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Editor's letter

editor

The road to Leonidas Kavakos’s first complete recording of Bach’s Solo Sonatas and Partitas has been a long one. This most thoughtful of violinists talks to Charlotte Smith on page 26 about how his journey was seeded by a revelation all the way back in 1989, when he heard a recording of these seminal works by Baroque violinist Sigiswald Kuijken, an experience Kavakos describes as ‘like an earthquake’. It took him until his early fifties to arrive at an interpretation that he was ready to share with the world both in his new recording and on a concert tour he is undertaking later this year. It also proves that even with such frequently recorded repertoire as Bach, the combination of great music and a great musician means there are always new perspectives to explore.

Another phenomenon that has in part been inspired by the period-performance movement is the rise of the conductorless orchestra. On page 34, Jacqueline Vanasse speaks to section leaders from the growing number of ensembles that have abandoned the largely 20th-century concept of orchestral musicians as a kind of collective instrument to be ‘played’ by the conductor. Instead, these ensembles are taking a far more democratic approach to music making, one that gets to the very heart of what it is to be a collaborative musician.

Collaboration is also central to becoming a successful luthier. On page 40, Peter Somerford explores the ‘journeyman years’ of several contemporary makers and restorers: that tricky but essential post-college period of training and apprenticeship. For the modern luthier who is just starting out, this means learning not only advanced practical techniques in the workshop, but also the ‘soft’ skills – such as networking, time management and dealing with customers – that are required to maintain a successful career. This toolbox of experience can make a good luthier into a great one.

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This article appears in March 2022

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This article appears in...
March 2022
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Editor's letter
The road to Leonidas Kavakos’s first complete
Contributors
LIHAY BENDAYAN (Technique, page 78) is professor of
SOUNDPOST
Letters, emails, online comments
Food for thought
News and events from around the world this month
NEWS IN BRIEF
Competition launched to loan Lynn Harrell’s old cello
OBITUARIES
ROGER TAPPING British violist Roger Tapping died on
Labour of love
Danny Elfman talks about his new cello concerto
COMPETITIONS
Sphinx Competition, Goodmesh Concours etc
Pretty in red
ROSIN
TRUE COLOURS
Luthiers can use Schilbach’s new Metamerism test card
HOLD ON
Including the Product of the Month
Life lessons
Franck Chevalier
A learned crowd
The Cambridge Music Festival marked its 30th anniversary in the unusual format of two instalments during 2021. Toby Deller attended three performances during the autumn celebrations
DEEP THINKER
For Leonidas Kavakos, recording Bach’s Solo Sonatas and Partitas has been the culmination of a 30‐year artistic journey and, as the violinist tells Charlotte Smith, the works have a pertinent message for our troubled times
THE LEADING EDGE
For those ensembles willing to take the plunge, performing without a conductor can lead to a greater sense of collaboration, fulfilment and, ultimately, responsibility. Jacqueline Vanasse hears from some of the string players involved in such groups
THE JOURNEYMAN YEARS
The time spent between finishing at violin making school and striking out on your own can be critical to a luthier’s learning experience. Peter Somerford finds out what makers should expect from their first jobs in a workshop – and how they can make the most of their time
LANDSCAPE OF SHADOWS
Cellist Laura van der Heijden talks to Tom Stewart about the subtle, often other-worldly atmosphere inhabited by Czech and Hungarian music in her new recording with pianist Jâms Coleman
A MAKER IN THE ROUGH
Tuscany in the 19th century was home to numerous luthiers, some of whom were carpenters who turned their hands to instrument making. Florian Leonhard examines the career of Luigi Cavallini, a lesser-known self-taught maker whose work, while unusual in parts, displays a surprisingly high level of craftsmanship
FROM FAME to FOOTNOTE
Despite his prolific output, the works of British composer Samuel Coleridge-Taylor have been performed relatively infrequently in the century following his death. Tatjana Goldberg explores his chamber and violin music, particularly the Violin Concerto, and his fruitful artistic partnership with pioneering US violinist Maud Powell
NIELS LARSEN WINTHER
A close look at the work of great and unusual makers
Making a Parisian-eye ring
Makers reveal their special techniques
MAGNUS NEDREGÅRD
LUTHIER MAGNUS NEDREGÅRD
Her dark materials
Points of interest to violin and bow makers
BEETHOVEN STRING QUARTET OP.132
BEETHOVEN STRING QUARTET OP.132
MASTERCLASS
I wouldn’t usually include all the fingerings I
Developing a controlled vibrato
Developing a controlled vibrato
CONCERTS
Your monthly critical round-up of performances, recordings and publications
RECORDINGS
SEI SOLO BACH Sonatas and Partitas for solo
BOOKS
COURTESY DAVID L. FULTON The Fulton Collection: A
From the ARCHIVE
Carl Fuchs pays tribute to his friend and fellow cellist Carl Davidoff (1838–89), including a reminiscence of how he acquired his famed Stradivari cello
IN THE NEXT ISSUE
GERMAN FOCUS Johannes Moser The German–Canadian cellist
JENNIFER PIKE
For the British violinist, Szymanowski’s Violin Sonata in D minor brings back fond memories of old holidays, family reunions and a three-concert marathon in 2017
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