All Focus articles – Page 62
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FocusAsk the Experts: how effective are instrument case humidity gauges?
Four violin makers respond to a New Zealand musician’s query regarding the effectiveness (or otherwise) of humidity gauges built into instrument cases
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FocusFrom the archive: a c.1845 violin by Pressenda
Recent research shows that Giovanni Francesco Pressenda worked as a farmer before turning his hand to instrument making. In this article from the April 2005 issue, Alberto Giordano examines a late c.1845 violin
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FocusThe Strad Quiz: test your knowledge of all things strings
This week our questions take in The Carnival of the Animals, horse hair, a couple of very famous violins and more
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FocusSession report: Gabriel Schwabe on recording the Schumann Cello Concerto
Until recently, Schumann’s works failed to connect with German cellist Gabriel Schwabe. But the opportunity to record them opened up a whole avenue of possibilities
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FocusWhy is the thickness of the front and back of Stradivari's instruments so unpredictable?
Although there is no record of how the Cremonese makers finished their instruments, Dirk Jacob Hamoen argues that the final scraping was done after they had been strung up and played in the white
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FocusFrom the archive: kitchen stove-top experiments in Cremonese varnish
In the April 1938 issue, a hapless amateur maker relates his unfortunate experiences while attempting to find the ‘secret’ of Stradivari
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FocusChristian Tetzlaff on the personal resonances of Beethoven's seventh violin sonata
For the German violinist, op.30 no.2 evokes a cascade of memories as disparate as freshly baked cookies, Wild West writer Karl May, and a sense of security
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FocusDid Beethoven write idiomatically for the string quartet?
The Casals Quartet has embarked on a large-scale Beethoven cycle, both in the studio and on tour to celebrate its 20th anniversary. The players speak to Richard Wigmore about the demands of the repertoire, which in so many ways was ahead of its time
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FocusWin the Casals Quartet’s first Beethoven album
©Josep Molina The Casals Quartet will release the complete Beethoven string quartets on three albums for Harmonia Mundi in June 2018, spring 2019, and 2020. The first album, ‘Inventions’, features Quartets nos.1, 3, 4, 7, 12 and 16, and op.14 no.1. ‘The works are absolutely idiomatic,’ says ...
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FocusFrom the archive: a 1759 viola by Antonio Bagatella
In this article from the February 2015 issue of The Strad, Jens Stenz takes a close look at a short but broad 18th-century viola made in Padua
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FocusBollywood strings: how the violin became the signature sound of Hindi cinema
The sound of massed violins underpins the music in thousands of Indian films. Tim Woodall traces the instrument’s colourful history in Mumbai’s film industry
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FocusThe Strad Quiz: Concerto edition
Ten multiple-choice questions featuring concertos for string instruments
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FocusTechnique: Minna Rose Chung on double stopping and Tartini tones
Using ‘difference tones’ to perfect your intonation when tackling double stopping passagework
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FocusMy long-time musical soulmate Philip De Groote
Violinist Levon Chilingirian pays tribute to the cellist and supreme chamber musician who died last week at the age of 68
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FocusJan Vogler's 1707 ‘Fau, Castelbarco’ Stradivarius
In this extract from an article published in the August 2017 issue, Jan Vogler discusses how he first encountered the cello that is now his constant companion
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FocusWin a signed copy of Ray Chen's new CD
In the May 2018 issue of The Strad, Ray Chen talks about his feats, failures and the digital revolution that has turned him into a violinist of a new generation. ’I didn’t want to wait until I had an established career,’ he says. ‘I wanted to start ...
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FocusCarolin Widmann on teaching and why she is branching out into early music
German violinist Carolin Widmann is often described as a contemporary music specialist, but she has no desire to limit herself to one genre. Interview by Gavin Dixon
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FocusTwo ♭ or not two ♭ – on the Adagio from Bach's Violin Sonata no.1
Excessive reverence for Bach’s manuscript is leading violinists to make a mistake early in the first sonata, writes Hagai Shaham
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FocusJan Vogler on Bill Murray and their 'New Worlds' collaboration
Cellist Jan Vogler’s latest cross-arts collaboration has transported him into an exciting new realm. He talks to Pauline Harding about great American literature, music spanning three centuries, and a chance encounter that brought Hollywood star Bill Murray on to his stage
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FocusFrom the archive: a viola in the attic
In our October 2004 issue, Anthony Lane admires a recently discovered 1780 viola by William Forster, in pristine condition
