Cellist Anne Gastinel Explores the Lyrical Side of Chopin’s Chamber Works

Despite recording 20 albums over a 3-decade career, French concert cellist and educator Anne Gastinel had not explored Chopin’s chamber works on record—until now.

Happy Birthday, Frederic Chopin! Celebrate with His Romantic Nocturnes

According to baptismal records, Frederic Chopin's birth was actually on February 22, 1810, but like the rebel he is, he chose March 1 to celebrate his birthday.... Read More...

Sheet Music Review: Schott’s Joy of Music for Violin & Piano

Schott's "Joy of Music: Virtuoso and Entertaining Pieces for Violin & Piano" is aimed at professional musicians and advanced amateurs interested in new discoveries outside the standard repertoire.

Essential Historical Recordings: Pablo Casals Brought Bach’s Cello Suites to Light

Pablo Casals was a towering figure in the history of cello playing—at once artist, exponent, exemplar, and liberator.

Idagio’s ‘Live Compare’ Technology Makes Comparative Listening a Breeze

Idagio’s Live Compare technology switches seamlessly between different recordings of a work as the music continues to play uninterrupted.

One Violinist, One Violin… and Six Armed Guards: Francesca Dego on What It’s Like to Play Paganini’s ‘Il Cannone’

When Niccolò Paganini needed a powerful new violin, he found (or was given) an instrument by Guarneri del Gesù. He called it “Il Cannone” (the Cannon) and used it for the rest of his life.

Essential Historical Recordings: When Fritz Kreisler Changed How We Hear and Play Violin

By Sasha Margolis Fritz Kreisler, who forever changed the way we listen to and play the violin, was a disarmingly charming revolutionary. His music-making w... Read More...

Essential Historical Recordings: Ida Haendel, the ‘Grande Dame of the Violin’

Haendel was a large-scaled player who thrived in the great Romantic concerti. In her younger years, her musicality was especially fiery and impulsive...

Essential Historical Recordings: ‘Queen of the Cello’ Zara Nelsova

By Sasha Margolis Zara Nelsova was born to play the cello—almost literally. The woman who, in the 1950s, would be dubbed “Queen of the Cello” and come to be... Read More...

Getting Over the Shock of the New: Contemporary Symphonic Music Is Coming Of Age

By Greg Cahill | From the May-June 2020 issue of Strings magazine “There is a creepy bloodlust to the doom-mongering of classical music, as though an autops... Read More...