REVIEW From Bach to Radiohead: virtuoso mandolinist Chris Thile’s Queen Elizabeth Hall concert offered joy and humour as well as tears and shared meaning I’m still thinking about Chris Thile’s concert last night at Queen Elizabeth Hall, and even having the occasional flashback. Who would think that a solo mandolin player could hold the audience of the London Jazz Festival pin-drop quiet with an entire Bach sonata (apart from the odd ripple of laughter – proving that classical

INTERVIEW I had the chance to fangirl/interview my childhood violin hero Itzhak Perlman, and to ask him about his inimitable sound I’ve interviewed Itzhak Perlman for the cover of November’s Strad magazine . I’ll say that again for 15-year-old me, trying not to shout: I interviewed Itzhak Perlman for the cover of this month’s Strad magazine! Yes, the awkward, odd teenager who was obsessed with Perlman and Thomas Hardy rather than Duran Duran and makeup, and practically wore o

PREVIEW In my new interview with Nicola Benedetti for the BBC Music Magazine August issue she explained how being a violinist prepared...

The legendary pianist, who died on Tuesday, was typically insightful and frank about fashions in string playing Photo: Regina Schmeken...

The death of renowned violin expert Charles Beare raises questions about how we can know what we know about instruments in the age of...

LIBRARY NOTES On the 150th birthday of the legendary violinist Fritz Kreisler, I delve into the archives for some first-person memories...

Two weeks of music, sun, wine and good company in France? Yes, please! Summer festivals are one of the perks of being a classical...

ARCHIVE On what would have been the 100th birthday of the legendary cellist János Starker, I revisit the interviews he gave me – and some...

OPINION: Far from its reputation as exclusive, classical music is often itself excluded from mainstream culture. As more young people...

A week in the magical musical bubble of St Endellion’s Easter Festival offered a hopeful vision of grass-roots classical music in the UK...

Timothy Ridout's new CD celebrates the musical influences of Lionel Tertis, prompting me to find out more about the man who transformed...

Have you ever wondered about the origins of your stringed instrument? I visited the Bavarian town of Mittenwald to explore the roots of...

Two Australian orchestral violinists have found millions of fans for classical music with their hilarious and geeky videos. I went to the...

Newark School of Violin Making has an alumni list that reads like a Who’s Who of the violin world. As it celebrates its 50th anniversary,...

On the next stop of my Interrail trip, I head to Baden-Baden to hear Kirill Petrenko and the Berlin Philharmonic play Strauss From Bach...

Hearing Bach’s St John Passion in the composer’s own church was a concert of a lifetime I didn’t think Bach would stick a knife in my...

For the first stop of my Interrail trip, I make a beeline for Beethoven’s home city of Bonn and find him around every corner I love...

Artificial intelligence impersonations of human writing are very good – and that’s why this writer isn’t afraid of them There’s lots of...

There are many good reasons for music colleges to include adult learners, so why do they seem reluctant? ‘I love the idea of building...

A plea to end the wispy-bulgy school of violin playing Is there a particular sound that makes you reach for the radio off button? For me,...