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- Whether you're a player, maker, teacher or enthusiast, you'll find ideas and inspiration from leading artists, teachers and luthiers in our archive which features every issue published since January 2010 - available exclusively to subscribers. View the archive.
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Premium ❘ Feature‘Give them something to listen to’ - Daniel Pioro: Blink if you dare
Daniel Pioro talks to Tom Stewart about his philosophy, his new album, and the fresh ideas he is bringing to his ongoing residency at London’s Southbank Centre
Premium ❘ FeatureRepetitive practice: Once more, with feeling
Pedro de Alcantara provides tips on bringing creativity and intentionality into your practice time
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‘I am striving to sound like a voice’ - Session Report: Maria Ioudenitch
Rita Fernandes talks to violinist Maria Ioudenitch about her forthcoming album
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How to win without winning - Competitions: The competitive advantage
Charlotte Gardner asks industry leaders for their top competition advice
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‘Fancy a tea party with Brahms?’: From the archive: January 1913
The pseudonymous ‘Lancastrian’ (Dr William Hardman) interviews virtuoso violinist Adolph Brodsky
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Sentimental Work: Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas on the violoncello piccolo
The Italian cellist recalls the first time he performed Bach’s Sonatas and Partitas on the violoncello piccolo
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‘Know the rules before you break them’ - Matt Haimovitz’s life lessons
The US cellist on how a disciplined early approach enabled him to embrace the possibilities of new experiences
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A birthday celebration: Postcard from Barcelona
Carlos María Solare visited the stylish Catalan capital for a slice of string quartet heaven
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Analysis January 2023: Classical unclassified
With the proliferation of recordings by non-standard ‘classical’ artists, how can record labels market them if the charts don’t recognise them
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Opinion: how chamber music develops communication and listening skills
Violist Rosalind Ventris shares her experience of the transformative power of playing chamber music
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Violinist Thomas Eisner: how I made it to Bayreuth
Violinist Thomas Eisner talks about his time with the Bayreuth Festival Orchestra
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‘We enjoy playing softly together’ - Session Report: Pablo Ferrández and Anne-Sophie Mutter
Cellist Pablo Ferrández talks to Peter Quantrill his latest recording with violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter
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Hilary Hahn: Born original
From 1999: Hahn shares her love of writing, solo Bach, her educational background and her insights on the great violinists of our time
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‘There is no course on how to lead an orchestra!’ - Vesko Eschkenazy’s life lessons
The Bulgarian leader of the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra talks about discipline and the role of the concertmaster
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Violinist and composer Felix Yaniewicz – father of the first Edinburgh Festival
David Kettle discovers the history of the 18th-century Polish–Lithuanian violinist, composer and entrepreneur Felix Yaniewicz
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‘Keeping the accompanist on his toes’ - Postcard from Santander
Tim Homfray travels to the northern coast of Spain to experience a unique gathering of young chamber players and master musicians
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Pavel Šporcl: The man with the blue violin
Czech violinist Pavel Šporcl speaks to Amanda Holloway about his varied career and his unusual violin
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‘Its brilliance overwhelmed me with emotion’ - Philippe Quint on Franck’s Violin Sonata
The Russian-born American violinist shares how César Franck’s masterpiece opened his eyes to the vast possibilities of Romantic repertoire
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‘Music is part of our existence, even under shell-fire’: String players of the Great War
In our August 2014 issue, Tully Potter tells the extraordinary tales of some of the myriad string players caught up in the action of the 1914-18 war
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Analysis December 2022: A safe space for musicians?
As the UK government holds an inquiry into misogyny in music, the Musicians’ Union calls for further action to safeguard female players.
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‘Only give it as much as you need’ - Thomas Demenga’s life lessons
The Swiss cellist on the importance of memorisation and the influence of different systems
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‘I was falling in love with chamber music all over again’ - Postcard from Napa Valley
Laurence Vittes finds that the combination of chamber music and the vineyards of California’s Napa Valley makes a festival that’s hard to resist
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‘I want to write music where the sensibilities of the player are encouraged’ - Caroline Shaw
The youngest ever winner of the Pulitzer Prize, Caroline Shaw talks to Toby Deller about her eclectic influences and finding inspiration in the most unlikely places
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Black community orchestras in the US: Hidden histories
During America’s 20th-century social inequalities, African American musicians set up their own community orchestras, Eliesha Nelson traces their history and legacy
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‘It seemed like the Mount Everest of the repertoire’ - Nicolas Altstaedt on Dvořák's ‘Dumky’ trio
Dvořák’s ‘Dumky’ Piano Trio always seemed like the Mount Everest of the repertoire, until the Covid lockdowns gave the German cellist a chance to find the real meaning behind it
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Session Report: the Chiaroscuro Quartet on Mozart’s ‘Prussian’ Quartets
The members of the Chiaroscuro Quartet on combining detailed preparation while retaining a sense of spontaneity when recording Mozart’s ‘Prussian’ Quartets
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Analysis November 2022: ‘The gigging system is not set up for fuel to be this expensive’
With the cost of petrol, heating and food skyrocketing in recent months, the outlook for freelance musicians this winter is less than healthy
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‘Go where there is no path and leave a trail’ - Emerson Quartet: We journey together
As the Emerson Quartet embarks on its final tour, the members talk to Bruce Hodges about their instruments, their future and their past as one of the great string quartets
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‘Paganini’s body was buried and re-buried no less than nine times’ - From the archive: November 1932
Violinist and Paganini expert Julius Siber gives some biographical notes on the ‘demon violinist’ to mark the 150th anniversary of his birth
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Finding your own sound: Standing out from the crowd
In a world that seems to value homogeneous perfection, how do you develop an individual voice on your instrument?
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‘I shall be obliged to drop the fiddle’ - From the archive: October 1892
Under the heading ‘Hot Hands’, readers attempt to help a novice player with that affliction in The Strad’s ‘Correspondence’ section
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Opinion: Does an orchestra’s home hall define its sound?
Edwin Barker, principal double bass of the Boston Symphony, argues that an orchestra’s ‘home’ concert hall shapes the unique character of the ensemble
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Session Report: Recording Florence Price’s Second Violin Concerto
Violinist Rachel Barton Pine and conductor Jonathon Heyward speak to Harry White about recording Florence Price’s lost-and-found late work, the Second Violin Concerto
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‘I was reminded of why short festivals appeal so much’ - Postcard from the Rosendal Chamber Music Festival
Harriet Smith takes a boat into Norway’s west-coast waterways to experience a Beethoven-inspired festival
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Scottish fiddle dance music: Invitation to the dance
The influence of fiddle dance music that emerged in 18th century Scotland still echoes through the reels and strathspeys of today.
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‘As a violist, you’re in the thick of it’ - Hank Dutt’s life lessons
The American Kronos Quartet violist on his enduring love for chamber music
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‘It has to be connected to your soul’ - Nobuko Imai on Mozart Symphony no.40
The Japanese violist recalls how playing Mozart’s Symphony no.40 under Pablo Casals proved a life-changing experience
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‘He is a similar weirdo, in the good sense!’ - Rick Stotijn: Stepping into the spotlight
Double bassist Rick Stotijn is a musical pioneer, playing in every style and context from solo, chamber and orchestral music to rock and metal.
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From the Archive: the difficulties of playing in tune
The Strad writer E. Polonaski bemoans the number of string players with suspect intonation in our March 1893 issue
