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Premium ❘ FocusFree in Spirit
January 2018 marked the 70th birthday of cellist Mischa Maisky, who celebrated by whizzing round the world in solo and chamber performances with his Maisky Trio, featuring daughter Lily and son Sascha.Peter Quantrill caught up with him in London, Istanbul and Verbier
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Playing with the Straight and Narrow
Vilde Frang has made a name for herself with her playfully ethereal musical style and unconventional approach to programming. Charlotte Gardnertalks to the Norwegian violinist about her latest recording and her unusual route to success
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Musical Emissaries
The Shanghai Quartet celebrates its 35th anniversary during the 2018–19 season by performing eight complete Beethoven cycles around the world. The players speak to Charlotte Smithabout forming at a time when Western chamber music was barely understood in their native China, and about promoting the art form to Chinese audiences ...
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Where there’s a will there’s a way
During two months in Uganda, Pauline Harding learns about the indigenous one-stringed endingidi, and discovers how difficult it can be to learn an instrument in a country whose education system lends little support for arts training
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Technique: strum bowing
A guitar technique adapted for violin, to help bowed string players plug into their inner groove. By Tracy Silverman, electric violinist, author of The Strum Bowing Method , string faculty member at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, and jazz clinic and workshop tutor worldwide
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Trade secrets: bending the slope on a viola da gamba back
Care and accuracy are both essential for this delicate part of the making process. By Gabriela Guadalajara, luthier based in New York, NY, US
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In focus: a violin by Giuseppe Guarneri ‘filius Andreae’ c. 1710
Written by Gennady Filimonov
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Trade secrets: a method for cooking oil varnish by Nicolas Gilles
A technique that relies on the senses and helps you get the right varnish for your needs, by Nicolas Gilles, luthier in Villeneuvette, France
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Trade secrets: An innovative method of neck setting
Gluing the neck to the ribs before the top and back plates allows for a more accurate and hassle-free process. By Hayato Nagaishi, luthier based in Cremona, Italy, and Tokyo, Japan
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In focus: a 1972 violin by Alfredo del Lungo
Alfredo Del Lungo began studying the art of violin making at the workshop of his father, Giuseppe Del Lungo (1883–1926), while also taking cello lessons at the Conservatorio Cherubini in Florence. In 1933, aged 24, he was appointed official luthier to the Stabile Orchestrale Fiorentina, which soon became the Orchestra ...
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Baroque Benelux: Early Wake Up
How did musicians in an area as small as the Low Countries spark a revolution in Baroque music whose effects were felt around the world? David Kettle talks to some key figures to find out
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Francesco Geminiani: Lessons from the Master
Francesco Geminiani’s violin treatise remains one of the key resources for anyone studying Baroque technique. Robin Stowell considers the composer’s legacy to string playing and teaching, 250 years after his death
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The secrets of violinist Dorothy DeLay's teaching methods
Violinist Piet Koornhof witnessed Dorothy DeLay's extraordinary teaching skills as one of her students at the Juilliard School in New York. In 2001 he analysed what made her method so successful
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Did the Cremonese have access to wood with unique special qualities?
Were the old Cremonese luthiers really using better woods than those available to other makers in Europe? In this article from 2013, Terry Borman and Berend Stoel presented a study of density that suggested otherwise
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How to develop an expressive vibrato
Just one beautiful note is all we need as a starter for a gorgeous vibrato, writes Phyllis Young
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How to develop great performing presence
Great stage actors have an aura of positive energy and openness that string players can access, too. Acting coach Patsy Rodenburg tells Ariane Todes how
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The Great Pretenders – how to act like a string player
In this article from The Strad November 2008 Nick Shave looks at how actors make their string performances look real
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Faking it – the great unmentionable of orchestral playing
Given today's high standards of musicianship, you might think top orchestral string players can play anything, but there are times when the best they can do is give the impression of playing every note as written, as cellist Alice McVeigh discovers
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Buying a stringed instrument – a comprehensive guide
Purchasing an instrument is as much about rigorous auditioning as it is about falling in love. Violin maker Guy Rabut recommends a step-by-step approach to finding the ultimate partner
