Ariane TodesItzhak Perlman on his violin heroesIn this interview I did with Itzhak Perlman for The Strad’s Violin Heroes supplement in 2009, he remembered and analysed the violinists...
Ariane TodesReview of Alexey Stadler PromAlexey Stadler‘s unexpected Proms debut last night was such stuff as careers are made on Performing at the Proms on a day’s notice is the...
Ariane TodesGilles 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...
Ariane Todes11 important musical insightsI’ve interviewed many wonderful musicians over the year, have learnt much and had my thinking challenged many times. Here are just a few...
Ariane TodesReview of Beethoven for a Later AgeI have a theory that musicians write in exactly the same style that they play their instruments. I’m pleased to see it proven, somewhat...
Ariane TodesBye Bye, BellowheadThe ground-breaking English folk band has broken up after 12 years, leaving this fangirl sad – but grateful I’m not a mosher. I don’t...
Ariane Todes20 great violinistsWho are my favourite violinists? A list of 20, which I made for Sinfini Music in 2014, still largely stands, but is sure to provoke a...
Ariane TodesWhen classical music marketing copy goes wrongThe current Southbank Centre slogan offers a lesson in how not to talk to about classical music There are a few obvious rules in...
Ariane TodesInterview with violinist Regina CarterRegina Carter started with Dont and Galamian but she only truly found her voice when she discovered jazz. She tells Ariane Todes about...
Ariane TodesA musical tonic for the soulA trip to the Musical Instrument Museum in Arizona offered profound and uplifting insights into the human condition, and interesting...
Ariane TodesJacqueline du Pré – a terrible premonitionOn what would have been the 71th birthday of Jacqueline du Pré, the words of János Starker sound a provocative warning Jacqueline du Pré...
Ariane TodesCareless talk costs livesAs Nigel Kennedy goes on Radio 4's Mastertapes programme to be rude about Baroque performance practice, here's a blog I wrote in 2011 on...
Ariane TodesTop 5 Elbow Music posts of 2015Thank you for visiting Elbow Music in 2015. It’s been a bumper year for the site, and I’m planning some developments very shortly, so...
Ariane Todes11 important musical insightsI’ve interviewed many wonderful musicians over the year, have learnt much and had my thinking challenged many times. Here are just a few...
Ariane Todes‘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...
Ariane TodesPinchas Zukerman on how to change the worldThe Royal Philharmonic Orchestra celebrates its 70th birthday in 2016 and for its commemorative anniversary booklet, I had the...
Ariane TodesJoshua Bell on Josef GingoldJosef Gingold was born on 28 October, 1909. In celebration of the birth of a universally beloved and respected pedagogue, here is an...
Ariane TodesGeorge Eliot on violin-making obsession and the genius of StradivariusTo mark the UK's National Poetry Day, 8th October, here's George Eliot's great poem about violin making and the obsession with which...
Ariane TodesThe Freewheelin’ Yo-Yo MaYo-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...
Ariane TodesView from the viola front deskPaul Silverthorne has led the viola section of the London Symphony Orchestra for 25 years, working with the finest conductors and...