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

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

Thomas Demenga: ‘Sometimes I think we’re producing too many musicians at conservatoires’

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 more practising, and how he can’t always tell the difference between old and modern instruments Occasionally when I do a phone interview, I feel a pang of envy imagining where my interviewee is. I certainly did when I spoke to cellist Thomas Demenga recently for Cozio.com. He’d just arrived in Venice for the start of a sabbatical, after 35 y

Let’s show modern instruments some #love

Let’s show modern instruments some #love

The Elbow Music social media campaign puts modern instruments in the spotlight My recent article about Frank Peter Zimmermann’s dilemma in having to give back the Stradivarius he had been playing and whether he should try a modern instrument proved quite a hit here trafficwise; and last week, a picture of my friend’s viola on Facebook was very popular. It seems that there is an ever-growing interest among players in the possibilities of modern instruments, as new making gets

Brave new violin world

Brave new violin world

A new collection of specially commissioned unantiqued instruments offers hope of a new Zeitgeist around modern violins. Will top soloists catch on? This article was first published in the May issue of Classical Music magazine, and is posted with permission. How should we feel for Frank Peter Zimmermann, who has had to give up the 1711 'Lady Inchiquin' Stradivarius violin he has played since 2002? He had it on loan from a German bank which is being wound up by financial servic

Wine and violins

Wine and violins

Facebook just kindly reminded me that two years ago today I was in Sarasota, Florida, enjoying the La Musica Festival, and tasting wine – in the name of research, of course. Here's the blog I wrote for The Strad, in April 2013: I’ve taken part in a few violin blind tests in my time, but yesterday evening I experienced my first wine one, as part of the La Musica chamber music festival in Sarasota, Florida. It was billed as an Old World, New World exploration, with six wines in

Pinchas Zukerman: violin geek

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

Spain’s Stradivarius quartet

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

The real secret of Stradivarius?

The real secret of Stradivarius?

I had a lovely morning yesterday talking to cellist Natalie Clein for two forthcoming articles – about her new Saint-Saëns disc, for Sinfini Music and about the beautiful 'Simpson' Guadagnini she plays, for Cozio. So the subjects ranged all over the place, but towards the end we got to talking about modern instruments. Natalie is extremely positive about the benefits of playing them, saying, 'What I love about modern instruments is that they’re like fountain pens. They allow

Charles Beare – violin expertise ‘not the real thing’

Charles Beare – violin expertise ‘not the real thing’

At first I thought this New Yorker article about the Carpenter family by Rebecca Mead was going to be a puff piece, but it turns out to be a pretty thorough exposition of the high-end stringed instrument market, quoting many of the big names in that world. The article alludes to some of the underlying issues in the business, without necessarily focusing on them. You get a sense of the fierce ambition and sales skills required to try to sell instruments at this level – usualll

Ivry Gitlis charms in the streets of Paris

Stradivarius violin blind tests – do they matter?

Stradivarius violin blind tests – do they matter?

A really interesting article about wine in the New Yorker suggests striking parallels between how we choose wine and our attitudes to instruments, demonstrating the subjectivity and inconsistency with which we demonstrate preferences. The author, Maria Konnikova, recounts taking part in Daniel Salzman's experiment. Salzman offers participants two different wines. One he says is more expensive than the other, and he explains its artisanal production techniques. The author admi