All Premium ❘ Feature articles – Page 17
-
Premium ❘ FeatureHarnessing breathing to improve your string playing
Breathing naturally is one of the first principles of Alexander teaching - and it's a must for anyone who suffers from stage fright, says Joseph Sanders
-
Premium ❘ Feature
Ask the Experts: choosing a new violin tailpiece
A violinist asks what he should consider when choosing a new tailpiece – from the material used to the weight and shape
-
Premium ❘ Feature
When does a violin copy become a forgery?
There's a fine line between copying an instrument and forging a masterpiece. Alan Coggins offers a humorous perspective on the perils luthiers face when interpreting past masters
-
Premium ❘ Feature
Survival tips for touring musicians
International tours bring a wealth of opportunities for discovering new cultures and audiences – along with less pleasant experiences such as jet lag and homesickness. Sarah Mnatzaganian asks string players for their travel tips
-
Premium ❘ Feature
7 techniques to combat stage fright
How often has a potential performance of a lifetime turned into a performance from hell? Are you suffering from stage fright? Laurinel Owen gives advice on overcoming this common affliction
-
Premium ❘ Feature
Turning Over a New Leaf
Since her professional debut almost 30 years ago, Sarah Chang has maintained a glittering solo performing and recording career. But, as she tells Charlotte Smith, her more recent desire to take on ‘passion projects’ has led to fulfilling chamber and contemporary collaborations
-
Premium ❘ Feature
Bright Young Things
The New York String Orchestra Seminar, one of America’s first orchestral training programmes for young musicians, celebrated its 50th anniversary in December 2018. Bruce Hodges attended rehearsals and concerts of the landmark season, and looks ahead to the ensemble’s December 2019 edition
-
Premium ❘ Feature
First Class: European bow makers in America
Despite achieving a high level of quality, the American bow makers of the early 20th century have languished in obscurity – until now. Raphael Gold explores the lives of Frank Kovanda, Ernst Lohberg and Anders Halvarson, who all learnt their craft in the Chicago workshop of William Lewis ...
-
Premium ❘ Feature
Defining a Nation
For many classical enthusiasts Brazilian music can be summed up in the folk-inspired compositions of Villa-Lobos. Naxos’s multivolume series The Music of Brazil is set to broaden awareness, beginning with several 19th- and 20th-century composers whose string and orchestral works at once mirrored and defied their country’s colonial history, writes ...
-
Premium ❘ Feature
Views on the Bridge
In the second of two articles on set-up, Joseph Curtin investigates the acoustical role of the violin bridge and the interconnected relationships between mass, frequency and resonance
-
Premium ❘ Feature
Frederick Riddle: modest master of the viola
The great British viola player was undeservedly overshadowed by Lionel Tertis and William Primrose, writes Tully Potter
-
Premium ❘ Feature
6 pieces of advice for music teachers by cellist Anna Shuttleworth
The former Royal College of Music and Leeds University pedagogue explains why it's important to encourage students to relax
-
Premium ❘ Feature
Ask the Experts: how to encourage students to trust their ears
A reader asks what can be done to help young students who rely on learning finger placement rather than trusting their ears. Three teachers give their views
-
Premium ❘ Feature
Perfect 5ths
British violinist Rodney Friend has spent many years formulating his method for achieving a relaxed left-hand position. Here, he shares his voyage of discovery with Charlotte Smith
-
Premium ❘ Feature
In Focus: a 1759 viola by Petter Hellstedt
Stefan Lindholm examines an instrument by the Swedish maker
-
Premium ❘ Feature
The 4 types of difficult parents and tips for dealing with them
Sometimes parents can be more of a handful than their sons and daughters. Catherine Nelson provides essential tips for dealing with misguided parent power
-
Premium ❘ Feature
Trade Secrets: Recreating original purfling
Precision and care are prerequisites for this detailed restoration method
-
-
Premium ❘ Feature
Making Matters: Ten out of ten
The great 19th-century French bow makers had to produce a large amount of stock to make a living. Christophe Landon explores how their working methods differed from ours, as he makes ten simultaneous copies of one Peccatte bow
-
Premium ❘ Feature
Masterclass: Daniel Müller-Schott on Franck Violin Sonata (Cello Version)
The German cellist looks at the importance of connection, colour and line in the work’s third movement
