All Focus articles – Page 23
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FocusLuthiers' favourite gadgets from ancient plant matter to the latest tech
We asked some top makers and restorers to share their favourite labour-saving devices, and got a fascinatingly broad range of responses
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GalleryFrom The Strad Calendar 2018: Stradivarius ‘Lam, ex-Scotland University’ violin, 1734
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 violin from the Lerner-Lam family collection featuring in November. Text by John Dilworth
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FocusSteven Isserlis's trench cello encores
In 2014, when violin dealer Charles Beare introduced Steven Isserlis to a ‘box cello’ played in the trenches of the First World War, there was an instant connection. Isserlis has now recorded wartime works on the humble ‘holiday’ instrument, as he tells Kimon Daltas
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GalleryFrom the archive: double basses by Montagnana, Rocca, Guadagnini and Panormo
These photos were published in the February 1991 issue of The Strad in a focus on the double bass, including a interviews with Barry Guy, and Samuel & Barry Kolstein, a profile of the Ouchard bass bow making workshop, and a tribute to Towry Piper whose 1911 articles for The ...
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FocusHi-res revelations: how CT scanning is revealing the secrets of the old Cremonese makers
In the January 2018 issue of The Strad, Rudolf Hopfner explores the CT scanning of stringed instruments, explaining how the technology works, some of the terms involved, and exactly what kind of revelations can be gleaned from the resulting images. Below, he interprets CT images of instruments by Amati, Stradivari, ...
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FocusCan these new tailpiece designs raise the tonal game of your instrument?
Until recently, the importance of an instrument’s tailpiece was barely realised. Vicky Sharpe talks to some of the craftsmen who have been experimenting with different materials and designs to help maximise an instrument’s sound quality
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BlogsConquering performance nerves: sweaty hands, losing bow grip
Brian Hodges answers student questions on coping with stage fright
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FocusNatural playing on violin and viola, inspired by the Alexander Technique
Exercises to release tension and improve ease of movement when playing the violin by Tomas Cotik, violin professor at Portland State University
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FocusGreat cellists: Emanuel Feuermann
Although he died aged just 39, the Austrian cellist and teacher left a recorded legacy that deserves wider recognition. Tully Potter examines his life and career
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FocusIrvine Arditti's sentimental work: Helmut Lachenmann's Grido
For the Arditti Quartet’s founder and first violinist, Helmut Lachenmann’s String Quartet no.3 Grido contains unorthodox challenges and an unusual sense of passion
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FocusRenaud Capuçon: the mentee becomes the mentor
This has been a year of achievements for Renaud Capuçon – from celebrating the fifth anniversary of his Aix Easter Festival to winning an ECHO Klassik award – yet the French violinist is happiest when mentoring the next generation of talented musicians, finds Charlotte Gardner
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GalleryFrom The Strad Calendar 2018: Violin by Andrea Amati, c.1566
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 violin from a private collection in Germany featuring in October. Text by John Dilworth
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FocusMasterclass: Johannes Moser on Brahms E minor Cello Sonata no.1 op.38
The German-Canandian cellist takes a look at structure, character and speed, and explains why it is so important to honour the composer’s bowings, in the first and second movements of the E minor Sonata
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FocusFrom the Archive: the 1729 ‘Récamier’ Stradivarius from the January 1991 issue of The Strad
Mischa Elman’s violin was featured alongside an article marking his centenary, extracted from the book Mischa Elman and the Romantic Style by Allan Kozinn
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FocusStradivari's Cremona was an unstable place, ravaged by war and disease
Exactly 280 years ago in December, master violin maker Antonio Stradivari met his end. Here Andrew Dipper recounts how the changes that took place in Cremona during his final years influenced the creation of his later masterpieces
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FocusMaking a carbon fibre bow in 10 steps – photo story
Founded in 1999, Arcus has developed a reputation for making lightweight, durable bows from non-traditional materials. Company director Bernd Müsing explains how a composite bow is made, from initial design to first hair fitting
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FocusIt's the inside of the violin which governs its sound – how did we end up carving the outside arch first?
For almost two centuries luthiers have been copying instruments using the French method which, Torbjörn Zethelius argues, doesn’t give the interior carving of the violin the primacy it deserves – and crucially, that which it had in the hands of the original Italian makers
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GalleryGallery: Violin Society of America 2017 convention
The Violin Society of America’s 45th annual convention took place in Arlington, Virginia, on 9-11 November. Photographs by luthier Christopher Jacoby, editor of the VSA members’ magazine The Scroll 1. John Montgomery showing off the 1699 ‘Castelbarco’ Stradivari cello in the Library of Congress, during the Lottery Preconvention ...
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FocusAdvances in string manufacture: the latest developments
There are hundreds of strings available on the market already, and new releases seem never ending. But just why are these developments happening, how necessary are they, and how are musicians involved in that process? Pauline Harding asks string manufacturers and testers worldwide
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FocusContact points: controlling your sound through the position of your bow on the string
New England Conservatory and Juilliard School cello faculty member Natasha Brofsky introduces a set of exercises for exploring the tone, colour and expressive potential of a well-controlled bow, plus three videos showing the techniques in action