News & features

worst things about playing the violin

The 10 worst things about playing the violin

Esther Abrami Ryanair violin

‘I never expected this reaction’ – Esther Abrami refused boarding with 200-year-old violin on Ryanair flight

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Nicola Benedetti on whether phones should be allowed at classical concerts.

Nicola Benedetti has ‘strong feelings’ on mobile phones at classical concerts

Nicola Benedetti

Violinist attracts turtles

Violinist summons turtles from water with his virtuosic playing

Maxim Vengerov – here’s why musicians use vibrato

Why do musicians always use vibrato?

Prime Minister Keir Starmer plays flute, recorder and piano, and was a Guildhall music scholar

Prime Minister Keir Starmer plays flute, recorder and piano, and was a Guildhall music scholar

Olympic swimmer Elizabeth Beisel blew an audience of 25,000 out of the water with a rousing violin rendition of the US national anthem on Saturday, 22 June 2024.

Olympic swimmer plays US national anthem on violin, thrilling 25,000-strong audience

An 18th century Stradivarius violin, once owned by Catherine the Great, has been tokenised and is now an NFT.

A 316-year-old violin once owned by Catherine the Great is now an NFT

Dmytro Udovychenko in his winning performance

25-year-old Ukrainian wins prestigious competition with thrilling Shostakovich violin concerto

Pavel Šporcl violin concert

Exuberant conductor knocks rare violin out of soloist’s hand in concerto nightmare

John Williams wrote a special violin arrangement of his epic ‘Star Wars’ theme for Amandla Stenberg.

John Williams re-writes Star Wars as a stirring violin solo for ‘The Acolyte’ star Amandla Stenberg

Williams

A young Joshua Bell plays in a 1982 violin masterclass

Unearthed footage of 15-year-old Joshua Bell playing Tchaikovsky is terrifyingly good

Joshua Bell

Paganini’s violin is X-rayed to examine its wood.

Scientists X-rayed Paganini’s favourite violin, to reveal the deep secret of its sound

Paganini

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Amy Beach’s stunning violin Romance

Amy Beach’s stunning Romance, played by a rising star violinist for International Women’s Day

Musicians play while stuck in motorway traffic

Classical musicians got stuck in traffic with their instruments, and there was only one thing to do

Videos

Sean Magee plays on his Ryanair flight

Folk violinist serenades packed Ryanair flight in spontaneous jig

Dan Hodd’s violin was shattered when he was hit by a bus whilst cycling in the Middle East.

Shattered violin that ‘saved cyclist’s life’ in catastrophic collision is miraculously repaired