All Blogs articles – Page 20
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Blogs
Tell us about your favourite lutherie books
In our April issue we asked some luthiers to discuss their favourite making books. The results were diverse, although several books proved to be particularly popular: Edward Heron-Allen's 'Violin-Making as it was, and is' and Simone Sacconi's 'The Secrets of Stradivari' were among them. What are your favourite lutherie books?
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BlogsHe's not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy
Everyone loves a good conspiracy theory and violin makers more than most - especially one involving Stradivari. The story of the ‘Messiah’ violin is one of the best. The widely accepted version is that the 1716 instrument was one of those sold by Stradivari’s sons to Count ...
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BlogsEditor's blog: a Kavakos double whammy weekend
At the weekend I had a Leonidas Kavakos double whammy: two hours in his company on Saturday interviewing him for the January issue of The Strad and then hearing him on Sunday playing Prokofiev’s First Concerto with Valery Gergiev and the London Symphony Orchestra.In person he’s extremely charming, ...
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BlogsEditor's blog: is Stevie Wonder the new David Oistrakh?
My ears are still ringing with the sound of Stevie Wonder’s voice at his London gig last night: that mighty, bronzed voice, with the depth and timbre of a fine French red wine, and a facility with runs and ornaments that the Mariah Careys and Christina Aguileras of ...
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BlogsEditor's blog: when music stands get in the way
I went to two very contrasting concerts this weekend. On Friday I was at the Barbican to see the Kronos Quartet collaborating with Azerbaijani singer Alim Qasimov. I’d never heard any of his ‘mugham’ music, which sounds very dry to ears attuned to Western classical scales, but ...
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BlogsEditor's blog: Joshua Bell's looking at me!
The new Joshua Bell Vivaldi Four Seasons recording has just come into the office and of course it sounds fantastic – full of the requisite energy and poetry. But with the CD comes a fold-out calendar featuring Bell looking tousled and sultry in what looks like his Baroque ...
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BlogsEditor's blog: moonlit nights with makers at Dartington Hall
I’m just back from a weekend at Dartington Hall in Devon, where the sun was shining and the makers of the BVMA were out in force for their annual conference. The weekend is always a good chance for me to meet people and get story ideas, and ...
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BlogsEditor's blog: trying a Baroque bow and the wobble board at the ESTA conference (but not at the same time)
Last week I popped into the summer conference of the European String Teachers’ Association, at Dean Close School in Cheltenham. It was a great chance to chat to string teachers about what they want from The Strad, and I got to see some of the work that ...
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BlogsEditor's blog: getting carried away at last night's Prom
It always happens. In June, I mark the many BBC Proms concerts I want to go to, and then before I know it, it’s September. Summer is over, there are only two weeks left of the season and I’ve been to hardly any. Yesterday I went to ...
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Blogs
In her second blog entry, Clio Tilton is reminded how tiring orchestral tours are
The last two days have been busy – lots of travelling for our first two concerts. The first was in Berlin at the Konzerthaus as part of the Young Euro Classic series. There was a full house and lots of excitement on our part, as for many of us it ...
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BlogsThe editor, Ariane Todes, tries to make friends with the portaloos at the Big Chill Festival, and searches in vain for the classical music
At the ripe old age of [ahem] I’ve just been to my first non-classical music festival, The Big Chill, in Eastnor, Herefordshire. I’ll spare the details of my efforts to embrace the whole camping thing (unsuccessful) but they were worth it for almost round-the-clock great music. This ...
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Blogs
In Clio Tilton's first blog from the Moritzburg Festival Academy, she and her fellow musicians decide on a common language
The Moritzburg Festival Academy kicked off with a friendly welcome from the director, cellist Jan Vogler. Crowding into the Eisenberger Hof Hotel restaurant (where we are staying), we listened, glancing around at our new colleagues, looking for a familiar face. For me, being at a festival in Germany is a ...
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BlogsA night of folk music at the Proms
Ariane Todes: The BBC Proms are well underway and on Sunday I went to my first this year, to see Bellowhead, one of my favourite bands. I saw Bellowhead for the first time in 2006, a gig which drove me to my current folk music obsession. The ...
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BlogsAriane Todes, editor of The Strad, is inspired by some nifty mandolin playing
As I’m currently trying to teach myself the mandolin I seized the opportunity last night to see Chris Thile (fastest mandolin player in the West) and his Bluegrass band, the Punch Brothers, at London’s Arts Theatre. Thile is a slightly kooky-looking version of Jude Law, but ...
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Blogs
In her final blog entry, young violinist Kitty Cheung embarks on the Mahler performance under Valery Gergiev
Here came the big evening. Backstage, members of the orchestra were practising the difficult passages. It seemed everyone was a bit nervous. After all, this was a very demanding programme, and the performance was being recorded for LSO Live. I was nervous, too, but I was probably more excited than ...
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Blogs
At her second rehearsal with the LSO, violinist Kitty Cheung is inspired by Valery Gergiev's interpretation of Mahler
We had a fantastic rehearsal at the Barbican Hall this morning. The four-hour rehearsal began at 9am and after the late finish the night before, I was glad I had had two doses of caffeine before we started. Today, Gergiev worked with the string section quite intensively. He put a ...
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Blogs
In our new blog, a young violinist describes her experience of working with Valery Gergiev
Part one What a rainy day. I almost tripped and fell on the ground on my way to the rehearsal this afternoon! Rehearsal started at 3pm, but most members arrived early to settle down. I was there about half an hour early, too, not only because I have been looking ...
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BlogsViolinist Ruth Rogers' blog from the Thai-Burmese border - Part Four
Ruth Rogers, Victoria Sayles, Rose Redgrave and Katherine Jenkinson are playing string quartets to Burmese refugees on the Thai-Burma border. This is their fourth blog entry for The Strad website, written by Ruth Rogers
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BlogsViolinist Ruth Rogers' blog from the Thai-Burmese border - Part Three
Ruth Rogers, Victoria Sayles, Rose Redgrave and Katherine Jenkinson are playing string quartets to Burmese refugees on the Thai-Burma border. This is their third blog entry for The Strad website, written by Ruth Rogers
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BlogsFlamenco drove me to Dounis
In the lazed aftermath of Christmas I saw a five-day beginners’ flamenco course advertised in Time Out, and I thought it might be fun to learn something new. How wrong can a girl be? I was useless. Absolutely useless. And miserable. I could see what the instructor ...
