Suzuki-trained violinist and teacher Meghan Faw speaks to online editor Davina about How to tailor the Suzuki Method to different students – after all, all pupils are different and not one single approach is going to fit them all! Meghan speaks about her personal experiences with the method, and what she’s learnt throughout her career implementing the method in her teaching.

Find out more about Meghan's work at learnviolinonline.org and on Instagram @suzukiviolinteacher.

Read her article How to adapt the Suzuki Method for adult learners - violinist Meghan Faw

Read our article in our September 2024 issue: Mother tongues: Global Suzuki Method

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Listen to our previous episodes in this series:

Listen: The Strad Podcast: How to hold a masterclass with violinist Paul Huang

Listen: The Strad Podcast: how to teach collaborative skills with violinist Annie Fullard of the Cavani Quartet

Listen: The Strad Podcast: How to practise effectively with violinist Ray Chen

Andante - Sonata no.2

Bach

Meghan Faw, violin

Violinist Paul Huang speaks to online editor Davina about How he holds a masterclass, fresh from attending the Music@Menlo Summer Festival in August 2024. What do masterclasses mean to Paul, and should we even call them masterclasses? Paul talks about his methods of conducting classes to ensure that not only students get the most out of the shared experience, but the teacher as well. 

Stay tuned for our next episode: how adapt the Suzuki Method with violinist Meghan Faw.

Check out thestrad.com for the latest news, articles and reviews on all things to do with string playing. Register and subscribe to access exclusive archival content from 2010 onwards.

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Serenade Espagnole

Chaminade

Paul Huang, violin

Photo courtesy: Marco Borggreve

Violinist Annie Fullard speaks to online editor Davina Shum about how she teaches collaborative skills in her capacity as a chamber music teacher at various institutes and also as a member of the Cavani Quartet.  She is the co-author of the upcoming book The Art of Collaboration: Chamber Music Rehearsal Techniques & Teambuilding which will be published by Oxford University Press this autumn.

Listen to why she believes curiosity and openness is key to creating a good chamber musician – and person – as well as why she thinks we should live in a chamber music world.

Stay tuned for our next episode: how to hold a masterclass with violinist Paul Huang.

Check out thestrad.com for the latest news, articles and reviews on all things to do with string playing. Register and subscribe to access exclusive archival content from 2010 onwards.

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String Quartet no.2 in A minor, op.13 – I: Adagio – Allegro vivace

Felix Mendelssohn

Cavani Quartet

Our guest in this episode is none other than our September 2024 cover star, Ray Chen. If you’re one of his many followers on social media, you’ll know that the violinist has his own community-based practice app, Tonic, which aims to make practising a little less lonely and more collaborative.

In this episode, Ray and online editor Davina chat about how to get the most out of your practice, including Ray’s previous experiences practising when he was younger, managing your time and psychology, as well as why we shouldn’t neglect practising performance.

Read Ray's cover feature here!

Stay tuned for our next episode: how to teach collaborative skills with violinist Annie Fullard

Check out thestrad.com for the latest news, articles and reviews on all things to do with string playing. Register and subscribe to access exclusive archival content from 2010 onwards.

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Tears of the Kingdom – The Legend of Zelda

Player 1

Ray Chen, violin / Royal Philharmonic Orchestra / Cristian Mǎcelaru, conductor

Decca Classics

Photo courtesy Meredith Truax

Julia Reddy is the host of the Violin Class Podcast and teaches a studio comprising solely of adult learners. She and online editor Davina had a chat about how adult students can be proactive and design their own musical curriculum beyond the practice room - a completely different game from teaching children. What are your favourite ways to enrich your musical education?

Find Julia's Violin Class podcast: https://www.violinclass.co/podcast

Recommended listening:

Check out thestrad.com for the latest news, articles and reviews on all things to do with string playing. Register and subscribe to access exclusive archival content from 2010 onwards.

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Many of us as string players will find ourselves teaching in one way or another throughout our careers. We learn and pass on this great legacy of tradition that has gone before us. But what else informs our teaching? How do we find our groove, so to speak, as teachers and players?

Cellist Guy Johnston spoke with online editor Davina about finding his teaching style, particularly after returning to his alma mater, the Eastman School of Music in Rochester.

What’s it like, returning to the hallowed halls of your former school where you now call your former teachers colleagues? Guy shares his ‘a-ha’ moments of inspiration that he brings into his teaching, as well as his journey to delve into the wealth of teaching resources left to us from cello pedagogues of the past.

Find out more about Guy’s favourite resources here

Check out thestrad.com for the latest news, articles and reviews on all things to do with string playing. Register and subscribe to access exclusive archival content from 2010 onwards.

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Night Seasons: I – Nox Perpetua

Rebecca Dale: Night Seasons

Guy Johnston, cello / Tenebrae / Philharmonia Orchestra / Nigel Short

Signum Classics

If you’ve read our February 2024 issue, you would’ve read our feature on the long-lost work by Ysaÿe, his Poème concertant. Violinist Philippe Graffin has recorded the work that had been undiscovered for more than a century – he joins online editor Davina in this episode to speak about uncovering Ysaÿe’s forgotten works, the history and inspiration of the piece, plus how he hopes to cement these lost works as staples of violin repertoire in the future.

Read: Ysaÿe’s Poème concertant: shining a light on a long-forgotten piece

Watch: Video: Ysaÿe’s Secret Sonata by violinist Philippe Graffin

Check out thestrad.com for the latest news, articles and reviews on all things to do with string playing. Register and subscribe to access exclusive archival content from 2010 onwards.

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Poème concertant - Ysaÿe

Philippe Graffin, violin / Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra / Jean-Jacques Kantorow

Rêves

Avie

Photo credit: Marco Borggreve

How do you feel about improvising on a stringed instrument? While there are many musicians who specialise in this craft, you wouldn’t have to search far for string players where mention of the words ‘improv’ and ‘solo’ is enough to strike fear into their hearts.

Violist and composer Jessica Meyer spoke to online editor and cellist Davina about how the word ‘improvisation’ can be seemingly daunting for string players, and how it helps to approach it as ‘making choices’. She shares her story with incorporating improvisation in her warm-ups, and how the mind-body connection of music making inspires her and her students to create their own exercises to further enhance their playing.

Jessica’s new composer/performer portrait album I long and seek after will be released on 22 March on New Focus Recordings.

Check out thestrad.com for the latest news, articles and reviews on all things to do with string playing. Register and subscribe to access exclusive archival content from 2010 onwards.

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‘O elegant giant’ from Space in Chains for soprano and viola

Viola and composer – Jessica Meyer

Soprano – Melissa Wimbish

Photo credit: Bill Struhs

Double bassist Michael Rieber is the first solo double bass player from the NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra in Hamburg. Not only does he hold a principal position in one of Europe’s top orchestras, he’s also released a recording of French works called Nuits Blanches.

How does Michael find the time to take on two very high-calibre jobs and projects? Michael shares with online editor Davina the lessons he’s learnt throughout his orchestral career, including why patience is critical when it comes to preparing repertoire – both new and frequently revisited, as well as how he structures his preparation time.

Check out thestrad.com for the latest news, articles and reviews on all things to do with string playing. Register and subscribe to access exclusive archival content from 2010 onwards.

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César Franck: Sonata in A major I. Allegretto ben moderato (transcription by Balthasar Brockes)

Alfred Desenclos: Aria and Rondo for Double Bass and Piano II. Rondo

Nuits Blanches

Michael Rieber, double bass / Norbert Goerlich, piano

Es Dur

Photo credit: Jewgeni Roppel

Violinist Alena Baeva spoke with online editor Davina recently about the music of Stravinsky – specifically the Divertimento from The Fairy’s Kiss, which was arranged by Samuel Dushkin for violin and piano. She spoke about how this music encourages the player to harness the power of the imagination to showcase the kaleidoscope of colours displayed in Stravinsky’s writing.

She also speaks about staying spontaneous, as well as her approach and tips to playing tricky double stops. Plus, you’ll also hear about what instrument and bows she used to record her latest album, Fantasy. 

Check out thestrad.com for the latest news, articles and reviews on all things to do with string playing. Register and subscribe to access exclusive archival content from 2010 onwards.

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Divertimento from The Fairy’s Kiss K049

Pas de deux. Adagio

Stravinsky (arr. Samuel Duskin for violin and piano)

Alena Baeva, violin / Vadym Kholodenko, piano

Fantasy

Alpha Classics ALPHA1021

Photo credit: Jean-Baptiste Millot