All Fine-Contemporary articles – Page 18

  • FC_Calendar2014
    Focus

    The special art of decorated instruments

    9 September 2013

    The Strad Calendar 2014 features beautifully decorated instruments by some of the finest makers of all time. John Dilworth tracks the history of the noble tradition, through the makers featured

  • Violin perfume
    Article

    Eau de violin shop: luthier launches workplace-inspired fragrance

    8 September 2013

    Cremona luthier Edgar Russ has a new and unusual product sideline: perfume. The violin maker is launching a scent that he says is inspired by the aromas of a luthier's workshop. Russ's fiancée came up with the idea four years ago, and the violin maker collaborated with Guy Bouchara, a ...

  • Gradoux-Matt
    Article

    New York dealer to pay $325,000 to settle legal dispute with violinist

    2 September 2013

    New York violin dealer Emmanuel Gradoux-Matt has agreed to pay $325,000 to a violinist who sued him for allegedly losing her instrument while it was on consignment. South Korean violinist Kyung-Ah Yang had been seeking $400,000 in damages to compensate for the loss of her 1837 J.F. Pressenda, as well ...

  • Aug-05
    Focus

    Why beginners deserve the best

    1 September 2013

    As the new school year beckons, an article from The Strad, August 1905, offers some sage advice to parents thinking of violin lessons for their children

  • Philharmonia
    Blogs

    Remembering London orchestral players of the 1950s

    29 August 2013

    Ariane Todes's chance discovery of a box of old concert programmes led to an outpouring of tributes to a golden generation of string players

  • Magby_4x5
    Article

    US violin dealer Charles Magby charged with first-degree larceny

    27 August 2013

    American instrument dealer Charles Magby was arrested on 23 August on charges of first-degree larceny. According to police in Guilford, Connecticut, several complaints have been made against the 63-year-old owner of Charles H. Magby Fine Violins Ltd, regarding his selling of high-end custom instruments, including violins, cellos, bows, on consignment. ...

  • Comp
    Blogs

    Do violin competitions face extinction?

    21 August 2013

    A day trip to Switzerland yielded some provocative conversations about the future of string music contests for Ariane Todes

  • Sala-Guarnerius
    Article

    Argentina's first stringed-instrument gallery set for opening

    5 August 2013

    A museum in Buenos Aires is to open a new permanent exhibition hall dedicated to stringed instruments in October. Officials at the Isaac Fernández Blanco Museum of Spanish–American Art believe that the new gallery will be the first such exhibition space in Argentina. Among the instruments to be displayed is ...

  • mjkviolin
    Article

    Stolen £1.2m Stradivarius violin recovered

    29 July 2013

    UK police have recovered a 1696 Stradivarius violin, more than two and half years after it was stolen from Korean violinist Min-Jin Kym. The instrument, discovered intact with some very minor damage including a small crack on the front, was recovered in its case on 18 July, along with a ...

  • bow_maker
    Debate

    Embrace the difference

    30 June 2013

    Luthiers often have more experience than players of Baroque instruments and bows. So, says US bow maker David Hawthorne, they should be fearless in producing authentic equipment to enlighten and inform

  • Stolen-web
    Focus

    What happens when a stolen Strad is recovered?

    11 June 2013

    Violin dealers and musicians are not alone in following the auction performance of rare musical instruments. The spectacular saleroom prices realised by the finest violins have also attracted thieves in search of fresh goods for the illicit art market. While post-theft claims for insured instruments are often quickly settled, the ...

  • Titanic_ViolinScanning
    Article

    Hospital CT scan reveals more on so-called 'Titanic violin'

    22 May 2013

    A violin thought to have been played during the sinking of the RMS Titanic has undergone a hospital CT scan to determine its age and condition. The research, commissioned by auctioneers Henry Aldridge & Son, showed that the instrument had been damaged and restored. Radiographer Astrid ...

  • StradBlogImg_0423D6EE8093FB049020ABB6015367876D68701
    Blogs

    Feel the power

    27 September 2012

    Peter Somerford reflects on measuring violin projection at the Paris blind-test

  • Strads on show
    Debate

    Lock up the valuables

    25 November 2011

    Should the world's top violins, violas and cellos always be available for playing? No, says Philip Kass. Some are simply too precious to be exposed to destructive human hands

  • Nigel
    Debate

    Careless talk costs lives

    27 October 2011

    Nigel Kennedy used his recent BBC Prom to issue a condemnation of period performance. But, says Ariane Todes, he should get his facts right, and spare a thought for those colleagues whose reputations he's belittling

  • Article

    Min-Jin Kym's 1696 Stradivarius violin is taken from a sandwich bar

    10 December 2010

    A £15,000 reward has been offered for information leading to the recovery of a Stradivarius violin stolen in London. The 1696 instrument, valued at around £1.2m, was stolen along with two bows from a branch of Pret a Manger outside Euston Station on 29 November. The victim of the theft ...

  • Cleveland
    Blogs

    The advantages of modern instruments

    20 April 2009

    Ariane Todes chairs a panel discussion in which luthiers shed light on the process of commissioning