Articles | Elbow Music

Oct 9

‘It’s crazy to think that you might graduate not having the skill to do the job you’re going to be hired to do’ – an interview with Rachel Barton Pine

Rachel Barton Pine has one of the most eclectic, unconventional and interesting careers of all violinists – whether playing thrash-metal...

Oct 2

‘If you play without a safety net, it makes you freer’ – an interview with Vilde Frang

My interview with Vilde Frang for the cover of the November issue of BBC Music Magazine has just come out, as she releases her...

Aug 28

Busman’s Holiday

Two weeks of music, sun, wine and good company in France? Yes, please! Summer festivals are one of the perks of being a classical...

Jul 17

The art of leading

INTERVIEW Making mistakes, giving everything and leaving ego at the door: concertmaster Andrej Power offers his insights into the skills...

Jul 4

‘I prefer to play music, not to make music’

ARCHIVE On what would have been the 100th birthday of the legendary cellist János Starker, I revisit the interviews he gave me – and some...

Jun 30

‘As you grow older, you have to get smarter and more efficient’

Edward Dusinberre describes the benefits of ageing, offers advice to students about how to find their own sound and explains why talking...

May 27

Library notes

Behind Heifetz’s crooked smile; Gould’s Last Resort practice technique; Auer on truth and beauty; Leopold Mozart pits orchestral players...

May 4

The normalisation of classical music

OPINION: Far from its reputation as exclusive, classical music is often itself excluded from mainstream culture. As more young people...

Apr 18

Musical Utopia in Cornwall

A week in the magical musical bubble of St Endellion’s Easter Festival offered a hopeful vision of grass-roots classical music in the UK...

Mar 7

Interview with Augustin Hadelich

The world’s busiest violinist offers his thoughts on a life in music, including how to play naturally, getting on with conductors,...

Feb 21

‘The utmost intensity’

Timothy Ridout's new CD celebrates the musical influences of Lionel Tertis, prompting me to find out more about the man who transformed...

Oct 3, 2023

On the Reich tracks

FROM THE ARCHIVE Steve Reich’s quartet Different Trains has the power to reduce an audience to tears, but how does it feel to perform and...

Sep 16, 2023

Postcards from Stockholm

I’m back from a visit to Stockholm for a BBC Music Magazine Musical Destination piece focused on the opening of the Royal Stockholm...

Jul 2, 2023

Who do you think your violin is?

Have you ever wondered about the origins of your stringed instrument? I visited the Bavarian town of Mittenwald to explore the roots of...

Jun 22, 2023

TwoSet at the Troxy

Two Australian orchestral violinists have found millions of fans for classical music with their hilarious and geeky videos. I went to the...

May 24, 2023

Anne-Sophie Mutter: ‘I grew up in the wilderness and I’m a little bit wild’

The legendary German violinist discusses her approach to performance and shares her hopes and fears for the future of classical music I...

May 1, 2023

A very British tradition

Newark School of Violin Making has an alumni list that reads like a Who’s Who of the violin world. As it celebrates its 50th anniversary,...

Apr 12, 2023

So good they named it twice

On the next stop of my Interrail trip, I head to Baden-Baden to hear Kirill Petrenko and the Berlin Philharmonic play Strauss From Bach...

Apr 7, 2023

At home with Bach

Hearing Bach’s St John Passion in the composer’s own church was a concert of a lifetime I didn’t think Bach would stick a knife in my...

Apr 6, 2023

I ❤️ Beethoven

For the first stop of my Interrail trip, I make a beeline for Beethoven’s home city of Bonn and find him around every corner I love...