All Focus articles – Page 22
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FocusYo-Yo Ma on making artistic connections and raising balanced musicians
This month Yo-Yo Ma returns as artistic director of his Chinese education initiative Youth Music Culture Guangdong, a programme that aims to create balanced, astute and connected musicians. Charlotte Smith explores the ideas behind the cellist’s approach
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FocusFrom the archive: an interview with Amnon Weinstein in 1991
This photo of an experimental viola design was included in an article by Shmuel Segal in the October 1991 issue of The Strad on the Weinstein workshop in Tel Aviv. Amnon Weinstein has more recently been noted for his ‘Violins for Hope’ project
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FocusIn focus: the 1736 ‘Cessole’, ‘Teja-Ferni’ Guarneri ‘del Gesù’
Although Guarneri ‘del Gesù’ is best known for his wild, unruly later masterpieces, this 1736 violin reveals his softer side, as Carlo Chiesa explains in this focus on a Strad poster instrument first published in the July 2010 issue
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FocusIn residence: The Coull Quartet at the University Of Warwick, UK
This year the group marks its 40th anniversary at the English university – a place of stability that has allowed the players to experiment musically and to engage with all academic departments, finds Toby Deller
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FocusDragonetti’s Gasparo da Salò double bass and its seismic effect on English lutherie
The importance to English bass making of the great Italian double bassist Domenico Dragonetti has been underestimated. Bass makers Thomas Martin, Martin Lawrence and George Martin reveal how the musician and his Gasparo da Salò instrument had a direct influence on London’s luthiers
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FocusKlezmer violin technique masterclass with Sophie Solomon
The violin is a vital ingredient of the klezmer sound. In this Masterclass from January 2007, Sophie Solomon, founding member of klezmer fusion band Oi Va Voi and artistic director of London’s Jewish Music Institute, explains that embodying a vocal quality in the instrument is the key to performing this ...
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GalleryFrom The Strad Calendar 2018: Stradivarius 'Chigiano' cello, 1680
Based in Cremona, the Friends of Stradivari network brings together instruments owned by collectors and stringed-instrument enthusiasts from around the world. The Strad Calendar 2018 celebrates twelve of these treasures, with this cello from the Fondazione Accademia Chigiana collection featuring in December. Text by John Dilworth
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FocusJoey Corpus remembered: a profile from the November 2001 issue of The Strad
In this interview feature by Barbara L. Sand, Joey Corpus, who has died at the age of 59, discusses his late start as a musician, living with a disability, and his teaching philosophy
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FocusFrom the archive: Rivka Golani talks about her Otto Erdesz viola
These photographs of a cutaway viola by Otto Erdesz appeared in the May 1991 issue of The Strad alongside an interview with Israeli violist Rivka Golani, who still plays the instrument to this day. An extract of the article by Mark Pappenheim is below
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FocusConquering performance nerves: starting well and keeping tempo on track
Brian Hodges answers student questions on coping with stage fright
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Premium ❘ FeatureMasterclass: Maxim Vengerov on the Caprice D’après L’étude En Forme De Valse
Being a good musician is like being a great cook, according to Maxim Vengerov. In this Masterclass first published in the November 2005 issue of The Strad, he gives his recipe for playing a fiendish Saint-Saëns waltz arrangement by Ysaÿe
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FocusFire and ice: the best recordings of the Sibelius violin concerto
Originally published in 2007 for the 50th anniversary of the composer’s death, this critical appraisal by Richard S. Ginell looks for the recordings that do justice to one of the best-loved works in the repertoire
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FocusMasterclass: Leonidas Kavakos on the Sibelius Violin Concerto
The Finnish composer put all his knowledge as symphonic writer and frustrated violinist into this great, elemental work. First published in The Strad’s January 2008 issue, Leonidas Kavakos’s masterclass explains how to do it justice
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FocusDaniel Müller-Schott on Shostakovich's Cello Concerto no.1
For the German cellist, this concerto brings back memories of a year of mentorship by the great Mstislav Rostropovich
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FocusAaron Rosand: My most memorable musical experience
Aaron Rosand The US violinist and teacher recalls a nerve-racking performance and hands on some advice drawn from his many years under the spotlight
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FocusProfessional string players reveal their favourite accessory
We asked six string musicians to name the one most treasured addition to their kit – though for some it was doing without something which made the difference
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FocusThe many basses of Barry Guy: from Gasparo da Salò to modern travel instruments
Barry Guy with his Roger Dawson travel bass (Photo ©Francesca Pfeffer) The following is an extract from a longer article in The Strad December 2017 – to read it in full, download the issue on desktop computer, via the The Strad App, or buy the print edition ...
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FocusHilary Hahn discusses why Vieuxtemps’ Fourth Violin Concerto is so special to her
Musicality, virtuosity, expression – this work requires a good deal from any player, especially if they start to learn it at the age of ten
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FocusDouble stopping on the cello: How to play passages of 3rds and 6ths with more fluidity
Technique advice, exercises and repertoire examples from Lionel Handy, cello professor at the Royal Academy of Music in London, Birmingham Conservatoire and Winchester College, UK
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FocusFrom the archive: Yehudi Menuhin discusses his violins, including this Guarneri copy by Glen Collins
These photographs of a 1987 copy of the ‘d’Egville’ Guarneri by Glen Collins appeared in the April 1991 issue alongside an interview feature with Yehudi Menuhin on the occasion of his 75th birthday. The interviewer was Tully Potter – who still works with The Strad as our historical consultant