All Improve your playing articles – Page 11
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FocusSticky stuff: how rosin is made and how to choose the right one for your needs
As string players we all use rosin, but how many of us understand its properties well enough to choose the type that’s right for us? Laurinel Owen investigates
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FocusArabella Steinbacher on Khachaturian’s Violin Concerto
For the German violinist, Khachaturian’s Violin Concerto opened the doors to 20th-century repertoire – and with it, whole new sound worlds
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VideoNathan Milstein's Beethoven cadenza played on the 'Milstein' Stradivarius
Nathan Cole, first associate concertmaster of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, plays Nathan Milstein’s cadenza for the Beethoven violin concerto on the 1716 Stradivari played by the Russian American virtuoso from 1945 to the end of his career, and which took his name.
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FocusString trio repertoire from Haydn to the present day
To accompany The Strad’s October 2017 issue cover feature on the Trio Zimmermann, Geraint Lewis looks at the available repertoire for this Cinderella of string genres
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VideoSzymon Marciniak, double-bass, plays Bach's Cello Suite no.1
Polish double bass player Szymon Marciniak, who recently won second place at the Bradetich Foundation International Double Bass Solo Competition, here performs at the Kontrabass Kaleidoskop in Kloster Michaelstein, Germany in March 2017
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VideoMa, Kavakos, Ax - Brahms Piano Trio no.2 in C Major - third movement
Yo–Yo Ma, Emanuel Ax and Leonidas Kavakos performing Brahms’s Piano Trio no.2 in C Major, third movement ©2017 Sony Music Entertainment
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BlogsLeonard Elschenbroich on Brahms's cello sonata no.1
For the German-born cellist, Brahms’s Cello Sonata in E minor op.38 brings back memories of childhood – and perhaps even further back than that
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VideoNicola Benedetti on the extremes of Mozart's Violin Concerto no.5
In this extract from the 2015 BBC documentary The Joy of Mozart, Scottish violinist Nicola Benedetti talks about the surprises and sheer euphoria in the fifth violin concerto, often referred to as the ‘Turkish’.
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FocusWhat I’d tell my younger self – Joel Krosnick
Two years after his 42-season career with the Juilliard Quartet came to an end, the American cellist reflects on lessons learned
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VideoMidori plays the Bach Chaconne at Castle Köthen
Midori plays the Chaconne from Bach’s Partita no.2 in D minor, BWV 1004, at the Castle of Köthen, where Bach wrote the Sonatas and Partitas during the time he served as Kapellmeister (1717-1723). Midori plays on the 1734 Guarneri ‘del Gesù’ ‘Huberman’. Read The Strad’s 7 ways to play perfect ...
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BlogsBecoming a better and happier musician through mindfulness and yoga
Violinists Elena Urioste and Melissa White’s musical lives have been transformed by yoga, finding both body and mind freer and more resilient against the rigours of life as a professional musician
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VideoHenning Kraggerud's Musical Calendar
In this video, recorded over the course of 2016, Norwegian violinist and composer Henning Kraggerud and his then nine-year-old daughter Alma play his Musical Calendar. Composed as a Christmas gift to friends and family in 1992, the Musical Calendar features a duet for each month of the year. All the ...
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VideoEivind Holtsmark Ringstad plays Vieuxtemps' Élégie
Norwegian violist Eivind Holtsmark Ringstad is a current BBC New Generation Artist and a former winner of the Eurovision Young Musician competition (2012). Here he plays Vieuxtemps’ Élégie op.30 with pianist David Meier. Holtsmark Ringstad plays a 1768 Guadagnini viola on loan from Dextra Musica, the musical instrument scheme ...
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VideoKyung Wha Chung plays Sarasate's Caprice Basque op.24
A brief interview followed by a performance by Kyung Wha Chung, aged 22, in her first British TV appearance in 1970. Chung’s big break in the UK had come earlier that year, when she substituted for Itzhak Perlman in a concert with the London Symphony Orchestra to great acclaim, leading ...
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FocusHow I cope with the pressures of life as a soloist – double bassist Chi-chi Nwanoku
The founder of Chineke!, Europe’s first professional majority Black and Minority Ethnic orchestra, reflects on how she keeps her own musical life grounded
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FocusWhat makes a concertmaster special?
Laurinel Owen explores the qualities and responsibilities that make orchestral leaders stand apart from the rest
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FocusRenaud Garcia-Fons on the Sarabande from Bach's Fifth Cello Suite
The Sarabande from Bach’s Fifth Cello Suite has a deeply personal resonance for the French bassist and composer – even though he’s never performed it in public
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VideoJames Ehnes plays Hora Staccato by Grigoraș Dinicu, arr. Heifetz
In this video from 2008, James Ehnes plays Hora Staccato, the showpiece by Romanian composer Grigoraș Dinicu, as arranged by Heifetz. As the name suggests, its challenges lie in fast staccato notes both up- and down-bow. The piece features on Ehnes’s CD/DVD Homage released on Onyx Classics, on which he ...
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VideoAlexander Hersh plays Giovanni Sollima's Lamentatio for solo cello
In this video, New England Conservatory educated Alexander Hersh plays Giovanni Sollima’s 1998 work Lamentatio. Hersh won the cello category of the 2017 New York International Artists Competition and will be performing Lamentatio at the competition winners’ showcase on 24 September at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall. He also won ...
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BlogsThe 4 crucial components of a winning competition performance
Qian Zhou, jury chair of the Singapore International Violin Competition, gives some tips on what it takes to win a share of its $110,000 prize money – plus a bonus tip on the application process
