A Buyer’s Guide to the Work of Mantua’s Historical Violin Makers
The Italian city of Mantua was home to some of the most important violin makers in history, including Pietro Guarneri, Camillo de Camilli, Tommaso Balestrieri, and Stefano Scarampella.
July-August 2020
Period-music Ensemble Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin Rose From Humble Beginnings to Record Authoritative Interpretations of Handel’s Concerti Grossi, Op. 6
By Inge Kjemtrup | From the July-August 2020 issue of Strings magazine What do George Frideric Handel and Jimi Hendrix have in common? Start with the obvious: they were both famous musicians who had a huge influence on generations of…
Violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter’s New Release ‘John Williams in Vienna’ Documents a Cherished Concert Experience
By David Templeton | From the July-August 2020 issue of Strings magazine Last summer, Deutsche Grammophon released the critically acclaimed album Across the Stars, an entertaining anthology of cinematic themes by John Williams, specifically re-written by the composer for violinist…
Liz Knowles Ended Up with 2 Contemporary Instruments in Her Search for Sound
By Laurence Vittes | From the July-August 2020 issue of Strings magazine The American violinist, violist, and hardanger fiddler Liz Knowles tours solo and plays with the String Sisters, Open the Door for Three, and the Martin Hayes Quartet (with…
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Sound Advice: The Audiophile Market Offers a Wide Range of Speakers for Music Enthusiasts
By Greg Cahill | From the July-August 2020 issue of Strings magazine In 1888, the American Civil War hero George Gouraud presented at a London press conference a then-state-of-the-art Edison phonograph, playing a recording (on wax cylinder) of a piano…
Christopher Germain Leads Oberlin’s World-famous Violin Making Workshops into the Future
By Patrick Sullivan | From the July-August 2020 issue of Strings magazine A daunting task confronted luthier Christopher Germain two decades ago. After several years assisting the legendary violin maker and restorer Vahakn Nigogosian in putting on the Oberlin violin…
Wood Violins Releases New 5-string Viper Production Model
By Megan Westberg | From the July-August 2020 issue of Strings magazine For 30 years, Wood Violins has been putting instruments into the hands of violinists determined to stand out. They could hardly help it. For beyond his or her…
Oldtime in Realtime: How a Daily Recording Project Has Kept My Husband and Me Connected Musically to the World
By Elena Urioste | From the July-August 2020 issue of Strings magazine On March 17, my brilliant pianist-composer husband, Tom Poster, and I made the rather ambitious (and, it should be noted, jet-lagged) decision to record and share one music…
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Tackling the Runs in the Tchaikovsky Violin Concerto
By Laurie Niles | From the July-August 2020 issue of Strings magazine Leopold Auer might have hit on some truth when he declared that the violin concerto written for him by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky was “unplayable,” canceling its premiere performance…
Tools and Techniques to Help Dial In Your Pitch on Strings Instruments
To play in tune, one must work on the ability to hear pitch clearly and physically produce the note in a consistent way. Here are some tips on playing in tune.
Power Player: Violinist Isaac Stern, Who Would Have Turned 100 This Year, Commanded the Stage (and Sometimes Saved It)
By Brian Wise | From the July-August 2020 issue of Strings magazine “People say he played two instruments: the violin and the telephone,” says conductor David Stern, musing on his father, the late Isaac Stern. “They were constantly paired-off one…
Laura Cortese & the Dance Cards release a bold new album they hope (and truly believe) the world needs right now
By David Templeton | From the July-August 2020 issue of Strings magazine Bitter Better, the new album from indie-folk outfit Laura Cortese & the Dance Cards, was always going to be steeped in a sense of joyous, defiant survival from…
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A Guide to Two New Hi-Res Classical Streaming Services
By Laurence Vittes | From the July-August 2020 issue of Strings magazine Although on-demand streaming is still in its infancy, it has become a major resource for students, professionals, amateurs, teachers, and other music lovers serious about classical music. The…
Recent Recordings, Books, and Print Music: Cellist Inbal Segev, Quatuor Ébène, Oskar Rieding, and More
From the July-August 2020 issue of Strings magazine In this issue’s roundup of new recordings, cellist Inbal Segev plays Elgar with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Quatuor Ébène plays Beethoven’s string quartets, violinist Cho-Liang Lin and pianist Jon Kimura Parker play…
With Global Tours on Hold, Netherlands Violin Competition Winner Coraline Groen Joins New Quintet at Home
By Laurence Vittes | From the July-August 2020 issue of Strings magazine On February 2, when Coraline Groen took first prize in the 27th Netherlands Violin Competition in Utrecht, performing works by Mozart and Ravel, you could imagine her sweeping…