All articles by Christian Lloyd
-
FocusThe Strad Calendar 2025: 1717 ‘Windsor, Weinstein’ Stradivari violin
The first Stradivari violin to be given to the Canada Council’s Musical Instrument Bank, it remains in top-class condition
-
FocusThe Strad Calendar 2025: 1730 ‘Newland’ Giovanni Francesco Celoniato cello
One of only eight cellos known to be made by the Turin-based luthier, it is named after Canadian cellist Christine Newland
-
BlogsHow to photograph violins: Tarisio’s Robert Bailey speaks to the VSA
The auction house’s head photographer gives details on his camera set-up, lighting, studio layout and the different requirements of front, side, back and scroll shots
-
BlogsViolin trivia: Can you beat the VSA’s top brains?
Test your violin knowledge with some of the questions from the VSA convention’s Trivia Night on Monday 18 November
-
BlogsWhere the wood came from: Peter Ratcliff speaks to the VSA
The British dendrochronology expert explains his latest research, revealing how wood from one source can appear in centuries-old instruments made thousands of miles apart
-
FocusThe Strad Calendar 2025: 1820 Giovanni Francesco Pressenda violin
Possibly the first instrument ever made by Pressenda, it boasts a two-piece back of slightly burled quarter-cut maple
-
BlogsViolin Society of America’s 50th convention kicks off in Indianapolis
Exhibitions, lectures and demonstrations were all in evidence on the first day of proceedings
-
FocusThe Strad Calendar 2025: c.1696 ‘Bonjour’ Antonio Stradivari cello
A beautiful instrument with plentiful red–brown varnish, it has been played by Robert Cohen, Martin Lovett and others
-
FocusThe Strad Calendar 2025: 1747 ‘Palmason’ Gennaro Gagliano violin
Named for Canadian violinist Pearl Palmason, the violin has a back of one piece of maple with broad figure
-
FocusThe Strad Calendar 2025: 1824 ‘McConnell’ Nicolò Gagliano II cello
A rare cello by the least prolific member of the Neapolitan family, the ‘McConnell’ has a two piece back of slab-cut poplar
-
FocusThe Strad Calendar 2025: 1689 ‘Baumgartner’ Antonio Stradivari violin
Marking the end of Stradivari’s early ’Amatisé’ period, it is named for the Swiss violin dealer Fritz Baumgartner
-
FocusThe Strad Calendar 2025: 1871 Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume violin
An exact copy of Stradivari’s ‘Messiah’, it remained in a vault in Paris for more than 70 years
-
FocusThe Strad Calendar 2025: c.1700 ‘Bell’ Giovanni Tononi violin
With a reddish-brown varnish over a golden ground, this violin shows the influence of Nicolò Amati
-
FocusThe Strad Calendar 2025: 1715 Domenico Montagnana violin
A rare example of a violin by the noted Venetian maker of cellos, it has a two-piece back of irregular figure
-
FocusThe Strad Calendar 2025: 1700 ‘Taft’ Antonio Stradivari violin
Boasting beautiful orange–red varnish, it was formerly played by Emil Heermann, concertmaster of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra
-
FocusThe Strad Calendar 2025: 1706 ‘Brott-Turner’ David Tecchler cello
The first instrument ever added to the Musical Instrument Bank of the Canada Council for the Arts, it is a masterpiece of the Rome-based luthier’s work
-
ReviewBook review: Violin Makers in Naples from the 17th Century
Christian Lloyd reads Ernesto de Angelis’s treatise on Neapolitan lutherie, now translated into English for the first time
-
FocusThe Strad Calendar 2024: 1742 ‘Lord Wilton’ Guarneri ‘del Gesù’ violin
Best known as Yehudi Menuhin’s instrument for much of his career, the violin is still in an excellent state of preservation
-
FocusThe Strad Calendar 2024: 1733 ‘Sassoon’ Antonio Stradivari violin
Made when the master luthier was 89 years old, it has plentiful, rich reddish-brown varnish
-
FocusThe Strad Calendar 2024: 1737 ‘Panette’ Guarneri ‘del Gesù’ violin
For years the main instrument used by Isaac Stern, it is now in the hands of Renaud Capuçon.
