The Strad Podcast

Online editor Davina Shum speaks to Heather Noonan, the vice president for advocacy, League of American Orchestras. Heather attended the 19th CITES meeting in Panama City, where on 25 November, a decision was made to keep pernambuco wood under CITES Appendix II, with modified wording. What does that mean for you? Heather explains what the modified classification entails, as well what measures musi...

If you’re a player, you’ve probably learnt from an early age to respect the bridge. Here to demystify the topic slightly for players is Aubrey K Alexander, winner of two gold medals for her viola and cello bridges at the International Violin Bridge Competition in October 2022. Find out how long it typically takes her to make a bridge, as well as the challenges that come with crafting such an intri...

Julia Perry (1924-1979) was an American composer, who studied at Tanglewood, Juilliard and in Paris with Nadia Boulanger, where she won the Boulanger Grand Prix for her Viola Sonata. She was the recipient of two Guggenheim Fellowships and also studied in Italy with Luigi Dallapiccola. Despite her prolific achievements, Perry's work has fallen into obscurity, including her Violin Concerto of 1963....

This episode is brought to you in association with For-Tune Strings. Today’s podcast guest is cellist Anastasia Kobekina, who was lucky enough to have the opportunity to help develop For-Tune’s new Opal Gold cello strings, through a series of trials and feedback. Not many string players get the chance to have direct input on their ideal set of strings: Anastasia shares with online editor Davina Sh...

Sisters Soo-Jin and Soo-Kyung Hong are the violinist and cellist respectively of Trio Con Brio Copenhagen. They speak to online editor Davina Shum about their fine Italian instruments that they play – Soo-Jin a 1670 Andrea Guarneri and Soo-Kyung a Grancino cello c.1600. Soo-Jin and Soo-Kyung speak about how these two instruments – or ‘old fellows’ in their words – prefer certain climates, as well...

Sophie Kauer is a 21-year-old cellist who features in a new film called TÁR. Directed by Todd Field and starring Cate Blanchett in the title role as Lydia Tár, a monumental figure in classical music, Sophie features as a new recruit in a German orchestra. It’s not your typical gig coming out of music college – in fact, Sophie is still in the middle of her undergraduate studies! Sophie shares with...

Exploring the topic of historically-informed performance in this episode is violinist Alina Ibragimova. She’s got a new album out now of the Telemann Fantasias for solo violin, that she’s recorded on a venerable Amati instrument, with a baroque bow and gut strings. Alina shares her personal journey of discovering historically informed performance, as well as some tips to approaching the style – in...

Our October issue explores the topic of how an orchestra’s home concert hall affects its sonic fingerprint. In this episode, concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic, Frank Huang, speaks to online editor Davina Shum about the Philharmonic’s brand new David Geffen Hall. How do a hall’s acoustics affect what Frank asks of his section, and beyond? How is this hall different from the Philharmonic’s...

Fiddler Anne Harris was looking to expand her violin sound from her current 1961 Roth violin, when, while scrolling on Instagram, came across Amanda Ewing – the first Black female luthier on record in the United States. After striking up a new relationship and with the help from GoFundMe, Amanda will make a new instrument for Anne, making it the first violin ever to be commissioned between two Afr...

Serbian-French violinist Nemanja Radulovic has new album coming out called Roots. It contains a very international and diverse programme, with pieces from Serbia, to North Macedonia, Spain, Brazil, France, Japan, plus many more countries. Nemanja also spoke about the role of violin playing during his childhood, including his musical heroes and the influences of the West and East in Serbia. Read ou...

Violinist Charlie Siem chats to online editor Davina Shum about the Beethoven Violin Concerto and the two Romances, which he has recently recorded on Signum Classics. He speaks about how he first encountered the works, what’s going on in his head during the orchestral introduction to the concerto, plus how he deals with Beethoven’s sometimes gnarly pianistic writing. Check out thestrad.com for the...

Norwegian violinist Bjarte Eike, with his group the Barokksolistene, created the Alehouse Sessions in 2017, which is now being followed up by the Playhouse Sessions. It takes inspiration from music-making scenes in 17th century England, during the times straddling Oliver Cromwell’s Commonwealth and the Restoration of the Monarchy with King Charles II. Bjarte and his colleagues create a show enviro...

Augustin Hadelich has a new album out now, called Recuerdos – featuring works by Sarasate, Prokofiev, Britten and Tarrega, brought together, perhaps surprisingly, by a Spanish theme. Augustin explains what draws these pieces together. The piece that gives the album its name, Recuerdos de la Alhambra features some rather impressive ricochet bowing on Augustin’s recording. If you struggle with ricoc...

Celebrating our education-themed September 2022 magazine, online editor Davina Shum chats to pedagogue and cellist Richard Markson  about how to teach the concept of sound and tone. Richard is a former student of cello greats Paul Tortelier and Pierre Fournier, and holds a senior fellowship at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London. He speaks about the importance of singing, orga...

Comprising violinists Nick Kendall and Charles Yang, and double bassist Ranaan Meyer, Time For Three joins online editor Davina Shum for a conversation about triple concertos. How does the group maintain the synergy of a chamber ensemble against the backdrop of a symphonic orchestra? In light of commissioned works by Pulitzer-winning composers Kevin Puts and Jennifer Higdon, Nick, Charles and Rana...

Most people are considered lucky if they get to play a Strad in their lifetime. Violinist Timothy Chooi is lucky enough to have been granted use of two Stradivari instruments within a decade! In 2015 he was loaned the 1717 ‘Windsor-Weinstein’ Stradivari from the Canada Council for the Arts, which he played up until this year, when he was loaned the 1709 ‘Engelman’ Strad from the Nippon Foundation....

Partners in life and in music David Finckel and Wu Han speak about chamber music and sharing of musical experiences as they celebrate 20 years of Music@Menlo Chamber Music Festival and Institute, of which they are artistic directors. With artistic integrity at the fore, they speak about inspiring the next generation of musical pioneers with the mentality that nothing is impossible. Check out thest...

Violinist Carolin Widmann covers 1000 years of repertoire in her latest album, L’Aurore, including works by Hildegard von Bingen, J.S. Bach, Ysaye, Enescu and George Benjamin. She speaks to online editor Davina Shum about what all these pieces have in common, including finding freedom within the form with such diversity of pieces. Carolin speaks about the importance of singing in achieving free, m...

American cellist John-Henry Crawford chats to online editor and fellow cellist Davina Shum about Latin American music. John-Henry, or JH has recently released an album called Corazón, featuring music by Villa Lobos, Piazzolla, Ponce, Gismonti and more. He spoke about how his passion for Latin American music was ignited, how JH’s experience learning the Spanish language has informed the way he appr...

It's our 50th episode! Thank you to everyone who's tuned in so far! Our latest episode features violinist Itamar Zorman. He speaks about a musical odyssey that explores repertoire from Israel, Sudan, New Zealand, Mexico and many more countries, plus how playing unknown global repertoire informs his playing of classic violin repertoire.  Check out thestrad.com for the latest news and articles on al...

Violin and conductor duo of Zina Schiff and Avlana Eisenberg speak to online editor Davina Shum about their musical and familial collaboration. They speak about their new album with the Royal Scottish National Orchestra comprising the music of American composer William Grant Still. What’s it like for Zina, to be conducted by her daughter? What was it like for Avlana, listening to her mother practi...

First concertmaster of the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra Noah Bendix-Balgley shares his audition process for winning the top job, as well as his personal experiences playing some of the most challenging, exposed, notorious, yet beautiful concertmaster solos in orchestral repertoire. He shares advice for violinists going for concertmaster auditions, as well as why he believes a concertmaster job is...

Luthier Korinthia Klein offers tips to players on keeping instruments in good shape as the seasons change. She illustrates the importance of keeping a level-headed, informed approach when dealing with minor instrument and bow ailments, in an aim to empower players to become responsible caretakers for their instruments. Check out Korinthia’s article  Basic Maintenance: Avoiding instrument carnage  ...

 Cellist Billy Tobenkin shares his thoughts on starting an instrument as an adult. Billy had a career as a writer and copy editor before delving into the world of cello at the age of 25. 15 years later, Billy works professionally as a cello teacher and performer in LA. He shares his experiences of starting the instrument with no musical background, the challenges faced by adult beginners, as well...

The New Zealand String Quartet celebrate its 35th anniversary in 2022. We hear from founding member Gillian Ansell about the quartet’s early days in 1987, first violinist Helene Pohl and cellist Rolf Gjelsten about keeping quartet and married life separate, and newest member Monique Lapins’s philosophies for including all voices equally in a professional quartet. Watch the NZSQ perform works by Ne...