All Focus articles – Page 3
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FocusSinging during practice can help improve sound and characterisation
Cellist Laurence Lesser suggests that learning to listen to your voice constructively isn't easy, but it helps to set musical feeling directly into motion
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Focus6 ways to improve shifting for string players
Advice on how to shift smoothly and cleanly from The Strad archives
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FeatureHow to shift correctly on the violin
What tips do the great pedagogues and players offer for getting around the instrument? Rok Klopčič looks at a fundamental aspect of playing: change of position. From August 2004
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Focus8 ways to teach cello students how to shift confidently
Top teachers speak to Laurinel Owen about their methods in The Strad’s September 2001 issue
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FocusThe art of the violin slide: Exploring shifts in different musical styles
Julie Lyonn Lieberman describes how different slides can enhance your string playing, from oozing your way in the true blues style to the Klezmer 'bend'
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FocusSentimental work: David Finckel on Myaskovsky’s Cello Concerto
The Myaskovsky Cello Concerto remains a private pleasure for the US cellist, whose memories of Rostropovich remain an inspiration half a century later
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FocusFrom the Archive: Andrea Amati, 1564 ‘Charles IX’ violin from the Ashmolean Museum collection
In this extract from an article from the December 1991 issue of The Strad, Roger Hargrave discusses the ‘Charles IX’ Andrea Amati instruments with particular reference to this 1564 example from the Hill collection at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford
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FocusFrom the archive: Joseph Joachim, endurance violinist
In this extract from an article in the May 1894 issue of The Strad, our correspondent Robin H Legge does not try to hide his adulation for the most celebrated violinist of the time
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BlogsString ensemble skills are life skills – not to mention professional imperatives
Damian Iorio, violinist, conductor and music director of the UK-based National Youth String Orchestra, writes about the importance of ensemble skills. From 2018
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FocusThe harmonious string quartet - a balance of four personality types
No one said that living in a quartet was easy - but the most successful groups develop a unique identity that survives vitriolic relationships and even personnel changes, writes Paul Robertson. From 2005
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FocusHow do you prepare for a concerto competition?
Performing as a soloist with an orchestra can be a nerve-wracking experience, particularly for competition finalists who have very little rehearsal time. Pauline Harding talks to jury members, conductors and soloists about how to prepare
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FocusHow to prepare for a competition: Queen Elisabeth winning violinist Ji Young Lim
The violinist won the competition in Brussels in May 2015, receiving €25,000, concert performances and the loan of the ‘Huggins’ Stradivarius for four years.
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FocusAdult string students bring unique challenges which can be very rewarding
Teaching those who have come to their instrument later in life can be an extremely rewarding process, writes Ros Stephen. But the psychological complexities must also be handled with delicacy
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Premium ❘ FeatureHow to teach adult string students
Teaching adults need not be a daunting prospect. For Alice McVeigh the rewards outweigh the problems, as she reveals in her guide for tutors. From 2014
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FocusLearning a violin as an adult: How do you progress beyond practising for exams?
How can an adult amateur, beginning or relearning an instrument, progress beyond practising for exams? Three tutors examine the various options – as well as suggesting ways to combat shyness
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FeatureAsk the Experts: how to correct a violin bridge position
Three top luthiers answers a reader's query on preserving the correct instrument geometry after changing strings, in this feature from 2014
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FocusThe Doric Quartet on switching to Classical bows
In this extract from their cover story in the August 2018 issue of The Strad, the British quartet discusses how a recent experiment with Classical bows has taken the players’ musicianship to new heights. Interview by Toby Deller
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ArticleLife Lessons: David Harrington
The American violinist recalls the path that led him to found the genre-defying Kronos Quartet
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FeatureProfessor Ševčík addresses Strad readers
The Czech violinist and influential teacher passes on words of wisdom to readers of The Strad in February 1912
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Focus8 pieces of advice for happy string quartets
Words of instruction and inspiration on quartet playing from the pages of The Strad
