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Premium ❘ FeatureThe Liberty luthier: Nicola Utili
Stefano Pio examines the life and career of the early 20th-century Italian luthier Nicola Utili, who combined his natural skills in instrument making with a penchant for innovation and acoustic research
Premium ❘ FeatureMaking Matters: The curious case of Knute Reindahl’s 1905 violin
An impressively carved violin from 1905 led HyeonJeong Kim on a journey to discover more about its maker and dedicatee
Premium ❘ FeatureMy Space: Andrew Carruthers’s Santa Rosa workshop
The maker presents his Californian shop
Premium ❘ FeatureShaping the modern bow: Viotti and the Tourte bow
Debate has raged over the role of Giovanni Battista Viotti in the development of the Tourte-style bow. Markus Laine sifts through the evidence
Premium ❘ FeatureIn Focus: A 1948 violin by Zenon Wladimir Petesh
Bruce Braun Babbitt inspects the US maker’s mid-century instrument
Premium ❘ FeatureTrade Secrets: Reinforcing a violin bridge with carbon rods
A method to improve the bridge’s durability and long-term reliability
Premium ❘ FeatureMaking Matters: The curious case of the underslide
Mika Seifert uncovers evidence that the so-called ‘Hill slide’ might not have been created at the British-based violin firm at all, but may in fact have been an invention of W.A. Pfretzschner
Premium ❘ FeatureTrade Secrets: Making a custom cutter for a second-hole bushing
Adam Goltry introduces a specialised tool for bow makers to use when carrying out a tricky repair job
Premium ❘ FeatureRatios and rulers: instrument geometry
How did the old Italian makers measure out their instrument patterns? David Beard reveals evidence showing that they made use of both ratios and the standard measurements used at the time
Premium ❘ FeatureMy Space: Manuel Ramírez’s San Salvador workshop
The luthier presents his El Salvador shop
Premium ❘ FeatureIn Focus: An 1830 violin by Giuseppe Dall’Aglio
Claudio Amighetti examines the 19th-century instrument
Premium ❘ FeatureThe Strad Calendar 2027: Norway’s pride and joy
The Strad Calendar 2027 features eleven Stradivari instruments, all taken from the collection of the Anders Sveaas Charitable Foundation. Christian Lloyd examines the treasures
Premium ❘ FeatureAn overlooked wonder: Pietro Barbieri
Despite having made only a handful of instruments in his career, Pietro Barbieri proved to be one of Mantua’s most accomplished luthiers. Philip Kass and Andrea Zanrè look into his life and examine an instrument from 1826
Premium ❘ FeatureMy Space: Daniel King and Joe Roach’s Cardiff workshop
The two luthiers present their workshop in the Welsh capital
Premium ❘ FeatureIn the midst of transition: the French transitional period – part two
In the second of two articles on the French transitional period, Florent Boyer examines the development of the violin in Paris between 1790 and 1830 – and how Nicolas Lupot’s influence proved to be seismic
Premium ❘ FeatureMaking Matters: Achieving a glow from within
The varnish of many Cremonese makers seems to glow from within – but how did they achieve this without knowledge of optics? Tamás Guminár investigates – and argues that one secret ingredient may be kaolin
Premium ❘ FeatureTrade Secrets: Carving a Gofriller-style scroll
Alessandro Peiretti shares a method on making a personal interpretation of the Venetian scroll model
Premium ❘ FeatureIn Focus: A c.1850 violin by Lorenzo Arcangioli
Peter Körner examines the mid-19th century instrument
Premium ❘ ArticleAnalysis September 2026: Ten years on from the Brexit vote, how have instrument workshops been affected?
A decade after the UK’s split from the European Union, the impact is still being felt by both musicians and makers. Peter Somerford looks at how are regular instrument workshops dealing with the changes?
Premium ❘ FeatureTrade Secrets: Set-up guidelines for the five-string violin
Jennifer Halenar shares some tips that take into account the differences in bridges, strings, dimensions and fingerboards
Premium ❘ FeatureMatthew Hardie: ‘The Scottish Stradivari’
Matthew Hardie, who died 200 years ago this year, was possibly Scotland’s most influential violin maker. To mark the anniversary, David Rattray tells the story of his life and examines a selection of his violas
Premium ❘ FeatureMaking Matters: Comparing volume of air within the violin soundbox
John Waddle and Steve Sirr use CT scanning to examine how the amount of air inside a violin soundbox varies between the works of several early Cremonese makers
Premium ❘ FeatureIn Focus: A 1776 mute violin by Nicolò Gagliano
Nazrin Rashidova and Peter Beare take a look at the unique instrument
Premium ❘ FeatureChanging of the guard: French transitional period – part one
The ‘transitional period’ in French lutherie usually refers to the period of change from the Baroque bow to the Tourte model. In the first of two articles, Florent Boyer illustrates how violin making also underwent a seismic shift through the 18th century and into the 19th
Premium ❘ FeatureFrank Kovanda: bow man to the stars
Frank Kovanda is acknowledged as one of America’s finest 20th-century bow makers. Gennady Filimonov tells his story and examines some examples of his work
Premium ❘ FeatureMaking Matters: Wood treatment in ‘golden period’ Stradivari violins
Stewart Pollens reveals the results of tests on wood shavings from two ‘golden period’ violins by Antonio Stradivari, which sought to discover any evidence of wood treatment
Premium ❘ FeatureTrade Secrets: An innovative varnish recipe
Johannes Jacobs presents a method for making and applying both the ground coat and an emulsion varnish
Premium ❘ FeatureIn Focus: A 1757 violin by Joan Guillamí I
Jordi Pinto examines the mid 18th-century instrument
Premium ❘ FeatureOut of the dark: the 1742 ‘Rovelli’ Guarneri ‘del Gesù’ violin
The ‘Rovelli’ Guarneri ‘del Gesù’ violin of 1742 was once believed lost – and its rediscovery in 2002 was a heart-pounding moment for the experts. Frédéric Chaudière recalls the compelling story of the instrument’s authentication
Premium ❘ FeatureMaking Matters: Examining a rare James Dodd II bow
Philip Kass looks at a rare 1839 bow that exhibits all the hallmarks and idiosyncrasies of its maker, James Dodd II
Premium ❘ FeatureIn Focus: A 1718 violin by Francesco Gobetti
Michel Samson on the Italian maker’s late-period instrument
Premium ❘ FeatureBig is beautiful: violoncello da spalla
After decades of relative neglect, the violoncello da spalla is undergoing a resurgence of interest. Daniela Gaidano, who has made several examples, looks into its history and explains its appeal for both players and makers
Premium ❘ FocusAuction Report June 2026: Room for optimism
Kevin MacDonald discovers a plethora of ‘golden age’ instruments and a fine selection of bows at this season’s London sales
Premium ❘ FeatureMysteries of the soul: soundpost acoustics
Often called the violin’s ‘soul’, the soundpost is possibly the least understood part of the instrument. Joseph Curtin details a series of experiments that shed light on the acoustic role of this tiny piece of wood
Premium ❘ FeatureTrade Secrets: Making cochineal-coloured lakes
A guide to creating a rich, warm red pigment for varnish preparation
Premium ❘ FeatureMaking Matters: A history of the ‘Il Cremonese’ Stradivari violin’s case
For more than half a century, one of the finest violin cases ever made has lain undisturbed in Cremona. Dimitri Musafia examines the history of the case built to house the 1715 ‘Il Cremonese’ Stradivari
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