All Focus articles – Page 4
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FocusDouble bass technique: Back muscles, weight, and flexibility in the right hand
How to get the most out of your body when playing the double bass, by Dan Styffe, principal bassist for the Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra and professor at the Norwegian Academy of Music
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Focus
Double bass beginners should play in all left-hand positions
Thomas Martin pinpoints some common technical problems for young bassists and insists that beginners shouldn't be restricted to playing in the lower positions. From the May 2014 issue
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Focus
6 tips for teaching young violinists by Suzuki instructor Teri Einfeldt
The University of Hartford Suzuki Department chair shares her methods for teaching children
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Focus
Ask the Experts: what to look for in a Baroque bow
In this article from the June 2016 issue, Strad readers submit their problems and queries about string playing, teaching or making to a panel of experts
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Focus
Sentimental work: Jennifer Stumm on Rebecca Clarke’s Viola Sonata
For the American violist, this 1919 work brings back memories of early successes and the inspirational teacher who introduced it to her
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Premium ❘ Feature
Female composers: A woman’s touch
Quartets written by women are too often overlooked by today’s performers, argues Ian Lawrence. In celebration of International Women’s Day (March 2011), he recommends an array of works to hear and play from a repertoire spanning three centuries
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Focus
‘The lyre of Orpheus’ - the life and works of Maddalena Laura Lombardini Sirmen
In our August 2021 issue, Kevin MacDonald investigates the lives and careers of female violinists in Georgian England. Read this extract profiling Italian violinist Maddalena Laura Lombardini Sirmen, who enjoyed success both as a performer and composer
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Focus
How useful are Ševčík exercises for violinists, violists and cellists?
From the archive: Violinist Ivry Gitlis, violist Bruno Giuranna and cellist Christopher Bunting share their views on the influential method
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Focus
Talking 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
Yehudi 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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Focus
Villa-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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Focus
5 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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Feature
Strength in Diversity: Minorities in US Orchestras
Half a century has passed since the New York Philharmonic hired its first black musician, and yet the percentage of Black and Latino players in top US orchestras remains woefully low. Vivien Schweitzer reports on the organisations taking action towards greater inclusivity
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Focus
What can musicians learn from working with dancers?
Pauline Harding attends workshops, talks to early music specialists and pioneering modern players, and discovers a whole new approach to interpreting classical music
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Focus
‘Is $16 million for a violin too much to pay? Not these days’
In the 1998 movie The Red Violin, a great violin maker named Nicolo Bussotti, based on the real-life luthier Antonio Stradivari, supposedly mixes the blood of his deceased beloved wife into the varnish of what is to be his most precious creation. The violin’s journey, from its creation in Cremona ...
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Focus
Life Lessons: François Rabbath
The French-Syrian double bassist, who turns 90 today, considers his unique technical journey, the inspiration he drew from crustaceans, and the benefits of playing a waiting game
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Focus
The Art of Leadership: Steven Staryk
The well-travelled concertmaster discusses his time leading British, Dutch, US and Canadian orchestras as he talks to Julian Haylock
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Feature
Leadership and diplomacy: how to be a good orchestral concertmaster
A piece from our archive in which former concertmaster John Georgiadis, who died on Tuesday, tells Julian Haylock his memories of the London Symphony Orchestra
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News
Violinist Ivry Gitlis talks to The Strad
In the August 2012 issue, the veteran virtuoso gave a wide-ranging interview to Ariane Todes, on topics from teaching and managers to emotion, conflict and playing with his friend Jascha Heifetz
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Focus
Kim Kashkashian's top 5 tips on combating stage fright
The Armenian-American violist used to get ‘terribly nervous’ when performing as a teenager. Here she shares her tips on preparing psychologically for a concert
