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‘You can’t turn around and blame anybody else for what you do up there’
PREVIEW In my new interview with Nicola Benedetti for the BBC Music Magazine August issue she explained how being a violinist prepared...
Jul 17


The string wisdom of Alfred Brendel
The legendary pianist, who died on Tuesday, was typically insightful and frank about fashions in string playing Photo: Regina Schmeken...
Jun 19


End of an era
The death of renowned violin expert Charles Beare raises questions about how we can know what we know about instruments in the age of...
May 1


Loving Kreisler
LIBRARY NOTES On the 150th birthday of the legendary violinist Fritz Kreisler, I delve into the archives for some first-person memories...
Feb 2


Busman’s Holiday
Two weeks of music, sun, wine and good company in France? Yes, please! Summer festivals are one of the perks of being a classical...
Aug 28, 2024


‘I prefer to play music, not to make music’
ARCHIVE On what would have been the 100th birthday of the legendary cellist János Starker, I revisit the interviews he gave me – and some...
Jul 4, 2024


The normalisation of classical music
OPINION: Far from its reputation as exclusive, classical music is often itself excluded from mainstream culture. As more young people...
May 4, 2024


Musical Utopia in Cornwall
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...
Apr 18, 2024


‘The utmost intensity’
Timothy Ridout's new CD celebrates the musical influences of Lionel Tertis, prompting me to find out more about the man who transformed...
Feb 21, 2024


Who do you think your violin is?
Have you ever wondered about the origins of your stringed instrument? I visited the Bavarian town of Mittenwald to explore the roots of...
Jul 2, 2023


TwoSet at the Troxy
Two Australian orchestral violinists have found millions of fans for classical music with their hilarious and geeky videos. I went to the...
Jun 22, 2023


A very British tradition
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,...
May 1, 2023


So good they named it twice
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...
Apr 12, 2023


At home with 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...
Apr 7, 2023


I ❤️ Beethoven
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...
Apr 6, 2023


Human imperfection will save us
Artificial intelligence impersonations of human writing are very good – and that’s why this writer isn’t afraid of them There’s lots of...
Mar 25, 2023


Opening the conservatoire doors
There are many good reasons for music colleges to include adult learners, so why do they seem reluctant? ‘I love the idea of building...
Feb 5, 2023


Turn off, tune out
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,...
Jan 26, 2023


Cold Tár soap
Cate Blanchett takes up a baton for the story of Lydia Tár but misses the fire of a great conductor and underplays the struggles of...
Jan 14, 2023


Death of a salesman
The death of violin expert Norman Rosenberg marks the end of an era and raises questions for the violin world There are some people who...
Mar 3, 2022
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