All performance articles
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Premium ❘ DebateHistorically informed performance on modern instruments is misguided
Historically informed performance is all well and good, argues Julian Haylock, but continuing to play on modern instruments just results in the worst of both worlds
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Focus5 views on chamber playing by Borodin Quartet legend Rostislav Dubinsky
The Borodin's founding first violinist, who played with the quartet for 30 years from 1945, was interviewed in The Strad shortly before his death in 1997
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Premium ❘ FeatureAntonio Pappano: What conductors want from their string sections
A regular, nice, beautiful sound doesn’t interest the music director of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, he told The Strad in this interview from 2008
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DebateIs playing a concerto really the ultimate test of musicianship?
Performing a concerto has long been regarded as the highest test of a string player's musical prowess. But what exactly do they prove, asks Toby Deller
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NewsABRSM launches new performance diploma for post Grade 8 players
The new qualification involves no written or spoken elements, and no sight reading, aural tests or scales
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BlogsMeditation (not from Thaïs) for musicians
Violist Matthew Jones discusses the ways in which meditation and mindfulness can help performers, as he prepares for his ‘Music and Silence’ concert at the Vale of Glamorgan Festival
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ArticleHow to react when a string breaks mid-performance
Violinist Maximilian Simon remains as cool as a cucumber when his E string breaks midway through a recent performance of Britten's Violin Concerto with the Jenaer Philharmonie. Calmly he swaps his instrument with the orchestral leader's, and continues playing. Later, the leader hands back Simon's newly-strung instrument ...
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BlogsVideo: one-handed cellist Michael Spencer
One-handed cellist Michael Spencer gives an incredible performance of François-Joseph Gossec's Gavotte at a recital in Utah, USA.The young performer holds the cello between his knees, using his arm in place of fingers to change pitch and to produce vibrato.The Strad's December 2013 issue featured an article on ...
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NewsViolinist Midori cancels US Korngold performance
The musician, who has pulled out of a number of concerts this year, was due to perform on Saturday
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DebateConservatoires should place more focus on teaching skills
Most professional musicians will end up teaching in some capacity – so more colleges should offer courses that foster educational skills, say Cornelia Watkins and Laurie Scott
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NewsStudents practise performance skills on virtual audience
The Royal College of Music, London and Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana, Lugano have developed a performance simulator
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NewsVideo: Seattle Symphony musicians perform on delayed flight
During a two-hour delay to take off on an Alaska Airlines flight to Palm Springs, four members of the Seattle Symphony – violinists Mikhail Shmidt and Elisa Barston, violist Susan Gulkis Assadi and cellist Walter Gray – whipped out their instruments to perform a string quartet. The performance ...
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DebateA grounding in music theory can help performance
Far from constricting a player’s response to a new piece, a good grounding in music theory can help them find more possibilities for playing it, as Henning Kraggerud argues
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ArticleViolinist Itzhak Perlman on different playing characteristics
Violinist Itzhak Perlman gives a masterclass on achieving different characteristics in performance - and demonstrates 'heavy' and then 'funny' performances of the opening of Mendelssohn's Violin Concerto. Subscribe to The Strad or download our digital edition as part of a 30-day free trial. To purchase single issues ...
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ArticleStudy finds emotional intelligence is key to achieving ‘flow' in musical performance
‘Flow' is a psychological state associated with extreme fulfilment, optimised performance, health and well-being
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ArticleGothenburg Symphony airport pop-up performance
Travellers passing through Göteborg Landvetter Airport in Sweden got more than surround-sound when they tried out four new ‘music chairs’ installed in the airport’s terminal building. The chairs, which have been commissioned by the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra (GSO), contain a sound system and screen, allowing passengers to ...
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ArticleTwo beloved pedagogues to be remembered in the US
Memorials for cellist János Starker and violinist Masuko Ushioda will take place over the next two weekends at the respective US institutions where they were longtime teachers. On Sunday 22 September the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in Bloomington, Indiana, will honour János Starker at a free, public memorial. ...
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FocusShould all performers learn how to teach?
Performance degree students should put all their energies into becoming great performers, and leave learning teaching skills to their music education counterparts – right? Wrong, say Cornelia Watkins and Laurie Scott, authors of From the Stage to the Studio: how fine musicians become great teachers. In an exclusive article in ...