The September issue of The Strad is on sale now - an education special celebrating today's great string players and the teachers who inspired them.

We also examine the Magic Mountain Music Farm, a retreat for adult string players in upstate New York which promises to transform their playing in just two weeks; the London Symphony Orchestra's Take a Bow scheme, which offers young players the chance to perform with one of the world's great orchestras; and Vaughan Williams's six concertante works for strings. Plus we celebrate Otello Bignami, one of the key figures in 20th-century Bolognese lutherie, who was born 100 years ago this year.

In our regular sections: In Focus gives a close-up view of a 1706 cello by David Tecchler; Douglas Cox discusses his method for using glass bead to measure wood density in Trade Secrets; Paris-based maker Stéphane Bodartinvites us into his workshop in My Space; Leon Bosch guides us through the first movement of Dittersdorf's Double Bass Concerto no.2 in Masterclass; Simon Fischer describes how to vary your dynamics in Basics; cello pedagogue Hillel Zori discusses how to improve students' bow technique in Ask the Teacher; Cavaleri Quartet violist Ann Beilby takes us through her Practice Diary; and four teachers advise how to deal with a problem pupil in Ask the Experts.

Plus, we bring you news of the latest competitions, products and auctions, and comprehensive reviews of concerts, CDs and books.