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Violinist.com
@violincommunity.bsky.social
Articles and stories that promote excellence in performance, learning, teaching and community- since 1997.
Our weekly roundup of reviews: violist Antoine Tamestit's "Harold in Italy" with Chicago Symphony Orchestra; TwoSet Violin's San Francisco stop in their "Sacrilegious Games" tour; Lisa Batiashvili with Orchestre Métropolitain de Montréal; and much more!
www.violinist.com/blog/laurie/...
The Week in Reviews, Op. 522: violist Antoine Tamestit; TwoSet Violin; Lisa Batiashvili
In an effort to promote the coverage of live violin performance, Violinist.com each week presents links to reviews of notable concerts and recitals around the world. Click on the highlighted links to ...
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October 22, 2025 at 6:09 PM
Few people had more fun with the violin - and love for it - than Dr. William Sloan, who passed away on Friday. We will deeply miss this remarkable man, with his limitless enthusiasm, deep knowledge and unyielding support for everything violin. Here is our tribute:
www.violinist.com/blog/laurie/...
Remembering Dr. William Sloan (1941-2025)
I'll never forget the first time I met Dr. William Sloan in person - because he immediately sent me on one of my life's most memorable and improbable adventures. It was 2010, and Dr. Sloan showed up...
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October 22, 2025 at 2:08 AM
How do you cope, when your bow arm starts shaking? How do you prevent that from happening in the first place? It's a fascinating and in-depth read about a topic that affects nearly every violinist at some point.
www.violinist.com/blog/Xaver/2...
What I've learned about (my) shaky bow
Has it ever happened to you that you could hardly control your bow in a concert or some other challenging situation? That you tried to fight bow-trembling by gripping the bow harder or even stopping t...
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October 20, 2025 at 5:39 PM
A huge congrats to violinist Joshua Bell, who has formally been honored as a CBE, the the highest-ranking level of the Order of the British Empire, excluding knighthood, for his work as Music Director of the Academy of St Martin in the Fields over the last 14 years. www.violinist.com/blog/laurie/...
October 17, 2025 at 7:51 PM
Review: Warchal's new 'The Beast" strings have a special helix E to eliminate whistling, as well as a clear and penetrating sound. Laurie Niles tried them for a month and offers this review.
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Review: 'The Beast' Violin Strings by Warchal
In mid-August I strung my violin with <a href="https://shop.warchal.com/products/the-beast">The Beast</a> violin strings by Warchal - and I would like to offer you my impressions. Full disclosure: Th...
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September 19, 2025 at 11:03 PM
"They were exuberant, and at the end they were shouting 'L-A-Phil! L-A-Phil!'" Concertmaster Bing Wang shares stories from the LA Phil and Gustavo Dudamel's first-ever performance at Coachella. Missed it? They do it again this Saturday, and there's a livestream!
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Behind the Scenes: the LA Phil Goes to Coachella
LA Phil Associate Concertmaster <a href="https://www.laphil.com/musicdb/artists/5602/bing-wang">Bing Wang</a> said she'd never been to Coachella - until now. On Saturday, Wang and the entire <a href...
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April 19, 2025 at 12:04 AM
The 1731 'Heifetz, Piel' Stradivari Violin - owned for some 30 years by the legendary violinist Jascha Heifetz - will be offered for private sale this spring by Tarisio, the auction company announced Tuesday.
www.violinist.com/blog/laurie/...
Jascha Heifetz' 1731 Stradivari Violin to be Sold by Tarisio
The 1731 "Heifetz, Piel" Stradivari violin that was owned for nearly 30 years by 20th century violin legend Jascha Heifetz will be offered for private sale this spring by <a href="https://tarisio.com/...
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April 15, 2025 at 3:49 PM
Weekend Journal: Anne Akiko Meyers Interview; Remembering Roberto Cani; David Chan to Teach at Rice; New Recordings - mailchi.mp/9d92678fa593...
April 13, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Weekend vote: Where do you practice? It's important to have a place where you can practice and not worry about anyone interrupting or telling you to be quiet - where do you practice? Is it a bedroom? Living room? Music room? Somewhere away from home?
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V.com weekend vote: Where do you practice?
It's important to have a place where you can practice - where you can experiment, make mistakes, repeat things a zillion times - and not worry about the neighbors, relatives, or anyone else listening,...
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April 13, 2025 at 2:37 PM
Interview with Philippe Quint: It's no surprise that at least some of the inspiration for Philippe Quint's latest album, Milestones, came from the first female composer he ever knew: his own mother.
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Interview with Philippe Quint: Milestones and a Mother's Inspiration
It's no surprise that at least some of the inspiration for Philippe Quint's latest album, <a href="https://www.pentatonemusic.com/product/milestones/">Milestones</a>, came from the first female compos...
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April 8, 2025 at 6:13 PM
From the 2025 American String Teachers Association conference in Atlanta last month: Laurie Niles looks at three of today's most innovative teachers, all on the topic of improvisation and style - Tracy Silverman, Alice Kanack and Jason Anick.
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ASTA 2025: Exploring Improvisation with Alice Kanack, Tracy Silverman and Jason Anick
One reason I make it a priority to go to the yearly <a href="https://www.astastrings.org/">American String Teachers Association</a> Conference is that it gives me the opportunity to see the most innov...
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April 7, 2025 at 5:21 PM
We have assembled a list of fundraisers for orchestral musicians and teachers who lost everything in the Los Angeles-area fires, as well as related organizational fundraisers. We hope this helps connect those who need help with those who wish to give help. www.violinist.com/blog/laurie/...
January 15, 2025 at 8:38 PM
It has been a devastating week in Los Angeles, and fires continue to burn. Laurie checks in with this account from Pasadena. www.violinist.com/blog/laurie/...
Fire
It has been a devastating week in Los Angeles, and as I write this, fires continue to burn. I live in Pasadena, two miles south of the Eaton Canyon Fire, which ripped through the community to our nort...
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January 15, 2025 at 8:36 PM
Practicing scales and exercises is not as fun as playing through favorite pieces, but it's necessary for violin technique. So how do you get yourself to do it regularly? Here are some ideas from psychologist Sander Marcus. www.violinist.com/blog/sanderm...
A Psychologist's Tips for Practicing
For a professional musician, developing the motivation for daily practice is not a necessarily a problem - it's just part of the job. Daily practice certainly requires intense concentration, endless repetition, and an almost obsessive attention to detail. Scales and exercises may have little sustaining musical interest, but they are necessary for the acquisition and maintenance of technique. But most amateur musicians turn to music as a source of relaxation and enjoyment after a grueling day of work, and the thought of struggling for an hour or two with scales and exercises is far from appealing. With limited time and energy, the amateur usually skips the drills and starts playing through favorite concertos and sonatas. Ironically, only consistent work on exercises will allow him or her to play those favorite sonatas with satisfaction. Psychologically, when the musician does not put in that hour of practice, they may experience a sense of failure and a feeling of guilt at not doing what they are "supposed" to be doing, or that constantly uncomfortable feeling that one has not done nearly enough. And yet to do a great deal more requires enormous concentration, energy, time, effort, and a dedication to music that is difficult for a non-professional to sustain. Part of the solution to this problem may lie in changing the definition of what constitutes "enough work." To expect an unreasonably large work-load on a daily basis can be ultimatel self-defeating. If you know that you are not likely to practice for a full hour a day, then why torture yourself with the feeling that whatever work you do accomplish is not nearly enough?
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November 27, 2024 at 2:49 AM
The Los Angeles Philharmonic celebrated 30 years with concertmaster Martin Chalifour in a chamber concert that included the world premiere of a five-minute gem of a piece by composer Celka Ojakangas , “Duo” for violin and viola, performed with violist Jenni Seo .
www.violinist.com/blog/laurie/...
Review: LA Phil Concert Celebrates 30 Years with Concertmaster Martin Chalifour
The <a href="https://www.laphil.com/">Los Angeles Philharmonic</a> is in a state of transition, and theme of change and the passage of time were on full display on Tuesday night in a chamber concert celebrating concertmaster <a href="https://www.laphil.com/musicdb/artists/1027/martin-chalifour">Martin Chalifour</a>'s 30 years with the orchestra, which will conclude with his retirement at the end of this season. Among the many changes in store for the LA Phil: the departure of Associate Concertmaster <a href="https://www.violinist.com/blog/laurie/20245/30001/">Nathan Cole</a>, who is now concertmaster of the Boston Symphony, and in 2026, the departure of Music Director <a href="https://www.violinist.com/blog/laurie/20232/29515/">Gustavo Dudamel</a> for the New York Philharmonic. Tuesday evening's concert began with Chalifour at the microphone, sharing his thoughts and memories and expressing gratitude for the friends and colleagues who would be performing with him on the stage. The music began with guitarist <a href="https://makgrgic.com/">Mak Grgic</a> joining Chalifour for Piazzolla's "Histoire du Tango," a piece with four movements representing four different periods of time in the history of Tango. Chalifour described Grgic as an artist of great expressive quality, and his assessment certainly proved true.
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November 27, 2024 at 2:46 AM
Greetings, it’s Laurie at Violinist.com just here to say hello. I hope to brighten the place with posts and articles from my longtime website that promote the love of the violin, an instrument I’ve been playing for a lifetime.
November 15, 2024 at 3:58 PM