Ariane TodesThe 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...
Ariane TodesA Gershwin tribute to Leopold AuerWhile we're on the subject of Leopold Auer, it's not possible to mention his roll-call of students without referencing this wonderful...
Ariane TodesLeopold Auer weighs in on the vibrato debateResponses to my post about Menuhin's vibrato drew a mixture of responses. I’d remarked on it being ‘perfectly shaped’ and ‘fluid’ and...
Ariane TodesThe best vibrato ever?I came across this footage of Menuhin playing Bach's 'Air on the G String'. Just look at his left hand – is that not the most perfectly...
Ariane TodesPerlman discovers klezmerI came across this lovely film while on my research into classical artists who have explored other genres. It's beautiful to watch the...
Ariane TodesViolinist Joshua Bell performs with Anoushka ShankarI'm currently researching an article for Sinfini Music about violin stars who branch out into other styles, and came across this...
Ariane TodesJames Ehnes on violin obsession and existential crisisMy latest interview for Cozio, with violinist James Ehnes, has just gone live, so please go and visit. He had so much to say about his...
Ariane TodesThe shortcut to perfection? Or tendinitis?The British Pathé YouTube archive is proving to be a charming source of films about the violin, in all its forms. Here is a soundless...
Ariane TodesAn innovative solution to peg turning I just came across this delightful footage on the British Pathé YouTube channel. It shows a class of 'budding Kreislers' from 1940...
Ariane TodesCharlie Chaplin's perfect film about the First World WarAmid the commemorations of the start of the First World War, you might like a bit of respectful levity, so here is Charlie Chaplin's...
Ariane TodesCharlie Chaplin and his violin obsessionThe great screen comedian was an accomplished amateur violinist who composed many of the scores to his films At the height of his...
Ariane TodesHow Sheila Nelson made me love the violinYou probably didn’t know that my mother was also a journalist – the apple never falls far from the tree, as they say. She was the...
Ariane TodesA world without musical borders at Ronnie Scott’sOne of my aims with this website is to be a non-denominational space where all forms of string music are equally respected and...
Ariane TodesAre music competitions really so bad?Julian Lloyd-Webber has come out in The Times against competitions, and accused them of being corrupt. That’s quite a broad brush with...
Ariane TodesSwedish cellist and Tunisian violinist are among Womad highlightsI’m just back from Womad: three days of camping in a field and listening to music from all over the world. I’m sunburnt and have sore...
Ariane TodesFritz Kreisler: a violinist at warThe First World War began 100 years ago, on 28 July 2014, with Austria–Hungary declaring war on Serbia, a month after the assassination...
Ariane TodesCharles 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...
Ariane TodesMy latest folk fiddle discoveryI heard this band on in the background playlist at the Green Note in Camden last week and had to stop my conversation, I was so...
Ariane TodesViolin practice is so over-ratedIf you've been trying to notch up 10,000 hours of practice in the hope of being deemed talented, spurred on by Malcolm Gladwell's rule...
Ariane TodesIvry Gitlis charms in the streets of ParisI don't speak French well but it doesn't matter when watching this video. It's worth it just to see a young Ivry Gitlis play, talk,...
Ariane TodesStradivarius 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...
Ariane TodesThe future of music?I just came across this lovely interview with mandolin super-hero Chris Thile. Thile came to fame as a Bluegrass player but in recent...
Ariane TodesCelebrating Carlos KleiberI came late to the Kleiber party – I was introduced to him only recently by Burton Kaplan while I was on his Magic Mountain music course....
Ariane TodesTough decisions about violinistsResearch has begun on my list of top 20 violinists for Sinfini Music. Now I’m not a big fan of definitive lists of anything, as I once...