All Solo articles
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BlogsImprovising on Bach's solo violin works
In this post originally from 2015, violinist Hugo Ticciati discusses the art of improvisation and using Bach as a basis for musical meditation
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Premium ❘ FeatureFrederick Riddle: modest master of the viola
The great British viola player was undeservedly overshadowed by Lionel Tertis and William Primrose, writes Tully Potter
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Feature6 thoughts on performance and interpretation from Kyung Wha Chung
The Korean star spoke to The Strad in February 1989 about her musical ideas and influences
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Premium ❘ FeatureHow to be a successful busker
Summer provides the richest time for musicians to make money from impromptu outdoor performance. Experienced buskers tell David Kettle how they go about it, and why the rewards can be greater than you might expect
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ReviewTwo recent Sonata and Partita sets
They approach Bach’s music from opposite sides of the historical divide, and the results make for a fascinating exercise in comparison
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ReviewRoman Simovic: Paganini, 24 Caprices
Beguiling solo virtuosity that demonstrates very few flaws
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VideoJennifer Pike: Penderecki Capriccio
Filmed on 14 October 2017 during an all-day Polish music festival at the Wigmore Hall curated by violinist Jennifer Pike, this video features Pike herself performing the UK premiere of Krzysztof Penderecki’s Capriccio for solo violin
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ArticleDidier Lockwood performs Over the Rainbow
French jazz violinist Didier Lockwood performs Over the Rainbow in the foyer of the Théâtre du Châtelet. Lockwood died on 18 February at the age of 62 following a heart attack.
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ReviewThomas Demenga: Bach Cello Suites
Deeply thought-out performances of these much-recorded cornerstones
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FocusRay Chen plays the Sarabande from Bach's Partita no.2 in D minor
‘I’ve always been inspired by Bach’s musical connection to the divine. One might not be religious or devout but one cannot deny the presence of a higher force within his music,’ writes Ray Chen in the description of his latest video, filmed on 12 January 2018
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Video'Inside Colour' for violin solo by Deborah Pritchard
Deborah Pritchard yesterday won a British Composer Award for Inside Colour, a work for solo violin Commissioned for the London Sinfonietta Shorts Series, with funding from Lark Insurance. Deborah Pritchard with her British Composer Award Pritchard, who describes herself as synaesthetic, used images of the Aurora Borealis ...
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VideoLawrence Power performs Salonen's Pentatonic Étude for solo viola
In this video from the Philharmonia Orchestra, British violist Lawrence Power plays Esa-Pekka Salonen’s Pentatonic Étude. Salonen wrote the piece for Power, who premiered it in 2015.
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VideoDavid Nadien plays Swan Lake Solo with Leonard Bernstein & New York Philharmonic
In this video, David Nadien, the New York Philharmonic’s concertmaster from 1966 to 1970, plays the Pas de deux violin solo from Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake. Nadien was appointed by Bernstein in 1966 in what was seen as quite a controversional move: the violinist had cut his teeth in the studios ...
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VideoGordan Nikolitch plays the violin solo in Beethoven's Missa Solemnis
In this performance at the 2011 BBC Proms, London Symphony Orchestra leader Gordan Nikolitch plays the violin solo part in the Sanctus from Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis. The LSO is conducted by Sir Colin Davis and joined by the London Philharmonic Choir and LSO Chorus, and Helena Junventen (soprano),Sarah Collonny (mezzo ...
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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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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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VideoBronislaw Huberman plays Air on the G String
Bronislaw Huberman’s playing style fell out fashion, and he is often brought up as the example of peak portamento - in our collection of quotes about portamento last week he was mentioned more than once, and not always admiringly. He is also remembered in the name of the Guarneri violin ...
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VideoRachel Barton Pine performs her Happy Birthday Variations
Violinist Rachel Barton Pine performs her own virtuoso arrangement of Happy Birthday - ‘Introduction, Theme and Variations on the Birthday Song’ - for the Lake Forest Symphony’s 75th anniversary gala in November 2007.
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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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VideoJacqueline du Pré - A Gift Beyond Words (Trailer)
A trailer for documentary maker Christopher Nupen’s new film for the BBC, marking the 30th anniversary of Jacqueline du Pré’s death. It will be broadcast on BBC Four on Sunday 22 October 2017 at 8pm.
