Long-standing Mexican concertmaster retires

Read more news stories here

The Xalapa Symphony Orchestra (OSX) in Mexico has announced the retirement of its concertmaster, Mikhail Medvid. Medvid has served as concertmaster of the OSX since 1989 and performed his final concert on 26 January 2024, making him the longest-serving concertmaster in the orchestra’s 95-year history.

Born in Ukraine, Medvid went on to study with David Oistrakh and Valery Klimov at the Moscow Tchaikovsky Conservatory. He was then invited to become concertmaster of the OSX at the end of 1989.

In addition to his concertmaster duties, Medvid also served as a violin professor at the University of Veracruz, teaching numerous students who have become members of the OSX and major orchestras worldwide.

Medvid’s final concert at the Tlaqná Concert Hall in Xalapa was marked with an acknowledgement from the orchestra and the conductor, Martin Lebel, who thanked him for his long career. His final appearance to tune the orchestra initiated a standing ovation from the audience, and he was presented with a commemorative certificate.

Playing

In The Best of Technique you’ll discover the top playing tips of the world’s leading string players and teachers. It’s packed full of exercises for students, plus examples from the standard repertoire to show you how to integrate the technique into your playing.

Teaching

The Strad’s Masterclass series brings together the finest string players with some of the greatest string works ever written. Always one of our most popular sections, Masterclass has been an invaluable aid to aspiring soloists, chamber musicians and string teachers since the 1990s.

Calendars

American collector David L. Fulton amassed one of the 20th century’s finest collections of stringed instruments. This year’s calendar pays tribute to some of these priceless treasures, including Yehudi Menuhin’s celebrated ‘Lord Wilton’ Guarneri, the Carlo Bergonzi once played by Fritz Kreisler, and four instruments by Antonio Stradivari.