The science of violin making
There are many different tribes of violin makers, in my experience. Conservatives, Futurists, Archivists, Geometrists, Philosophers,...
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Aug 29, 2014
Everything you need to know about violin playing (but were never taught)
Musical timing and closure, hearing and thinking for ourselves – just some of the things that teaching often fails to help us with,...
Aug 27, 2014
Brahms as I’ve never heard him
Last night's Proms concert with the Budapest Festival Orchestra was ravishing, but raised an uncomfortable question I have a friend who...
Aug 26, 2014
A plea on behalf of amateur violinists
Two weeks at a violin practice retreat were life-changing for me, but left me wondering why there aren't enough places for amateur...
Aug 22, 2014
The 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...
Aug 21, 2014
A Gershwin tribute to Leopold Auer
While we're on the subject of Leopold Auer, it's not possible to mention his roll-call of students without referencing this wonderful...
Aug 21, 2014
Leopold Auer weighs in on the vibrato debate
Responses to my post about Menuhin's vibrato drew a mixture of responses. I’d remarked on it being ‘perfectly shaped’ and ‘fluid’ and...
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...
Aug 15, 2014
Perlman discovers klezmer
I came across this lovely film while on my research into classical artists who have explored other genres. It's beautiful to watch the...
Aug 14, 2014
Violinist Joshua Bell performs with Anoushka Shankar
I'm currently researching an article for Sinfini Music about violin stars who branch out into other styles, and came across this...
Aug 11, 2014
James Ehnes on violin obsession and existential crisis
My 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...
Aug 8, 2014
The 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...
Aug 6, 2014
An 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...
Aug 5, 2014
Charlie Chaplin's perfect film about the First World War
Amid the commemorations of the start of the First World War, you might like a bit of respectful levity, so here is Charlie Chaplin's...
Aug 5, 2014
Charlie Chaplin and his violin obsession
The great screen comedian was an accomplished amateur violinist who composed many of the scores to his films At the height of his...
Aug 3, 2014
How Sheila Nelson made me love the violin
You 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...
Aug 1, 2014
A world without musical borders at Ronnie Scott’s
One of my aims with this website is to be a non-denominational space where all forms of string music are equally respected and...
Jul 28, 2014
Are 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...
Jul 28, 2014
Swedish cellist and Tunisian violinist are among Womad highlights
I’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...
Jul 25, 2014
Fritz Kreisler: a violinist at war
The First World War began 100 years ago, on 28 July 2014, with Austria–Hungary declaring war on Serbia, a month after the assassination...
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