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Workshop, Rest & Repeat: A Selection of Chamber-Music Camps for Adult Amateurs
Intensive summer programs for adult amateur chamber-music aficionados attract serious musicians and earn fierce loyalty.
Strings Sessions Presents: Johnny Gandelsman
“About three years ago, I had a need to focus inward because I was starting to doubt my own voice a little bit,” violinist Johnny Gandelsman says of his decision to record Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas for the first time.…
Violist Antoine Tamestit on His Career as a Solo Violist—and the Dangers Posed by 12 Pages of Pizzicato
By Inge Kjemtrup To work closely with a composer on a concerto that’s tailor-made for your playing must be the dream of many performers. Yet there are some downsides, as violist Antoine Tamestit can attest from his experience with a…
Violin Maker James N. McKean on the Gennaro Gagliano Cello that Left a Lasting Impression
Violin maker James N. McKean answers the question: Of all the instruments that have passed through your hands, which one do you most wish you could have kept? Of all the great cellos I’ve seen or heard, the one that…
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5 Minutes with Bassist Linda May Han Oh
For Linda May Han Oh, the word busy is an understatement. Last year, the eclectic New York City bassist, composer, and bandleader released her fourth album, Walk Against Wind, a project that, as it’s on the plastic-free Biophilia label, also ties…
April 27 Is the Deadline to Apply for the Edith Eisler ‘Strings’ Magazine Scholarship
Attention string students and teachers: Will you or someone you know be enrolled in a college or conservatory string program in the fall? April 27 is the deadline to apply for the Edith Eisler Strings Magazine Scholarship. Applications are open…
The Thickness of an Instrument’s Top & Back Is Measured in Tenths of Millimeters, but There Is No Perfect Formula
By James N. McKean Twenty years ago or so my friend Guy Rabut and I were in one of the small tryout rooms at Jacques Francais’ shop on 54th Street, huddled over a violin. It was one of the rarest…
A Great Among Greats: Where Does Henryk Szeryng’s Technique & Style Fit within His Generation?
In a generation defined by standards set by Jascha Heifetz, where does Henryk Szeryng’s technique and style fit in? By Sasha Margolis Henryk Szeryng, born a century ago this year, belonged to an almost impossibly gifted generation of violinists that…
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Strings Sessions Presents: Amit Peled
Cellist Amit Peled stopped by the Strings studio to perform what he likes to call “when Bach met Bloch.” Watch him perform (on Pablo Casals’ former 1733 Goffriller cello) three pieces by Bloch and two by Bach, in addition to…
Violinist Sarah Chang on Her 1717 Guarneri del Gesù
For Sarah Chang, her 1717 Guarneri del Gesù isn’t simply her go-to for concerts. It’s also a warm reminder of her “musical godfather” Isaac Stern. You might have heard the astonishing tale: When Chang was about 14, it was time…
John Corigliano at 80 on His Music, Influences & Future Plans
As the music world looks back over John Corigliano’s contributions over a lengthy career, his works for strings will emerge and play a leading role.
‘Strings’ Magazine Scholarship Program
‘STRINGS’ MAGAZINE EDITH EISLER SCHOLARSHIP AWARD Applications are open to all eligible string students enrolled in an accredited college or conservatory program who are able to provide required proof of financial need. One $3,000 scholarship will be awarded to a…
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Ghost Stories: The Rediscovery of Schumann’s Only Violin Concerto
Schumann’s only violin concerto vanished after his death in 1856, only to re-emerge in the 1930s. The amazing story of its rediscovery is told in a new novel and concert. Inge Kjemtrup meets its author, Jessica Duchen Robert Schumann threw…
Embracing Authenticity in the Context of Antiquity
Sponsored Story by Luis and Clark Miranda Wilson, Associate Professor of Cello at the University of Idaho, and Co-Artistic Director of the Idaho Bach Festival, has just performed all six Bach Suites on a five-string carbon fibre cello custom made for…
Watch Conductor Enno Poppe Turn His Body Into an Instrument in This Mesmerizing Video
By Anna Pulley A musician from Ensemble Dal Niente described German composer/conductor Enno Poppe as “having five elbows,” and watching this video, it’s easy to see why. Here Poppe conducts Alexander Schubert‘s “Point Ones” (2012) with Ensemble Mosaik, a visual and…
NS Design Unveils Its WAV4c Cello at Winter NAMM 2018
In this video from Winter NAMM 2018, cellist Michelle Packman plays an instrument sporting the newest innovation at NS Design—a fingerboard made of a maple-acrylic material called “Coform” technology. Company founder Ned Steinberger designed the high-performance material in an effort…
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A Documentary of Itzhak Perlman’s Life Serves as the Virtuoso’s First Major Biography
By James C. Taylor Itzhak Perlman has been a household name for so long that it’s easy to lose perspective when it comes to his accomplishments: fame, countless awards and honors—plus, of course, his recordings and performances. But there’s a…
Violinist Maia Jasper White on ‘Rude Awakenings’ & Classical Music
By Laurence Vittes In early December, a Los Angeles violinist, educator, and entrepreneur named Maia Jasper White raised serious questions about art, artists, and morality in a 2,000-word post in the wake of sexual abuse allegations against classical-music conductor James…
Throwback Thursday: Puccini’s ‘La Boheme’ Portrays ‘Great Sorrows in Little Souls’
On February 1, 1896 Puccini’s great opera La Boheme premiered in Turin at the Teatro Regio, conducted by a young Arturo Toscanini. Based on a collection of vignettes by Henri Murger, Scènes de la vie de bohème, Murger’s tale involved scenes about young, struggling…