#blog

Jan 26, 2016

Jacqueline du Pré – a terrible premonition

On what would have been the 71th birthday of Jacqueline du Pré, the words of János Starker sound a provocative warning Jacqueline du Pré was born 26th January, 1945 and died on 19th October 1987. She was a natural talent who burned very brightly indeed, all too briefly. She came to epitomise both the joy and optimism of a golden era of music making in the 1960s, and then the searing tragedy of human fragility and the transience of life. Of course we are left with wonderful re

Oct 8, 2015

George Eliot on violin-making obsession and the genius of Stradivarius

To mark the UK's National Poetry Day, 8th October, here's George Eliot's great poem about violin making and the obsession with which Stradivarius worked, and indeed the obsession with which any great maker views their 'monotonous task'. She also includes and interesting allegation about Guarneri 'del Gesù' and his 'over-drinking': Stradivarius Your soul was lifted by the wings today Hearing the master of the violin: You praised him, praised the great Sebastian too Who made th

Aug 16, 2015

What do actors and musicians have in common?

A recent performance of the whole of Homer’s epic Iliad offered an opportunity to observe actors close up and to understand what their craft has in common with music performance I only meant to pop into the British Museum on Friday afternoon to hear a bit of Homer’s Iliad. By 1am I was lying exhausted on my sofa watching the live stream from the Almeida Theatre, where Tim Piggott-Smith as Priam was bringing the dead body of his warrior son Hector home to Troy, wrapping up 16

Jun 1, 2015

Peter Cropper and the art of story telling

The great violinist, former leader of the Lindsay Quartet, and one of the unique and most charismatic voices in chamber music, died on Friday, 29 May, aged only 69. In a recent interview, he challenged notions of what makes a performance great I interviewed Peter Cropper earlier in the year for ChamberStudio, ahead of his March masterclass for the organisation. Here is the blog I wrote in February about the experience, and the important questions Cropper asked: My latest inte

May 8, 2015

Why you should stop practising

Observing masterclasses can be a brilliant way to learn and find inspiration, and yet students rarely turn up to watch. They may be too busy practising, but have they got their priorities wrong? They say that youth is wasted on the young. In one respect I concur. In the many masterclasses I’ve been to around the world, watching some of the finest players teaching, there’s often been barely a handful of students in the audience. It happened again yesterday. Shmuel Ashkenasi, f

May 2, 2015

Is your violin wild, juicy, lingering or tart?

Coffee experts and barristas have a whole language for describing their craft. Can it help violin makers? I visited the London Coffee Festival today – my first time at a trade show that had nothing to do with violins. I discovered that barristas are every bit as geeky and obsessed as luthiers. There were plenty of demonstrations of the different techniques and new gizmos and lots of people walking around with samples in their hands looking somewhat wild-eyed. I had no idea th

Apr 27, 2015

Interview with Shmuel Ashkenasi

The former Vermeer Quartet leader and Curtis Institute professor discusses the negative sides of Ilona Fehér's 'tough love' school of teaching, and of violin competitions I recently interviewed Shmuel Ashkenasi for ChamberStudio, ahead of his chamber music masterclass for them at Kings Place on Sunday, 10 May. Conversation turned away from his views on chamber music to his past, and below are some of the other topics we covered. Born in Israel, from the age of eight Ashkenasi

Apr 14, 2015

Pinchas Zukerman: violin geek

In honour of Pinchas Zukerman's performance tonight of the Elgar Violin Concerto with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at London's Southbank Centre, I thought I'd republish an interview I did with him while I was at The Strad, as it was one of my favourites. I was interviewing him for a tribute to luthier René Morel for the February 2012 issue, but Zukerman was in chatty mood and said some wonderful and thought-provoking things about violins and musical attitudes: Pinchas Zuk

Mar 26, 2015

18 ways to support musicians

I have an article in today's Financial Times about music philanthropy, for which I spoke to some of the legion of generous souls who help nurture the UK's young musicians. It turns out that you don’t have to be rich to be a philanthropist, though: musicians’ needs are many and varied, and some of them can be met without spending a penny. Here are a few, ranging from free moral support to big-figure transactions: Join a mailing list: you’re more likely to go to concerts and ev

Mar 12, 2015

Violin competitions: participant’s view

Violinist Benjamin Baker has just been selected for the final rounds of the Queen Elisabeth Violin Competition. Such contests are notoriously stressful, so why would anyone put themselves through that? He explains all here Participants were announced today for the prestigious Queen Elisabeth Violin Competition in Brussels, Belgium, in May. The only UK player going forward is Benjamin Baker (also representing New Zealand), who is a seasoned competition winner: he came first at

Feb 23, 2015

The case for modern instruments

As two top violinists are forced to give back the classic instruments they've been borrowing, should more performers consider modern instruments as a serious long-term option? News that violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann has to give back the Strad he has been playing for over ten years to the financial services company that now owns it, and that the Pressenda played by Jerusalem Quartet violinist Alexander Pavlovsky has been sold by the syndicate that bought it, is upsetting, b

Feb 17, 2015

What makes a great performance?

How often do you leave a concert feeling as if you've experienced something special? As often as you'd like? If not, why not? My latest interview for ChamberStudio has just gone online – with one of the organisation’s mentors, former Lindsays first violinist Peter Cropper. Snatched during lunch between masterclasses at Kings Place, it was a fun interview to do, with him reciting Shakespeare and singing me opera and quartet music. Cropper is one of life’s born communicators –

Feb 10, 2015

Viktoria Mullova on inspiration, rules and coughing

The Russian violinist is forthright about Baroque rules, the narrow-mindedness of only listening to classical music, and allowing audiences to cough In my latest interview over at Cozio I talk to violinist Viktoria Mullova about her ‘Jules Falk’ Stradivarius and her Guadagnini, which she uses for Baroque music. Mullova has an eminently sensible approach to Strads: while she believes that some of them have a very special sound, she also acknowledges that not all of them do, an

Feb 4, 2015

Spain’s Stradivarius quartet

A weekend in Madrid provided the perfect opportunity to view some unusual Stradivarius instruments There is a lot to do in Madrid – museums and palaces to visit, not to mention tapas bars and restaurants. But for the violin geek, there's really only one destination: the Royal Palace. I have long been curious to see the exquisitely decorated quartet of Stradivarius instruments that lives there – while at The Strad I'd read and published several articles about them. And as they

Jan 29, 2015

Isaac Stern on prodigies’ pitfalls

A historic letter from Isaac Stern to Henryk Szeryng offers fascinating insight into his thoughts about raising a violin prodigy Yesterday I uploaded a video documentary about Ilona Fehér, the Hungarian-born Israeli violin pedagogue who taught players such Pinchas Zukerman, Shlomo Mintz and Shmuel Ashkenasi. In the film one hears the young Shlomo Mintz talk and play. We are reminded of his phenomenal sound at that age but he also talks about the pressure that Fehér put him

Jan 15, 2015

Real or fake?

An exhibition at Dulwich Picture Gallery will replace a classic painting with a Chinese fake and ask visitors to spot the copy. What can the violin world learn from this experiment? A challenging exhibition at the Dulwich Picture Gallery in February will replace a classic painting with a copy, faked in China, asking visitors to work out which is the odd one out. This seems to be the equivalent of the sort of blind test we have seen in recent years in the string world. The pre

Jan 14, 2015

9 ways to succeed in music

Today's classical music business may be competitive and tough, but there are also more opportunities than ever. Success lies in knowing who you are, as Ariane Todes explains Last year I was invited to Birmingham Conservatoire by the Head of Strings there, Louise Lansdown, to talk to the string students about life beyond music education – to help them think about their futures in positive and realistic ways. In preparation for my talk, I sent the students a survey to fill out

Jan 8, 2015

How to learn jazz violin

Jazz violinist Regina Carter, interviewed here, offers some advice on exploring the genre Transcribing ‘If it’s not your language you have to do a lot of listening and transcribing – not necessarily writing it down, but listening and playing it back. Then tape yourself playing it, because it’s not just about the notes: the notes are the least important of what you’re transcribing. Are you phrasing like they phrase and breathing when they breathe? Are you using their vibrato?

Dec 29, 2014

Concert highlights of 2014 – and one big stinker

2014 was another busy year on the London concert scene. Here (in chronological order) are my favourite concerts of the many I went to, and one I hope to forget (but not for the obvious reasons) The Best Gary Hoffman Brahms recital, Wigmore Hall, January When I interviewed Hoffman for The Strad in advance of this concert, he explained his identification with the great composer: ‘There’s something about Brahms and what he reveals in his music that makes me feel a great sense of

Dec 22, 2014

16 important musical truths I learnt in 2014

This year, my first as a freelance writer and journalist, I've had the privilege to meet some amazing musicians during my assignments for various magazines and websites. Even as an amateur violinist, hearing their insights has changed the way I approach music, or at least made me think carefully, and I hope you find them useful or stimulating. Follow the links for more details, and if you disagree with any of them please add your comments at the end! 1) Playing on the bar lin