All lutherie articles
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VideoCremonese makers launch video showcase
In response to the Covid-19 pandemic and its effect on Italian lutherie, a group of violin makers in Cremona have put together a video showcasing their working methods. The aim is to demonstrate the vibrancy and industriousness of today’s luthiers, as Antonio Stradivari wanders the streets of modern-day Cremona, viewing ...
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Video
Video: Violin Makers – The Renaissance of Italian Lutherie
A 60-minute documentary featuring interviews with some of the greatest 20th-century Italian luthiers
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Focus
How Western music came to Mexico
The history of Western music in Mexico is inextricably tied up with religion. Pablo Alfaro and Jaime G. González reveal how European musical traditions permeated the culture of the indigenous people
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Gallery
My 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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Review
Book review: The Sound of Life’s Unspeakable Beauty
Julian Haylock reviews Martin Schleske’s book relating the art of violin making to a profound belief in God
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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 ...
