Mr. Tourte, I Need a Bow! How the Tourte Design Became the Model for the Modern Bow
The story of the development of Tourte's bows—now the gold standard in bow design—illustrates the interplay of influence among bows, instruments, and musical style.
March-April 2021
For the Better: Lockdown Has Helped Me Re-evaluate My Own Development as a Cellist and Teacher
Teaching online can feel impersonal in comparison, but 2020 has offered me the space to re-evaluate the way I approach my own musical and teaching life.
Stage Presence: From Competitions to Orchestral Concerts, Every Performance has been Unforgettable
Cellist Brandon Leonard discusses the most valuable lesson he’s learned from playing cello in this 2021 feature on teen string players.
Multigenre Adventure: Playing Both Classical and Fiddle Music Has Led to Incredible Musical Experiences
Violinist Charlotte Marckx discusses how playing the violin has given her life purpose and structure in this 2021 feature on teen string players.
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Back to Back: In What Ways Do Instruments with 1- and 2-Piece Backs Actually Differ?
“A one-piece cello back of beautiful, quartered maple is, well, dead sexy,” says Marilyn Wallin, a noted violin maker based in Lincoln, Nebraska.
A Bird’s-Eye View: Violist Violist Nicholas Cords Offers Comfort and Connection with New Solo Release ‘Touch Harmonious’
Nicholas Cords' solo album, Touch Harmonious, juxtaposes music from the Baroque with Britten and a cluster of contemporary works, including two premiere recordings.
Review: ‘Now More Than Ever,’ Katie McNally Trio
On “Now More Than Ever,” the Katie McNally Trio tackles a mix of traditional and self-penned strathspeys, reels, and fiddle tunes.
Learning and Discovery: ‘I Knew Right Away that the Violin was My Calling’
Violinist Pilar Winter Hill discusses juggling academics, extracurriculars, and practicing as a Julliard Pre-College student in this 2021 feature on teen string players.
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My Personal Voice: Joshua Gindele’s Contemporary Cello is an Old Soul
Cellist Joshua Gindele of the Miró Quartet plays on a cello by the modern American maker Lawrence Wilke that's "basically a copy of Janos Starker’s Goffriller cello."
Review: ‘Mythologies,’ Anna Clyne (Jennifer Koh, violin; BBC Symphony Orchestra, Marin Alsop, cond.)
Anna Clyne's "Mythologies" kicks off with the symphonic sweep of Masquerade, a sprawling orchestral fantasia commissioned in 2013 by the BBC to open the “Last Night” of the Proms.
Lean On Me: Finding Beauty and Expression in Appoggiaturas
Appoggiaturas are so powerful in terms of emotional content because they create an influence on harmony as well as melody.
Review: ‘Works for Solo Cello,’ Per Nørgård and Poul Ruders (Wilhelmina Smith, cello)
Wilhelmina Smith’s recital of virtually unrecorded solo cello music by veteran Danish composers Per Nørgård (b. 1932) and Poul Ruders (b. 1949) could go into any 21st-century cellist’s performance repertoire.
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Creative Freedom: How Jazz and the 5-string Violin have Unlocked a World of Infinite Musical Possibility
Violinist Gianna Pedregon discusses her love for jazz and the versatility of violin in this 2021 feature on teen string players.
To Beethoven With Love: Midori Records the Maestro’s Violin Concerto and a Pair of Romances for Violin and Orchestra
The violinist Midori marked the 250th anniversary of Beethoven’s birth by recording his Violin Concerto in March 2020, just before lockdown began. Upon the album’s release in 2021, we caught up with Midori in New York City, where she had been quarantining with family members.
Review: ‘Metamorphosen,’ Strauss Chamber Works (Oculi Ensemble)
By Miranda Wilson | From the March-April 2021 issue of Strings magazine Metamorphosen is the debut recording of the Oculi Ensemble, a group of mostly British string players drawn variously from the Badke, Doric, Piatti, Navarra, Albion, and Idomeneo quartets.…
Review: ‘Live at Kohl Mansion,’ Violins of Hope (Daniel Hope, violin)
By Greg Cahill | From the March-April 2021 issue of Strings magazine Father-and-son Israeli luthiers Amnon and Avshalom Weinstein founded the Violins of Hope project to restore stringed instruments that had been played by Jewish musicians before and during the…
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Tradition of Legends: A Primer on Roma Fiddling, and Some of its Greatest Exponents
By Sasha Margolis | From the March-April 2021 issue of Strings magazine There is much history between the Roma people and the violin. In the past, some—Roma and outsiders alike—have even speculated about a mystical connection. According to legend, in…
A New York Story: Eric Aceto is on a Quest to Reinvent Stringed Instruments
By Greg Cahill | From the March-April 2021 issue of Strings magazine Eric Aceto of Ithaca Stringed Instruments (ISI) grew up in a family of musicians and artisans, but it took a while for the violin to enter his life.…
Review: Signum Quartett Suggests New Ways of Playing Schubert on ‘Ins stille Land’
By Laurence Vittes | From the March-April 2021 issue of Strings magazine The deeply personal nature of Schubert’s enormous output of songs provides a compelling reason to set the composer’s chamber music into the story of his life by programming…
Bring the Masters to your Practice Sessions: Every Recorded Interpretation of J.S. Bach’s Cello Suite No. 1 in G Major Provides a Valuable Lesson
By Brian Forst | From the March-April 2021 issue of Strings magazine Bach’s Cello Suites, BWV 1007–1012, are the perfect medicine for cellists trying to cope during the pandemic. They offer challenges for even the most accomplished musician, and some…
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The ‘Grass is Sometimes Greener: Violinist Tessa Lark has Forged a Career Steeped in Both Classical and Bluegrass Traditions
By Brian Wise | From the March-April 2021 issue of Strings magazine The goal was to highlight two top-flight string players from two generations, collaborating at the nexus of two rather different genres. But when a UK radio station posted…
Keeping it Together: How Professional Chamber Ensembles are Coping with the Challenges of COVID
By David Templeton | From the March-April 2021 issue of Strings magazine Chamber music is, by definition, small, intimate, together—originally performed in palace chambers, where audience and musicians alike were in close proximity. During a pandemic in which social distancing…
Several Music Services Offer the Opportunity for Ensemble Practice, All On Your Own
By Laurence Vittes | From the March-April 2021 issue of Strings magazine At a time of isolation, online “music minus one” (MMO) services that allow you to practice and feel like part of an ensemble seem like a perfect antidote.…
Creative Momentum: Hilary Hahn’s New Album, Solo Project, and Role Exploring Artificial Intelligence
By Inge Kjemtrup | From the March-April 2021 issue of Strings magazine Wearing a light blue coat with the hood up, Hilary Hahn trudges through a chilly late-November landscape. She is filming herself as she walks, making an update to…