“Bariolage” is a French word for a bowing technique that involves rapid changing of strings, often between open strings and “stopped” strings—that is, strings with the fingers down.
As performers and teachers, we may use the pandemic's forced limitations to create new and possibly even more productive solutions moving forward.
By Brian Wise | From the January-February 2021 issue of Strings magazine The provenance of a musical instrument—its history of ownership and possession—is a crucial factor in determining its value and its mystique. But how crucial is it to know…
This new sheet music review discusses Six Variations with Coda on a Theme of Beethoven for violin & piano by Böhm, Clement, Hellmesberger, St. Lubin, Mayseder & Schuppanzigh
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By Brian Wise | From the January-February 2021 issue of Strings magazine Violinists have appeared in advertisements for soap (Ole Bull), beer (Jascha Heifetz), scotch whisky (Mischa Elman), and stereo equipment (Fritz Kreisler, Yehudi Menuhin). But these days, the product…
By Laurence Vittes | From the January-February 2021 issue of Strings magazine The success of Missy Raines’ 2018 Grammy-nominated Royal Traveller album, hailed by the Bluegrass Situation as “an open and honest telling of the realities of a life in…
This new sheet music for Bartók’s famous Romanian Folk Dancesfor viola and piano by Kim Kashkashian closely follows Székely’s famed violin version.
By Evan Johnson | From the January-February 2021 issue of Strings magazine Sometimes we forget how important silence is in music. It has as many functions as sound—and can be just as expressive. Tiny silences can strengthen or clarify individual…
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By Andrew McIntosh | From the January-February 2021 issue of Strings magazine Curiosity has always been my guiding light as a musician. I find repeatedly that the musical situations I enjoy the most occur serendipitously after simply following a thread…
By Caeli Smith | From the January-February 2021 issue of Strings magazine Violin maker Christopher Jacoby is editor of the Violin Society of America’s membership magazine, the Scroll, and workshop manager at Potter Violins, where he wields his pen, tools,…
By Kate Levin | From the January-February 2021 issue of Strings magazine My violin is beautiful. Its glossy surface is intermittently disturbed by slight cracks in the varnish that make it more rather than less beautiful. The golden-brown body contrasts…
By Jeff Kaliss | From the January-February 2021 issue of Strings magazine When Lara St. John sought a moniker for her own record label in 1999, she chose Ancalagon, to memorialize her recently deceased pet iguana, whose name in turn…
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This sheet music of Stravinsky;'s Suite Italienne arranged by Kim Kashkashian closely follows the 1930s violin & piano transcription by Samuel Dushkin with a few twists.
By Brian Forst | From the January-February 2021 issue of Strings magazine My road to the cello started at age eight, when my parents gave me singing lessons, followed by accordion lessons at age 11. We drove from Los Angeles…
By Greg Cahill | From the January-February 2021 issue of Strings magazine Downbeat magazine recently named jazz violinist Tomoko Omura one of its Rising Star Violinists for the fifth year in a row. Her new album, Branches Vol. 1 (Outside…
By Olivia Noh | From the January-February 2021 issue of Strings magazine In college, I came across George Bernard Shaw’s infamous quote, “He who can, does; he who cannot, teaches.” It was a character in one of Shaw’s plays that…
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Growing up as a young violinist, I would have loved to have seen someone who looked like me doing what I’m doing now... So, being that for the next generation of musicians is now a huge part of what I do and why I do it.
By Mary Chan | From the January-February 2021 issue of Strings magazine How hard can it be? I thought, after watching a ten-year-old perform a Bach violin concerto with ease on YouTube. It takes a certain hubris to pick up…
Cellist David Starkweather has published a vertically aligned manuscript edition of all 5 versions of the Bach Cello Suites in an easily navigated digital edition.
By Megan Westberg | From the January-February 2021 issue of Strings magazine You’re working on a piece and suddenly feel that the edition you’re looking at is not quite enough. You need to cross-reference. The other edition you want to…
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By George Struble | From the January-February 2021 issue of Strings magazine November 2016. I had agreed to gather a string quartet to provide a concert in Stayton, Oregon’s Charles and Martha Brown House, a historic home that was being…
By Karl Dennis | From the January-February 2021 issue of Strings magazine Of all the violins you’ve seen, which left the greatest impression on you as a violin maker? Over the years, there have been a small number of instruments…
By Anthea Kreston | From the January-February 2021 issue of Strings magazine Music has taken on a different meaning for all of us during the pandemic. I was fortunate, in some ways, that I had a glimpse into the world…
As it became obvious to the classical-music world that live concerts would not return to previous levels for far longer than a few months, many have turned to livestreaming.