All Premium ❘ Feature articles
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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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My Space: Martin Krause
The luthier, based in Saarbrücken, Germany, invites us into his workshop
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Session 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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Three 1734 Guarneris: Three of a kind
Reseachers based at Cremona’s Museo del Violino recently had the chance to examine three priceless violins made by Giuseppe Guarneri ‘del Gesu’ in the same year – 1734. Giacomo Fiocco explains the technical methods used to analyse the trio, and what they revealed about the surface materials and design idiosyncrasies
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'Concentrating on perfectionism is never a good idea, so we focus on musical concepts instead' Masterclass: Mozart String Quartet K428
In the first movement of Mozart’s third ‘Haydn’ quartet Johanna Staemmler, second violinist of the Armida Quartet, discusses the importance of harmony, colour and intellectual complexity
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Revealing Sartory's secrets: A look at one of the 20th century's finest bow makers
Often called the finest bow maker of the 20th century, Eugène Sartory was a fastidious artisan whose work shows efficiency and reliability. Richard Morency examines a bow from Sartory’s middle period to reveal his working methods
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In Focus: A 1766 cello by Carlo Ferdinando Landolfi
Philip Brown looks at the Milanese maker’s mid-century instrument
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Musicians 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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Former 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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‘Maybe the things we worry about are not the ones that matter to the music’ - Pekka Kuusisto: The Master Storyteller
Finnish violinist Pekka Kuusisto is characterised by his unique powers of communication as well as his sense of fun. He speaks to Andrew Mellor about how his burgeoning complementary career as a conductor is opening up new musical perspectives for him
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Making Matters: How six bow makers crafted a bow in three days
Making a bow in three days is a tall order for anyone – but for six bow makers together? Pierre Nehr explains how April’s ‘Bow Rush’ event in Paris became an educational experience for all concerned
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Technique: Creating sound from the imagination
Iagoba Fanlo, professor of cello at the Conservatorio Superior de Música de Aragón and Alfonso X El Sabio University in Spain, on daily practice tools to help you realise your inner musical vision on your instrument
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Trade Secrets: Making a Baroque cello bridge
A method that allows the luthier to create their own design rather than rely on a pre-cut template
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‘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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In Focus: An 1875 viola by Domenico Degani
Ernst Fuchs details an instrument by the accomplished maker, now best-known as the father of Eugenio Degani
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Lost 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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Masterclass: Franck Violin Sonata (Cello Version)
Preserving energy, planning ahead and prioritising phrasing in every line are key to cellist Antonio Meneses’s interpretation of the fourth movement
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Bach 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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François-Nicolas Voirin: The Second Tourte
The bows of François-Nicolas Voirin had more influence than those of any other bow maker after F.X. Tourte. In the first of two articles, Matt Wehling explores Voirin’s life and career, and examines why his bows were so successful with players
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Bach 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
