulders with enthusiastic younger players from the Festival Academy and Orchestra
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FocusIn focus: a 1927 'Stroh' violin by Buffa Baretti
In this article from the January 2012 issue of The Strad, Christopher Germain examines the history and construction of an unusual horn violin made in Trieste
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FocusIn focus: an 1800 viola by Giovanni Gagliano
Carlo Chiesa takes a look at a viola which makes up in warm and powerful sound what it may lack in luxury materials [click ‘+’ to zoom]
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FocusDo string players who refuse to embrace popular music face extinction?
String players must embrace the vernacular of today’s popular music or risk being consigned to a bygone era, writes electric violinist Tracy Silverman
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FocusHow do you copy a Kittel?
Nikolai Kittel remains one of the most enigmatic bow makers, so when the assembled talents at this year’s Oberlin workshop set about making copies, they uncovered a host of interesting points, as Robert Ray explains
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FocusHilary Hahn on recording a second instalment of solo Bach – 20 years after the first
The violinist recorded her first disc of Bach when she was a teenager. Now, two decades on, she returns to complete the set. Pauline Harding talks to her about constancy and change, and new meanings given to music through experience and memory
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Focus10 ways to avoid tension in your playing
Advice on how to be flexible and relaxed as a string player from 120 years of The Strad
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FocusPostcard from Yerevan: the Khachaturian International Competition
Cellists from around the world descended on the Armenian capital in June for the Khachaturian International Competition. Tom Stewart reports from its thought-provoking final round
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FocusPiecing together the history of the
'Mara' Stradivari celloIts fate was almost to be consigned to the murky depths of an Uruguayan river but it continues to delight and inspire audiences of the present day. Alessandra Barabaschi delves into the dramatic life of the ‘Mara’ Strad
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FocusThe gift of studying with Josef Gingold
Josef Gingold was as big-hearted a teacher as he was a violinist according to his former student Gwen Thompson-Robinow
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FocusHow Eugène Sartory became France's most important bow maker
Isaac Salchow and Stephan Jansen explore what Eugène Sartory’s hidden treasures tell us about the evolution of his style
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FocusFunctional Fingering
An article on ways to move around the fingerboard without upsetting your musical flow by Leo Phillips
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FocusIn focus: A 1791 Aegidius Klotz violin
John Dilworth explores an instrument that showcases the finest achievements of the Mittenwald school [click ‘+’ to zoom]
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FocusRenaud Capuçon, Leila Josefowicz and Carolin Widmann on 21st-century concertos
The combination of violin and orchestra has in recent years inspired a proliferation of diverse new works. Here three top soloists discuss giving their premieres
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FocusHow do you get into a conservatoire?
Mark Messenger, head of strings at the Royal College of Music, reveals what conservatoire audition panels are looking for
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FocusPostcard from Dresden Music Festival
Jan Vogler’s Dresden Music Festival this year included Cellomania, a celebration of the cello, in which great artists of all generations shared the stage. Tim Homfray reports on a wealth of outstanding performances
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FocusIn focus: an 1868 Amati copy by Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume
David Bonsey examines a study in unsurpassed elegance and technical mastery from the most successful maker and dealer of the 19th century [click ‘+’ to zoom]
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Focus'My father hated competitions': David Stern at the Shanghai Isaac Stern Competition
David Stern, joint chair of the Shanghai Isaac Stern International Violin Competition – currently in its final round – tells The Strad about protecting his father’s legacy and enforcing ‘radical clarity’ on the jury
