15 Essential Violin Concertos
On Saturday, Sept. 4 through Monday, Sept. 6, WQXR kicks off our month-long ViolinFestby featuring 15 violin concertos that we consider essential. Tune in throughout Labor Day weekend to hear these...
View ArticleMonica Huggett: Flights of Fantasy
Italian Baroque instrumental music is much more than Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. In "Flights of Fantasy," a new collection of chamber music from the seventeenth century, violinist Monica Huggett and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Using Science to Learn What Makes a Violin Sing
Does the secret to the pristine sound of an 18th century violin lie in the density of its wood? Probably not -- at least not entirely. But that is among the intriguing questions raised by a recent...
View ArticleRandom Acts of Violins
So, WQXR is spending the whole month of September in praise of the violin. Of course I'm a violist at heart, but I thought this would be a great jumping-off point for this week's show. Thus! This week...
View ArticleFrom Russia with Strings
Vintage Violins, our September series devoted to the great violinists of the past, kicks off with three legendary performers from the Russian school: David Oistrakh (1908-1974), Leonid Kogan...
View ArticleYouthful Strings
As part of ViolinFest, Symphony Hall focuses on orchestral works that rely solely on the strings. Tonight: Youthful Strings, or How on Earth did Mozart, Mendelssohn and Britten Compose So Well When...
View ArticleSerenade for Strings
Symphony Hall is focusing on orchestral works that rely solely on the strings as part of ViolinFest. In honor of Antonín Dvořák's birthday today, we're featuring his Serenade for Strings in E major,...
View ArticleAmerican Minimalists
As ViolinFest continues on WQXR, Symphony Hall this week is featuring works written exclusively for strings. Tonight we spotlight two American composers who made their names as minimalists. The program...
View ArticleThe British Invasion
As WQXR's month-long ViolinFest continues, Symphony Hall this week is featuring works written exclusively for strings. Tonight, we turn our attention to four of England's greatest composers, with works...
View ArticleAnne Akiko Meyers: Seasons...dreams
If you're in the mood for an album that celebrates the change of seasons – and who isn't these days – violinist Anne Akiko Meyers’ "Seasons…dreams" may be just the thing. This new collection features...
View ArticleWanna Play?
As our month-long ViolinFest proceeds on WQXR, I’ve been reading about the violin, and talking with some violinists and other violin experts. Curiously for me, though, learning about the violin has not...
View ArticleMenuhin, Grumiaux and Heifetz
Every Monday in September, WQXR presents chamber works from an earlier generation of violin masters. Tonight's installment features classic performances by Yehudi Menuhin, Arthur Grumiaux, Jascha...
View ArticleStradivari vs. Guarneri: An Expert Explains the Difference
Even people who know nothing about the violin know the name of its most famous maker: "Stradivarius" is a metaphor for objects of priceless value and incomparable quality. Antonio Stradivari, who lived...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Instruments of Murder
More and more crime fiction writers are seizing on the power of rare violins to fire the imagination. The Strad magazine recently investigated the fictional world of legendary instruments and the...
View ArticleTop Five Famous (and Infamous) Violins
There have been hundreds of violin makers, or luthiers, but two Italians dominate the conversation, especially when it comes to the most famous instruments in history. Antonio Stradivari and Guarneri...
View ArticleFrom the Vaults: Isaac Stern with Leonard Lopate
In his prime, Isaac Stern (1920-2001) was considered one of the great instrumentalists of the 20th century. But he was much more: an activist who led a successful campaign to save Carnegie Hall from...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Two Views on Paganini
Get a free download of Philppe Quint playing Paganini's Caprice No. 24.*The Italian virtuoso Nicolo Paganini was reportedly so talented on the fiddle that only some kind of diabolical pact could...
View ArticleTwo from the Vaults: Fritz Kreisler & Jascha Heifetz
Jascha Heifetz and Fritz Kreisler, two of the 20th century's great violinists, were periodic guests on WQXR. On two separate occasions, both were the subject of special birthday tributes. For our...
View ArticlePaganini's Violin Concerto No. 1
As part of our ongoing September series, ViolinFest, Symphony Hall focuses on the legacy of Niccolò Paganini. Tonight, a trip through his Violin Concerto No. 1, a work that shows off the...
View ArticleHilary Hahn
In the mid-1990s violinist Hilary Hahn hit it off with Jennifer Higdon, a composer and the instructor of her 20th-century music course at the Curtis Institute of Music. Both went on to major careers...
View Article
