All viola articles
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Focus5 ways to improve playing in thirds
Tips for hand position, bow distribution and intonation from The Strad Archive
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Premium ❘ Feature
Buying the right instrument for you
Whatever your needs, whatever your budget, there's an instrument out there for you. Laurinel Owen suggests some ways to find it
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Focus
8 ways to improve Baroque performance
Tips from The Strad’s archive on the use of vibrato, bow strokes and rhythmic hierarchy
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Premium ❘ Gallery
From the Archive: a viola of the Gofriller School, Venice c.1700-10
An illustration of a viola of the Gofriller School published in The Strad, February 1962
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Focus
Spiccato and sautillé - two important bow strokes which are often confused
Spiccato and sautillé are the two most important off-the-string bowings, but they are often confused. One of the reasons might be their relation to speed.
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News
Winners announced at first Oskar Nedbal Viola Competition
MinGwan Kim from South Korea wins CZK 20,000 first prize
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Premium ❘ Feature
Violist Cynthia Phelps on studying with William Primrose and Donald McInnes
For some players, only the viola sound will do. But to bring out its full power, the New York Philharmonic violist sought help from a number of teachers, writes Ariane Todes
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Video
Richard O’Neill plays Rebecca Clarke viola sonata
In this video from Korean broadcaster MBC, Richard O’Neill and Jeremy Denk perform Rebecca Clarke’s Sonata for Viola and Piano Impetuoso Vivace 07:27 Adagio 11:30 Read: Takács Quartet to welcome Richard O’Neill as new violist in 2020
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From the Archive: a viola by Paolo Antonio Testore, Milan, c.1740
This illustration of a viola by Paolo Antonio Testore was published in The Strad, January 1973. The following text is extracted from the article accompanying the photographs
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Premium ❘ Feature
What to play when trying out a new stringed instrument
Buying a new instrument is as much about rigorous auditioning as it is about falling in love...
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Feature
Should all viola players practise the violin?
It's the ultimate heresy for some violists: the idea of practising the violin as well as the viola. James Boyd, tongue somewhat in cheek, insists that violists can and should practise both
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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
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Video
Zemtsov family viola quartet
Dana Zemtsov, parents Mikhail and Julia, and cousin Daniil, all violists, perform Max von Weinzierl’s Nachtstück
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Premium ❘ Debate
How should string teachers approach an advanced adult pupil?
Understanding the physique and psyche of a new adult pupil should not be taken lightly, writes Pauline Harding
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News
Celebrating the viola with a week-long festival in Miami
Viola Visions, spearheaded by Michael Tilson-Thomas and the New World Symphony, will include a new virtuosic version of Berlioz’s Harold in Italy
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Debate
A musical outcast? Harold en Italie as metaphor for the viola itself
Toby Deller argues that the title character of Harold en Italie is a social outsider whose isolation is a metaphor for the viola’s struggle for acceptance throughout musical history
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Video
Beethoven's viola played in Los Angeles
LA Phil principal violist Teng Li plays the viola Beethoven used between the ages of about 16 and 22 when he was in the court orchestra in Bonn before his move to Vienna. The instrument, on a Stainer model, is thought to have been made in Vienna by Sebastian ...
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Video
Jungle Book Variations for solo viola
Max Baillie performs his own variations on the song ‘My Own Home’ from the Disney Jungle Book, ‘ inspired by Paganini, Ysaÿe, Bach, and with a bit of bagpipe folkiness to pay homage to my Scots roots’.
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Focus
Masterclass: Steven Tenenbom, Schumann Märchenbilder
The American viola soloist, chamber musician, and teacher explores how to find your own sense of character and flow in the first two contrasting pieces
