All lutherie articles
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GalleryMy Space: Violin workshops around the world
Some of the most photogenic workspaces to have graced The Strad’s pages in the past few years
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Video
Cremona Mondomusica trade fair confirmed for 2020
The event for stringed instrument players, makers and dealers will take place from 25 to 27 September
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News
Luthier creates tiny playable violins during lockdown
Bavarian violin maker Maria Sandner’s creations can be just 10cm long
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Review
Book review: W.E. Hill & Sons: Violin Makers 1880–1936
Philip Kass reviews a history and analysis of the British violin making firm’s legacy
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News
Double-blind test reveals sound properties of instruments made from composites
The research has been published in the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America
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Video
An interview with luthier Renato Scrollavezza
The violin maker, who died in 2019, was one of the leading figures of Italian violin making in the 20th century
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News
Violin and bow makers collaborate to raise money for musicians’ fund
Luthier Jacob Brillhart is live-streaming the building of a $10k violin for ’Musician Aid’
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News
Obituary: Soroku Murata (1927–2020)
The veteran violin maker and teacher was head of the Tokyo Violin Making School and a respected jury member at international making competitions
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Focus
Are contemporary violin makers limiting their potential to develop new ideas?
A key aim of the VSA/Oberlin Workshop ‘Obie 1’ project was to create a good original violin design that was not directly derived or copied from a previous instrument
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News
Paganini’s favourite violin features in rare new recording
Italian violinist Francesca Dego records on the composer’s ‘Il Cannone’ violin
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Article
Unsung masters from America’s ‘first school’ of bow making
In this extract from the November 2019 issue, Raphael Gold tells the story of Ernst Lohberg, one of three outstanding makers from the early-20th century who trained at William Lewis Son and whose work was revered by Heifetz, Milstein and Stern
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Video
BBC Radio 4: The Instrument Makers
In this radio programme, cellist and presenter Verity Sharp hears the stories of four very different instrument makers
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Premium ❘ Feature
Trade Secrets: Asymmetric neck shaping
A method that allows for deviation from the standard neck outline, for the comfort of the individual player
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Premium ❘ Feature
Northern double bass makers: Northern lights
The 19th century witnessed a thriving double bass making scene in the Manchester area of England. This northern school, which had its own distinct style points, flourished for a longer time than its southern counterpart, as Thomas Martin, Martin Lawrence and George Martin explain
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Focus
In focus: 1953 violin by Giuseppe Ornati
A maker and also tutor at the Cremona International Violin Making School, whose influence was keenly felt among Italian luthiers during the latter part of the 20th century.
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Focus
Jacob Stainer: Micro-CT analysis of top-block and pins
In the April 2019 issue of The Strad, Rudolf Hopfner explains how the neck root and top-block of a Jacob Stainer violin made after 1650 gives insights into his working methods – and solves a mystery about the maker’s training in the process. This video, made up of hundreds ...
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News
Italian violin maker and teacher Francesco Bissolotti has died aged 89
The influential luthier was respected for his technical skill and use of Cremonese making techniques
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Video
The 'Four Circles' approach to violin making
In the January 2019 issue of The Strad, luthier Kevin Kelly describes his geometrical method for violin design. This video is intended to provide a visual accompaniment to the article. ’In the past, there must have been a system of design that makers could easily understand and follow, with ...
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News
Indianapolis '21st Century Violin Search' names two winning luthiers
Instruments by the winners will be bought by the International Violin Competition of Indianapolis and loaned to the laureates of the 2018 contest
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Focus
From the archive: kitchen stove-top experiments in Cremonese varnish
In the April 1938 issue, a hapless amateur maker relates his unfortunate experiences while attempting to find the ‘secret’ of Stradivari
