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- The Strads January issue: The French cellist on recording Beethoven's 'Triple' Concerto during the pandemic and the value of working with his musical 'family'.
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Historical
News
Guarneri ‘filius Andreae’ violin at centre of Holocaust storm
The German foundation holding the instrument has failed to pay €100,000 compensation to the heirs of its former owner
Focus
I gave up a Montagnana for my c.1696 Cappa cello, says Jean-Guihen Queyras
The French cellist and January 2021 cover star tells Pauline Harding about his cellos and bows
Current issue
January
French cellist Jean-Guihen Queyras discusses recording Beethoven's 'Triple' Concerto during the pandemic and the value of working with his musical 'family'. Former students remember renowned US cello tutor George Neikrug, who died in 2019, and LA violinist Clayton Haslop recounts his battle with focal dystonia. Plus, the results of CT scanning Stradivari's 'Messiah', and a guide to taking better care of your instrument.
Premium ❘ FeatureCT-Scanning the ‘Messiah’
In 2016 the ‘Messiah’ Stradivari was the subject of an extensive CT scanning project. Francesco Piasentini and Gregg Alf examine the resulting data, discovering repair work in the neck, and attempt to determine how it had originally been set
- Premium ❘ Article
Auction Report: January 2021
Despite the problems of Covid-19, the October sales went ahead as planned in London. Kevin MacDonald reviews some of the highlights
- Focus
Made when Stradivari was 90 years old, the ‘Willemotte’ is a fitting subject for our times
The 1734 ‘Willemotte’ bears all of Antonio Stradivari’s hallmarks including a deep, complex tone quality. Sam Zygmuntowicz examines the violin
- Video
Sara Zeneli plays ‘il Cremonese’ Stradivari at the Museo del Violino
In this video the violinist Sara Zeneli plays Monti’s Csárdás on the 1715 A.Stradivari ‘il Cremonese’ in the Chamber Hall of the Museo del Violino in Cremona.
- Video
The Strad Calendar 2021: Antonio Stradivari 1707 ‘Rivaz, Baron Gutmann’ violin
The ‘Rivaz, Baron Gutmann’ is a powerful instrument, made from a beautiful single piece of deeply figured maple
- Video
The Strad Calendar 2021: Gasparo da Salò double bass c.1580
The workmanship of this bass is typical of Gasparo, with the distinctive double purfling and long, widely set f-holes
- Focus
The Strad Calendar 2021: Giovanni Battista Rogeri cello 1695
The arching of the Rogeri is flat, unlike the bulbous forms of most of his contemporary makers
- Video
The Strad Calendar 2021: Carlo Bergonzi ‘Kreisler’ violin 1735
The ‘Kreisler’s characteristically thin yet intensely coloured varnish is in abundance
- Article
‘It was like the earth moved beneath me’ - violinist Leonidas Kavakos on playing the ’Willemotte’ Stradivari
Kavakos describes his first encounter with the 1734 violin, made when Antonio Stradivari was 90 years old
- Premium ❘ Feature
1734 Stradivari violin ‘Willemotte’: Late… but worth the wait
Made when Antonio Stradivari was 90 years old, the 1734 ‘Willemotte’ bears all his hallmarks including a deep, complex tone quality. Sam Zygmuntowicz examines the violin and compares its design features with other gems of the great master
- Premium ❘ Feature
The viola d’amore: For a sympathetic ear
The viola d’amore is undergoing a resurgence in popularity among early music groups, with a wealth of repertoire still to be rediscovered. Rachael Durkin tracks the development of this unique instrument, examining its many precursors along the way
- Video
The Strad Calendar 2021: Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume violin 1848-50
This Vuillaume is a mid-period ‘del Gesù’ copy, on which the f-holes of the ‘Ole Bull’ Guarneri have been imposed
- Video
The Strad Calendar 2021: Giuseppe Guarneri ‘del Gesù’ violin 1744
Guarneri’s carving is free and energetic, the movements of the tools quick and deep
- Focus
The Strad Calendar 2021; Nicolas Lupot cello 1823
The Lupot cello is a wonderful piece of controlled craftsmanship, and bears his personal signature on the back
- Premium ❘ Feature
Carlo Bisiach: Dispatches from the front line
Gennady Filimonov examines the letters between Carlo Bisiach (1892–1968) and his American representative Leo D. Larsson, which provide a fascinating perspective on the violin trade in the 1930s and 40s, as well as an insight into the Italian luthier’s working methods
- Premium ❘ Feature
Hollywood Bow Makers: Unsung heroes of the silver screen
Lasting from the late 1920s to 1960, Hollywood’s golden age was a boom time for musicians, and those who catered for them. Raphael Gold tells the stories of some of the era’s best-regarded LA bow makers, and reveals why their work should be better known today
- Focus
What is it like to play Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s own violin?
Christoph Koncz, principal second violinist of the Vienna Philharmonic, shares his experience
- Focus
The Strad Calendar 2021: Francesco and Giovanni Grancino viola c.1665
The varnish of the Grancino is most beautiful and wonderfully well preserved
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