Playing – Page 19
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Premium ❘ FeatureString education in regional Western Australia: Sitting on a gold mine
In exploring the past and present of string teaching in regional Western Australia, Rita Fernandes finds examples of both progress and regression, all pointing to the fact that where there is opportunity, there is demand and potential
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Premium ❘ Focus‘The atmosphere was exceptionally energetic and full of excitement’ - Postcard from the Sibelius Violin Competition
Kare Eskola reports from Helsinki on 2022’s emotionally charged International Jean Sibelius Violin Competition, the first to take place for seven years
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Premium ❘ Feature‘Play to the exit sign!’ - Pinchas Zukerman: A matter of time
Pauline Harding visits Dallas, Texas, to chat with violinist– violist Pinchas Zukerman about his illustrious past, a new masterclass series at Meadows School of the Arts, and his hopes for the future of technology in string teaching
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Premium ❘ Feature‘The system proceeded upon was in every way unsatisfactory’ - From the archive: September 1922
Author and expert Towry Piper condemns a recent blind-testing experiment for old and new violins, giving his own opinion on why such endeavours are doomed to failure
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Premium ❘ Focus‘Some of the most otherworldly violin lines I can imagine’ - Jack Liebeck on Prokofiev’s Violin Concerto no.1
Prokofiev’s First Violin Concerto provided some early inspiration for the British violinist – as well as a crash course in some fast, efficient playing
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Premium ❘ FocusOpinion: A teenage cellist on spreading the love for classical music
Megan Clarke, a 16-year-old cellist in the National Youth Orchestra, is on a mission to communicate her love of classical music to other young people
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Premium ❘ FeatureSession Report: A Precious Gift - Playing Britten’s viola
Benjamin Britten’s 19th-century viola was a present to him from Frank Bridge. Violist Hélène Clément speaks to Carlos María Solare about recording an album featuring music by both composers on which this remarkable instrument takes centre stage
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Premium ❘ Feature'The better my body is working, the more efficient I can be' - Elena Urioste: She’s like a rainbow
The award-winning violinist Elena Urioste has many strands to her career. She speaks to Toby Deller about making her BBC Proms debut, yoga, chamber music with friends, and how she kept the music alive during lockdown
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Premium ❘ Focus‘When Mandela asked how I was, I admitted I was nervous’ - Maria Kliegel on Hommage à Nelson M.: Sentimental Work
The German cellist recalls the creation of Hommage à Nelson M., inspired by the life of Nelson Mandela – and the long road to performing it in front of the man himself
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Premium ❘ Focus‘It’s not about you; it’s about the music’: Helena Rathbone’s life lessons
The Australian Chamber Orchestra’s British principal violinist considers the pivotal role of chamber music throughout her career
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Premium ❘ FeatureMusicians and exercise: Can a keep fit regime make you a better string player?
Violinist, researcher and consultant Berenice Beverley Zammit explains how physical exercise and simulation of the live concert environment can help string players and other musicians perform more efficiently under pressure
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Premium ❘ FeatureFormer Kronos Quartet cellist Joan Jeanrenaud on pizzicato techniques
Pizzicato style is rarely analysed, but is so vital in modern repertory says the artist, who performed with the contemporary quartet for 20 years
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Premium ❘ FocusContending for the crown: Postcard from the 2022 Queen Elisabeth Competition
At the second-ever cello edition of the Queen Elisabeth Competition, twelve world-class cellists competed for the top prize in gruelling finals attended by the Belgian queen herself. Pauline Harding reports
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Premium ❘ Article‘The simple truth is that Nigel was a one-of-a-kind violinist’: Letters to the editor August 2022
A selection of letters The Strad receives each month from its readers around the world: August 2022 issue
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Premium ❘ Feature‘Their ensemble is so perfect that no disparity of style is observable’: From the archive: August 1912
Jelly d’Arányi (1893–1966) would become one of the 20th century’s top soloists. The Strad reports on the 19-year-old’s early career, which began as a duo with her sister Adila (1886–1962)
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Premium ❘ FocusSentimental Work: Kenneth Sillito
Performing Benjamin Britten’s 1931 String Quartet in D major for the composer was an eye-opening experience for the former leader of the Gabrieli Quartet
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Premium ❘ FeatureLost arts of string playing: Unlocking the secrets of the past
Did the great string players of old know something that we didn’t? Some of today’s virtuosos reveal to Charlotte Gardner the various technical and musical tools of the trade that are in danger of being lost in the current pursuit of perfection
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Premium ❘ FeatureBach Second Cello Suite – Prelude: A small but crucial omission
The final five bars of the Prelude to Bach’s Second Cello Suite are often misinterpreted by performers, argues Mats Lidström, Leo Stern Professor of Cello at London’s Royal Academy of Music. Here he traces the source of the problem back to the ink- and paper-saving abbreviations of Baroque composers
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Premium ❘ FeatureBach Cello Suites: What do we really know about Bach’s Cello Suites?
Bach’s sublime Six Suites for solo cello are possibly the most frequently published works in western music history, yet their source editions are shrouded in mystery. Cellist and writer Jeffrey Solow puts forward an intriguing new theory as to their origins
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Premium ❘ FocusHsin-Yun Huang: Life Lessons
The Taiwanese violist on what she learnt from her early years, and her move to the UK’s Yehudi Menuhin School
