chamber music | Elbow Music

Turn off, tune out

A plea to end the wispy-bulgy school of violin playing Is there a particular sound that makes you reach for the radio off button? For me,...

Peter Cropper’s A–Z of chamber music

In this article, first published at ChamberStudio in 2015, the late and much-missed first violinist of the Lindsays pulled no punches...

Shmuel Ashkenasi on the art of chamber music

Shmuel Ashkenasi led the legendary Vermeer Quartet for nearly 30 years. In this interview, first published by ChamberStudio, he offers...

Mission possible

A summer festival in Silicon Valley initiates young players into the joys and challenges of chamber music and then sends them out into...

17 reasons to love amateur musicians

Amateur musicians are a vital part of the classical music world, but don’t always get the recognition or opportunities they deserve or...

Can string quartets save the world?

The recent Amsterdam String Quartet Biennale explored various aspects of the string quartet format, including the many life lessons it...

Review of Beethoven for a Later Age

I have a theory that musicians write in exactly the same style that they play their instruments. I’m pleased to see it proven, somewhat...

‘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...

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...

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...

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...

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...

The future of music competitions

Competitions are a vital part of the classical music world, whether you like it or not. They offer many benefits to players and to the...

Eugene Drucker on Beethoven

I recently interviewed Eugene Drucker about his Southbank Centre concert with the Emerson Quartet on Sunday, 16 November, which you can...

The return of Kyung Wha Chung

The legendary violinist Kyung Wha Chung makes her much-awaited London comeback this December, after more than a decade away. On a recent...

Arnold Steinhardt: ‘Don’t put your parents in hock to buy a violin’

A couple of weeks ago I interviewed Arnold Steinhardt, leader of the Guarneri Quartet for 40 years, for the Cozio website. Steinhardt is...