All Premium ❘ Feature articles
-
-
Premium ❘ Feature
Trade Secrets: Small tools, big help
A number of labour-saving devices designed to make life easier at the workbench
-
-
Premium ❘ Feature
Making Matters: Beauty and the bridge
The acoustic role of the violin bridge is well known, but what about the aesthetic choices that luthiers make when carving them? John Beames gives a detailed analysis of a favourite bridge to elucidate the process
-
Premium ❘ Feature
Masterclass: Tai Murray on Beethoven’s ‘Triple’ Concerto Part 2
Violinist Tai Murray discusses balance and colour in the first movement of the op.56 work for violin, cello, piano and orchestra, in the second of two articles
-
Premium ❘ Feature
Technique: Using Ševčík to tackle flying staccato on the cello
How analytical, targeted practice can help you to overcome any problem in the repertoire
-
Premium ❘ Feature
From the Archive: August 1910
Author William C. Honeyman responds to an article suggesting that priceless instruments should be kept in museums rather than in players’ hands
-
Premium ❘ Feature
Digital Double Act: TwoSet Violin
Over the past eight years, Brett Yang and Eddy Chen of TwoSet Violin have become an increasingly popular source of humour and inspiration for string players worldwide through their hugely successful YouTube channel. A more recent foray into staging live shows was a shot in the dark. Kimon Daltas ...
-
Premium ❘ Feature
Lutherie Collectives: The Wisdom of Crowds
Violin making is traditionally a solitary career, so why are so many luthiers and bow makers choosing to join collectives? Peter Somerford talks to the founders and members of such groups around the world to discover the benefits of pooling resources, knowledge and time
-
Premium ❘ Feature
In search of perfection: finding the right bow
Violinist and Metropolitan Opera concertmaster Benjamin Bowman has spent his entire playing career in search of ever more subtle and responsive bows. Here, he charts his journey to finding his ‘forever bow’, and advises string players on how they, too, can invest in this most important of assets
-
Premium ❘ Feature
Session Report: Family connections
For her latest recording, violinist Viktoria Mullova has collaborated with her son, jazz bassist Misha Mullov-Abbado in an eclectic array of duets. Harry White speaks to the pair about the project’s origins and about working with family
-
Premium ❘ Feature
D. C. Dounis: Training the brain
For Demetrius Constantine Dounis, the secret of good technique came from developing the brain and memory, as well as the arms and fingers. James Dickenson examines what made his ideas so special, and why he became one of the 20th century’s most influential teachers
-
Premium ❘ Feature
Lutherie in Mexico: Adapting to Change
The history of stringed instrument making in Mexico is one of adaptability and innovation. Pablo Alfaro and Jaime G. González show how European arts and crafts were rapidly adopted by the indigenous people, and how the 20th century saw more creativity than ever
-
Premium ❘ Feature
Isaac Stern: Generosity of Spirit
In celebration of Isaac Stern’s centenary this month, Tully Potter surveys the great violinist’s many and varied chamber music collaborations
-
Premium ❘ Feature
Stradivari violin ‘Benecke’: Unconventional Beauty
The 1694 ‘Benecke’ violin is a masterpiece of Stradivari’s ‘Long Pattern’. Andrea Zanrè and Rudolf Hopfner take a look at this exquisite example, detailing its provenance and revealing what CT scans can tell us about its construction
-
Premium ❘ Feature
Writing a Cadenza: Creativity Unchained
Cadenza writing has enjoyed a renewed surge in popularity over recent years. Pauline Harding talks to soloists, teachers and competition jurors about why the trend has been growing, and why more performers should take the plunge
-
Premium ❘ Feature
Session Report: Different Voices
At a recording session for the Dudok Quartet Amsterdam’s latest Haydn release, Peter Quantrill finds an ensemble at ease with themselves, their producer and the exacting process of creating Classical ‘perfection’
-
Premium ❘ Feature
Alma Moodie: From Praise to Obscurity
Australian-born violinist Alma Moodie was a celebrated performer in her day – a protégée of Carl Flesch who collaborated with many leading composers. However, her contribution to the violin canon has been largely forgotten, writes Tatjana Goldberg
-
Premium ❘ Feature
Vihuela de Arco: Unlocking the secrets of the past
A popular instrument of the Middle Ages, the vihuela de arco is only known today from contemporary references and pictures. Javier Martínez explains its significance in the history of bowed instruments, and debunks some of the myths surrounding it
-
