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Jan 26, 2016
Careless talk costs lives
As 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...
Oct 8, 2015
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...
Jan 13, 2015
The violinist’s guide to learning mandolin
For violinists, playing the mandolin offers instant rewards and benefits, but some challenges, too. I asked for advice from the best in...
Dec 2, 2014
Bach – the teacher
An 1802 biography of Bach offers timeless insights into the art of teaching, as well as revealing the composer's own pedagogical...
Oct 30, 2014
Written by Mrs Bach?
A new documentary suggests that Mrs Bach was behind the greatest works by her husband Johann Sebastian. But does it ring true? You know...
Oct 22, 2014
Cello master issues manifesto
Bach’s slurs are are a means of expression and not mere technical tricks and we have lost the art of Rhetoric, says Anner Bylsma...
Aug 18, 2014
The 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...
Jul 15, 2014
The 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...
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