Our Favorite Musical Links

This week we’re doing another joint post! To start us out, Cammi will share her favorite musical websites/blogs, and Maggie will weigh in next.

Violinist.com

I can proudly say that Violinist.com is a home-away-from-home for violinists of all ages and stages. You will benefit from the forums on this site whether you be a beginning student or an advanced performer. You are guaranteed an answer for any question you post – the following of this site is huge. I highly recommend signing up today! (Plus, Editor-in-Chief Laurie Niles has her own column full of interesting facts and musings. It’s highly worth your time to read.)

TheViolinChannel.com 

TheViolinChannel has so many resources it’s hard to summarize them in one paragraph. First of all, know this: if there is big news to be had concerning violins or violinists, you’ll hear it first at TheViolinChannel. Other than the “news” column, check out TVC’s masterclasses, music videos, stolen instrument and orchestra audition alerts, and 20 question interviews with famous virtuosos. (Just for the record, I have to say TheViolinChannel is my favorite link in this post.)

TheStrad.com

TheStrad.com is the official website of TheStradMagazine. Although a subscription to the magazine is over $100, you can read many of the same articles that appear in the magazine on the website (plus many extras). TheStrad does a great job of firing questions about teaching, playing, and performing string instruments at the experts. Be sure to subscribe to their free newsletter as well!

StringsMagazine.com

StringsMagazine.com is the official website of StringsMagazine. Like TheStrad, you can read many of the featured articles that appear in the magazine on the website. There’s also a free newsletter I highly suggest subscribing to.

ClassicFM.com

Most of you know ClassicFM as a classical music radio station. That it is, but ClassicFM’s website is also full of fun musical tidbits. While the other blogs I’ve mentioned contain longer articles for the serious musician, ClassicFM has fun articles everyone will enjoy!

Classical-Music-Blogs.weebly.com

Discover more classical music blogs, magazines, and newspapers on this catalog.

SharMusic.com

My go-to store for anything musical! Check out their blog too.

YouTube Channels

YouTube channels are a most helpful resource. Here are a couple of my favorite channels to browse around on.

The Violin Channel – just an offshoot of TheViolinChannel.com. If you’re ever bored, watch the 20 question interviews.

Pianoescort – I absolutely love this channel! Pianoescort uploads reliably good piano accompaniments for well-known violin pieces which are helpful when learning a piece.

HenriVieuxtemps – most helpful if you like to see the sheet music while listening to a piece.

Berliner Philharmoniker – watch a season’s worth of videos with the world-renowned Berlin Philharmonic.

Detroit Symphony Orchestra – watch orchestra videos and interviews. You might also check out Leonard Slatkin’s (the conductor of the DSO) conducting school.

Artists’ Websites

Most artists have their own websites. I love to browse around and see what they’re up to.

Nicola Benedetti – check out “Nicky’s Notes.”

Sarah Chang

Hilary Hahn – you’ll enjoy “By Hilary.” Some of her escapades make me laugh out loud. Try this one.

Rachael Barton Pine

ItzhakPerlman

Joshua Bell

JanineJansen

Anne-Sophie Mutter

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And here are Maggie’s links, presented in no particular order.

Partifi

This is an invaluable website that allows you to separate any parts you want from a score. I used it once to separate the piano part from the score of Rachmaninoff’s 2nd concerto, but you can separate more than one part at a time. Partifi might be just the thing for small ensembles trying to downsize a full orchestra score.

Chamber Music Society

The Chamber Music Society is based in Manhattan and their livestreams, in case you haven’t watched any, are truly a pleasure to watch. I particularly love the lectures by Bruce Adolphe, who manages to combine wit with real exploration of a variety of music.

Key Notes

The Key Notes blog is one of my favorite resources when I want to spend an hour reading some great articles. From ear training to practicing, Key Notes has dozens of articles which, aside from being a pleasure to read, are actually helpful.

Classical 89

This is the classical radio, in my opinion. Classical 89 gives you the actual, hearty classical music, not the most famous or the most virtuosic. These are real pieces, like full string quartets or trios, which you have probably never heard before. I love going here because the selection of music is so diverse and genuine.

Boris Giltburg Blog

Boris Giltburg is a concert pianist who has recorded several CDs and concertizes in Europe. I originally found his blog when I was searching for a good listening guide for a piece, and I must say, his guides are most than thorough! I enjoy his listening guides, but I also love the glimpse he affords into the life of a professional pianist. Read my favorite post of his here.

Boosey and Hawkes Music Store

No, you don’t have to buy all your music books on Amazon! You may be surprised, but Amazon often lacks certain editions. Like Cammi, whenever I can’t find an edition I need on Amazon, I go to my favorite alternative: Boosey and Hawkes.

Art of Composing

Art of Composing is by Jon Brantingham, who blogs, podcasts (is that even a verb? :D), and has an online academy for aspiring composers. He is more than thorough when it comes to composing and I’ve found his posts on counterpoint particularly helpful. His beginner’s composing course is free and the perfect place to start if you’re interested in learning composition.

Majoring In Music

This is a fantastic website for high school students looking to college and their futures. Majoring In Music offers advice ranging from choosing a music school and applying to one to your future after college. This is especially helpful for those of you who know you want to major in music but are not quite sure where to start.

Piano Career

I cannot recommend this blog enough! Ilinca Vartic teaches and blogs using the traditional Russian school techniques which have been taught to generations of piano students. She is dedicated to teaching a holistic piano method, freeing the pianist from both physical and mental tension. Time and time again I find myself nodding along in complete agreement with her method. It is clean and straightforward, exactly as piano-playing should be.

Pianostreet

This is positively the best place for a pianist to be if he wishes to waste a couple hours in the endless web of the wide world. Pianostreet is essentially Yahoo for pianists where musicians from all over the world can weigh in on the best pedaling for so-and-so piece, what Urtext editions are and which are the best for certain composers, and, well, basically anything a pianist may want to know. Another similar website is Piano World.

KuhlauDilfeng4

KuhlauDilfeng4 is a YouTuber who has uploaded hundreds of little-known masterpieces. I originally stumbled upon this channel after randomly coming across one of his uploads, Alfredo Casella’s Symphony No. 2. (That symphony, by the way, is one of my favorites these days – the themes won’t stop going through my head!) Now my Watch Later playlist is brimful of symphonies and serenades and who-knows-what-else!

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Thanks so much for reading! If you have a favorite blog that we haven’t mentioned in the post, tell us about it in the comments.

-Maggie and Cammi