Playing – Page 12
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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
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Premium ❘ FeatureBrodsky Quartet at 50: Life is an adventure
The Brodsky Quartet is celebrating 50 years of pioneering music making that spans genres from Beethoven to Björk and beyond. Amanda Holloway catches up with the four musicians during their anniversary tour
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Premium ❘ FocusMusic by the sea: Postcard from Cornwall
The annual series of masterclasses held in the spectacular setting of Cornwall’s Prussia Cove celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. Rita Fernandes explores its welcoming and nurturing atmosphere
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Premium ❘ FeatureSession Report: Second Viennese journey
Sara Wolstenholme and Christopher Murray, both of the Heath Quartet, talk to Toby Deller about their pre-pandemic recording of intense Second Viennese School quartets – music from another time and place, in more ways than one
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Premium ❘ FocusOpinion: Playing by numbers
In theory, it is possible for a student to gain their ABRSM Grade 8 having only learnt 24 pieces in their life. Davina Shum argues that such a quantified approach to learning is no way to become a rounded musician
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Premium ❘ Article‘I recall lessons with teachers texting on the phone while I was playing’: Letters to the editor July 2022
A selection of letters The Strad receives each month from its readers around the world: July 2022 issue
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Premium ❘ Feature‘Dvorak was a brilliant specimen of a bad conductor’: From the archive: July 1932
The great cellist and pedagogue Carl Fuchs (1865–1951) recalls some of the great players and composers seen during his time in Manchester – including the original Brodsky Quartet
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Premium ❘ FocusOpinion: The power of imagination
To enhance a pupil’s learning, it is useful to build a list of words and catchphrases that conjure images relating to different techniques. Jeffrey Howard introduces his own ‘violin vocabulary’
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Premium ❘ FocusSentimental Work: Joshua Bell
Wieniawski’s Violin Concerto no.2 brings back fond memories for the American violinist, from studies at Meadowmount to reminiscences of his mentor Josef Gingold