Life in Teaching: Diana Cummings
Diana Cummings comes from a musical dynasty, and her career spans solo, chamber and orchestral playing. Since 1982 has been a professor...
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- Apr 8, 2019
Life in Teaching: Stefan Popov
Stefan Popov has been professor of cello at London’s Guildhall School of Music & Drama for 40 years, and before that taught at Boston...
- Apr 8, 2019
Life in Teaching: Thomas Martin
Double bassist Thomas Martin studied with Roger Scott in Philadelphia and can trace a teaching pedigree that goes back to Bottesini. In a...
- Aug 25, 2017
Happy Birthday, Ivry Gitlis!
The charismatic, idealistic, often contrarian and utterly unique violinist is 95 years young today. In celebration, here is an interview...
- Aug 31, 2016
Itzhak Perlman on his violin heroes
In this interview I did with Itzhak Perlman for The Strad’s Violin Heroes supplement in 2009, he remembered and analysed the violinists...
- Aug 22, 2016
Gilles Apap: ‘Don’t listen to nobody’
Violinist Gilles Apap has one of the most original voices today, crossing easily between classical and folk styles, often in the same...
- Mar 8, 2016
Interview with violinist Regina Carter
Regina Carter started with Dont and Galamian but she only truly found her voice when she discovered jazz. She tells Ariane Todes about...
- Nov 20, 2015
‘You have to treat Bartók as you do Mozart or Haydn’
Bartók’s quartets are often played ‘brutal, fast and loud’, but they should be approached as Classical masterpieces, says Jerusalem...
- Nov 16, 2015
Pinchas Zukerman on how to change the world
The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra celebrates its 70th birthday in 2016 and for its commemorative anniversary booklet, I had the...
- Oct 28, 2015
Joshua Bell on Josef Gingold
Josef Gingold was born on 28 October, 1909. In celebration of the birth of a universally beloved and respected pedagogue, here is an...
- Oct 8, 2015
The Freewheelin’ Yo-Yo Ma
Yo-Yo Ma turns 60 on 7 October, 2015, and to celebrate one of the world's best-loved classical music heroes, here is an interview I did...
- Oct 5, 2015
View from the viola front desk
Paul Silverthorne has led the viola section of the London Symphony Orchestra for 25 years, working with the finest conductors and...
- Sep 4, 2015
Thomas Demenga: ‘Sometimes I think we’re producing too many musicians at conservatoires’
The Swiss cellist Thomas Demenga discusses the fierce competition in today’s music world, how students should spend less time online and...
- Aug 16, 2015
How to be present
Great stage actors have an aura of positive energy and openness that musicians can access, too. Acting coach Patsy Rodenburg tells Ariane...
- Jul 22, 2015
John Woolrich: ‘Contemporary music is no different from Brahms’
The British composer John Woolrich discusses the challenges contemporary music faces and the vital role of amateur musicians My interview...
- Jun 13, 2015
Barry Douglas on the pressures and benefits of competitions
As the Tchaikovsky Competition kicks off, we revisit a 2014 interview with the great Irish pianist Barry Douglas, who won the contest in...
- 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...
- 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...
- 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...
- 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...
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