F-Holes Are All Basically the Same—Except That They’re All Different
Every violin f-hole looks like its twin, and they all look the same. But this is not the case with classical makers, especially the Italians of the Golden Period.
February 2019
8 Adult Amateurs Talk Transcendent Moments & Finding the Time to Keep Playing
We spoke with eight string players from various camps or schools of study about challenges and what keeps them coming back to the practice room for more.
For Her First Solo Album, Cellist Neyla Pekarek Turns to Rattlesnake Kate For Inspiration
By Megan Westberg Neyla Pekarek hadn’t played her cello much during her college years. She opted instead to study musical theater and hone her vocal skills. Her plan was to become a music teacher. Still, when she saw a Craigslist…
Teaching Students to Harness the Transformative Power of Thoughtful Listening
By Nicholas Cords Ironically, listening is a musician’s greatest challenge. We spend a lifetime with the instrument under our ears and yet, as listeners, we tend to grow complacent. As violist of Brooklyn Rider and co-artistic director of Silkroad, my…
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How Life’s Circumstances Brought Me Back to the Cherished Music of My Youth
By Jeanne Collins On a crisp fall afternoon, our viola da gamba consort gathers to share in creating the sweet sounds of the viol. I am right in the middle, on the tenor line, surrounded by silver sounds above and…
Gesina Liedmeier’s Historical Instruments Reflect the Passions of Her Clients
By Toni Sicola Gesina Liedmeier has lived a creative life for as long as she can remember. As a child, she found inspiration in music and the visual arts, taking up the recorder and the guitar, as well as crafting…
Fiddler Hillary Klug Offers Advice on Busking in Nashville
By Bob Doerschuk To really understand what Hillary Klug is doing, imagine a doctor who has figured out how to do brain surgery and deliver babies simultaneously. Or an artist who can paint a masterpiece with her right hand while…
Violist Matthew Lipman on Commissioning a New Work in Honor of His Late Mother
by Matthew Lipman There’s nothing more fulfilling than discovering a piece of music for the first time. Because Metamorfose was a piece I commissioned, I had no way of knowing how it would sound before receiving the score from Clarice…
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Violinist Sudan Archives Discusses Her Eclectic Blend of Styles, from Sudanese Fiddling to Stravinsky
By Cristina Schreil Against a shower of tinkling percussion, the camera advances ever so slowly through a West African market. We push past dangling fabrics and crates of eggs; women balance heaps of laundry atop their crowns. As a high-pitched…