All Features articles – Page 18
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![4b C.W.KnopfViolaBowFerrule[12337]](https://dnan0fzjxntrj.cloudfront.net/Pictures/100x67/9/8/9/17989_4bc.w.knopfviolabowferrule12337_802362.jpg)
Premium ❘ FeatureNapoleonic Bows: French Connections
Several violin, viola and cello bows still survive from the Imperial Court Orchestra of Napoleon III. Gennady Filimonov examines their history, and provides evidence that the so-called ‘Napoleonic-type bows’ originated with the first Emperor rather than the third
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Premium ❘ FeatureSarasate Letters: Beloved Mother
During a two-year concert tour of America, violinist Pablo Sarasate corresponded with his adoptive mother Amélie de Lassabathie in Paris. His surviving letters have been translated for the first time into English by Nicholas Sackman and Bastien Terraz, who present a digest of their contents
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Premium ❘ FeatureWorking with Conductors: Natural Balance
When playing a concerto, the string soloist is rarely fully in charge – and working with opinionated conductors means that sometimes disagreements will occur. Charlotte Gardner speaks to three top performers and a conductor to find out how to strike the right balance
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Premium ❘ FeatureAn Amati Mystery
Could the cello shown here be one of the eight ‘bass violins’ ordered by Catherine de’ Medici for the court of Charles IX of France? Luthier Filip Kuijken explores the known history of the instrument and considers whether it could be an original Andrea Amati – or a clever fake
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Premium ❘ FeatureTetzlaff Quartet: The Real Beethoven
The members of the Tetzlaff Quartet, who recently released their first Beethoven disc, talk to Tom Stewart about what’s really behind the composer’s late quartets, about why they’ve taken a quarter of a century to record any Beethoven – and the challenge of keeping up appearances
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Premium ❘ Feature130th Anniversary: Taking Stock
As The Strad celebrates its 130th anniversary this month, stringed instrument expert Philip Kass looks at the future of the industry, while music journalist Charlotte Gardner examines what might be on the cards for players
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Premium ❘ FeatureCareer in Bloom: Tabea Zimmermann
For Tabea Zimmermann, 2020 represents a new flowering in her musical life. Amanda Holloway speaks to the German violist about directing her final Beethoven-Woche, her new recording projects, expanding the viola repertoire and imparting her wisdom to the next generation
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Premium ❘ FeatureLuthiers and RSI: Taking the Strain
For instrument makers, repetitive strain injuries can mean untold pain and misery – and possibly the end of their career. Luthier Cameron Robertson explains how, with the help of occupational therapist Sara Propes, he adapted his work process to guard against the problems of RSI in the future
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Premium ❘ FeatureMusic Therapy: A Different Way to Help
Music therapy can be a fulfilling profession for any musician looking to make a significant impact in the community. Violinist and music therapist Joy Gravestock outlines the routes to this rewarding career and describes a typical day in the field
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Premium ❘ FeatureAnne-Sophie Mutter: The Big Picture
For Anne-Sophie Mutter, Beethoven’s 250th anniversary is the perfect time for a season of concerts dedicated to his works. The project follows her recent recording collaboration with film composer John Williams – yet as different as the two ventures sound, there is far more that unites than divides them, as ...
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Premium ❘ FeatureLutherie in the Vogtland: Stars of the East
The Vogtland in eastern Germany produced some of the country’s least known and most fascinating instrument makers.Rudolf Hopfner and Monika Lustig use CT scans to lift the lid on their unusual construction methods, and show why they should be more widely studied
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Premium ❘ FeaturePöpel and Kurzendörffer: The Mists of Time Demystified
Just three Vogtland instruments exist from before 1700. All violas, they were made by two of the founders of the region’s first violin making guild.Klaus Martius explores what we know about the mysterious Johann Adam Pöpel and Johann Adam Kurzendörffer
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![Fiona Bonds - Associate Principal Viola [378]](https://dnan0fzjxntrj.cloudfront.net/Pictures/100x67/2/5/3/17253_fionabondsassociateprincipalviola378_263221.jpg)
Premium ❘ FeatureAcademy of St Martin in the Fields at 60: One Big Family
The Academy of St Martin in the Fields celebrates its 60th anniversary this season with a 60-CD box set of its celebrated recordings, and tours to Europe and the US. Toby Deller speaks to some of the orchestra’s long-standing string players about working together democratically and the artistic transition from ...
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Premium ❘ FeatureSession Report: A Voyage of Discovery
French composer Benoît Menut’s new concept album of songs and chamber works takes its listeners on a single, continuous journey across the sea. He and cellist Patrick Langot speak to Tom Stewart about the project
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Premium ❘ FeatureBéla Katona: A Pupil’s Perspective
Former Béla Katona student Dona Lee Croft, now a professor, recalls her lessons with the Hungarian pedagogue
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Premium ❘ FeatureBéla Katona: A Teacher Through and Through
One of the 20th century’s greatest violin pedagogues, Béla Katona would have turned 100 this month. Tully Potter charts his life and career, and speaks to former pupils – mainly at London’s Trinity College of Music – about the success of his teaching methods
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Premium ❘ FeaturePablo Casals: Boundless Expression
The legacy of Pablo Casals is alive and well in the cello playing of today – and can be traced primarily to the methods of his colleague Diran Alexanian and favourite student Maurice Eisenberg. Oskar Falta explores the Catalonian cellist’s main vibrato theories, as communicated by his two important associates
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Premium ❘ FeatureChinese Tonewoods: Interesting Times
For luthiers worldwide, European wood is still viewed as the best for making stringed instruments – even though China’s forests are filled with high-quality spruce and maple. Xue Peng presents the results of a study comparing the tonewoods of China and Europe, with some startling conclusions
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Premium ❘ FeatureSession Report: Freedom of Choice
For Jack Liebeck, recording the Brahms and Schoenberg violin concertos has felt like a homecoming – a chance to reflect on the life of his grandfather, and to appreciate the liberties we enjoy today, as he tells Harry White
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Premium ❘ FeatureWilliam C. Honeyman: The People’s Violin Man
During the 19th century there was an upsurge of interest in violin playing in Britain. At its centre, writes Kevin MacDonald, was the Scottish violinist and writer William C. Honeyman – purveyor of string secrets to the masses and perhaps the inspiration for Sherlock Holmes
