Read my article on Shostakovich violin music in the current Strad - Interviews with Fischer, Kremer, Gluzman

It began with a fascinating conversation with violinist Vadim Gluzman in Amsterdam, last year. We spoke about Shostakovich's violin music for two hours, ahead of his performance of the Second Violin Concerto with Riccardo Chailly and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, and you can read some excerpts of that discussion in a feature article in the Mary 2019 issue of The Strad, out now.

I was then lucky enough to speak with Gidon Kremer and Julia Fischer about their experiences with Shostakovich - in the case of Kremer, his memories of meeting the man himself. It wouldn't have been possible without the generous help of all three superstar soloists, along with Anja Rauschardt and Sonia Simmenauer, who were kind enough to put me in touch with two of my interviewees. It was also made possible by Bryan Rowell of the DSCH Journal, who kindly gave permission for the use of some translations made for the journal, and Elizabeth Wilson, whose own research informed the article also. I'm also grateful to Charlotte Smith at The Strad for her help and encouragement.

UPDATE: You can read a substantial chunk of the article here. Go on. Treat yourself.

The violinists' violinist

The Guardian has asked a number of eminent violinists to choose their number one fiddler.  Interestingly, there are two mentions apiece for Ida Haendel, Pinchas Zukerman and Gidon Kremer, but no Oistrakh, Heifetz, Milstein, Szigeti, etc, etc.  I would have chosen Oistrakh myself, and Julia Fischer from the crop of current violinists.  Who would you choose?  Let us know in the comments section.

Gidon Kremer takes on Putin

Latvian violinist Gidon Kremer has spoken out about the imprisonment of Russian former billionaire Mikhail Khodorkovsky and his associate Platon Lebedev.  CNN caries a statement by Kremer explaining his desire to fulfil his duty as an artist to speak out about political wrongdoings.  Kremer states:

"As artists, it's our duty to raise our voices in a chorus of opposition to drown out those who seek to humiliate and punish men like Khodorkovsky. Why? Because history has proved men like Khodorkovsky right."

Kremer places his statement alongside other musicians who have spoken out over political situations, such as Yehudi Menuhin (who Kremer says is "often considered the best violinist in the 20th century".  By whom?  Beats me.) and, perhaps more appropriately, Mstislav Rostropovich, who sheltered Aleksander Solzhenitsyn at a time when the Soviet writer faced official censure for his political activities.