All Focus articles – Page 34
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FeaturePractical tips for launching a chamber ensemble
If you want to establish a chamber group, playing well is only the beginning. Tully Potter offers some practical advice to help groups make an impression and stay ahead
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FocusChristian Tetzlaff on Beethoven's Violin Concerto cadenza
The violinist discusses Beethoven's original piano cadenza for the work, which he has arranged for violin
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FocusHow to play the violin without a chin rest
After years of pain Elizabeth Wallfisch finally found comfort by removing her chin rest. She offers a step-by-step guide
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FocusAsk the Experts: how to help a student with a short fourth finger
Strad readers submit their problems and queries about string playing, teaching or making to our experts
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FocusThe pros and cons of using a shoulder rest
Filling the area between the jaw and the left shoulder is a perpetual problem for violin and viola players, writes Tim Homfray
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Premium ❘ FeatureAsk the Experts: how often should you have your bow rehaired?
A reader asks if there are long-term consequences for a bow if a player fails to have it rehaired in a timely fashion. Two bow makers and one supplier give their views
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FocusFinding the perfect cello endpin † and how to stop it slipping
Most cellists can tell an embarrassing tale about a spike calamity, says Alice McVeigh
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Premium ❘ FocusFrom the Archive: conducting tips for players
In The Strad’s March 1930 issue, G.W. Johnstone gave tips for players thinking of taking up the conductor’s baton – drawn from years of witnessing less-than-exceptional conducting as an orchestral musician
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FocusDid early string players use continuous vibrato?
Contrary to current thinking, a light vibrato was the order of the day for 18th-century musicians, asserts Beverly Jerold
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FocusFree sheet music: Joachim's Violin Romance in B flat edited by Itzhak Rashkovsky
Royal College of Music professor Rashkovsky offers advice on recreating the spirit of the great playera in this charming piece by the 19th-century virtuoso. Download the score as two PDFs at the bottom of the article
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Premium ❘ FocusFinding the right chin rest and shoulder rest
Your violin set-up needs to fit you, not the other way round, says late starter Lawrence Proulx, whose painful playing position sent him in search of a custom chin rest and shoulder rest
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FocusFree sheet music: James Ehnes's cadenzas to the early Mozart violin concertos
The violinist describes the process behind writing his own cadenzas for Mozart’s First and Second Concertos. Download the scores as a PDF at the bottom of the article
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FocusBritish violinist Fenella Barton on overcoming rheumatoid arthritis
Conquering pain taught the solo and chamber musician to play as if every performance was her last
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Premium ❘ FeatureViolist Yizhak Schotten on studying with William Primrose and Lillian Fuchs
The University of Michigan professor remembers his studies with two very different viola teachers
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FocusDouble bassist Leon Bosch on avoiding back and finger injuries
The musician was forced to listen to his body to prevent the recurrence of back and finger issues
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FocusCellomania: Amsterdam’s Fifth Cello Biennale
With appearances from Mischa Maisky, Gary Hoffman, Jean-Guihen Queyras, Anner Bylsma and 2Cellos, this year's event was not to be missed, writes Heather Kurzbauer
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FocusMusic examiners should be fair and encouraging
As an examiner for the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, Ita Herbert has spent years coaxing the best out of her candidates in the UK and overseas
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FocusChoosing the right rosin for your instrument
It's that yellow - or brown - stuff you put on your bow before you play and the white dust you clean off afterwards. But what is it and how do you choose it, asks Sonia Joseph
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FocusIs playing on the same string the only way to achieve even tone colour?
How much and where should we change strings in order to obtain different colour and different intensity, asks Rok KlopÄiÄ
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FocusNever ignore a niggling pain, says cellist David Finckel
The former Emerson Quartet cellist on how a growing back problem led to two weeks on a friend's sofa
