Concert highlights of 2014 – and one big stinker
2014 was another busy year on the London concert scene. Here (in chronological order) are my favourite concerts of the many I went to,...
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Dec 22, 2014
16 important musical truths I learnt in 2014
This year, my first as a freelance writer and journalist, I've had the privilege to meet some amazing musicians during my assignments for...
Dec 4, 2014
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...
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...
Nov 29, 2014
The Charlie Chaplin guide to violin playing
Charlie Chaplin was one of the most expressive and popular communicators ever. What can string players learn from his art? Light and...
Nov 19, 2014
‘When you play Bach you should speak about us all’
Anner Bylsma has some advice for players who want to express their own feelings through music While I was at the Amsterdam Cello Biënnale...
Nov 15, 2014
Casals: ‘I am a simple man’
I just came across this lovely BBC documentary about Casals. I could do without seeing the researcher, Robert Baldock, playing Bach and...
Nov 13, 2014
Songs in the key of life
An understanding of the characteristics of the different keys can help you develop a palette of sounds. So do you know your innocent C...
Nov 11, 2014
The unbearable lightness of being Gary Hoffman
Gary Hoffman is one of the music world’s best-kept secrets, a fine and uncompromising cellist whose rare appearances mesmerise. For him,...
Nov 10, 2014
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...
Nov 7, 2014
Do instruments have an objective value?
Donna Tartt's brilliant novel The Goldfinch contains insights into the antiques business that might apply to the violin business too I’ve...
Oct 30, 2014
Who are the most popular string players in the US?
The Baltimore Symphony Orchestra has handily published this wonderfully detailed data about the concerts played in the 2014–2015 season...
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...
Oct 21, 2014
Why togetherness is over-rated
At his masterclass on Monday, Jean-Guihen Queyras challenged the notion that playing chamber music is all about playing exactly together...
Oct 20, 2014
Mischa Maisky: ‘Bach is turning in his grave’
Mischa Maisky challenged the traditional notion of authenticity in his masterclass at the Amsterdam Cello Biënnale If any classical...
Oct 5, 2014
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...
Sep 12, 2014
When Guarneri met Stradivari
I'm currently reading this charming book about Guarneri 'del Gesù', written in 1974 by Leonard Wibberley. I found it on a bookshelf and...
Sep 9, 2014
Should classical players cross over?
While I’ve been researching my article on violinists who’ve crossed musical borderlines, for Sinfini Music, I found myself debating with...
Sep 5, 2014
The art of ageing
Whether you're a maker or a player, or just worried about getting old, you should see the Matisse cut-outs exhibition The Matisse...
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