January

Stella Chen talks about her new album, and we explore the traditional music of Hungary. There’s a retrospective of the Paganini Quartet and violist Timothy Ridout tells us his Sentimental Work. Plus a Beethoven Masterclass and Alasdair Tait’s Life Lessons.

January 2026 Cover

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From this month's magazine

Stella Chen: a bright future

The American violinist chats with Rebecca Franks about her philosophy of playing and teaching, studying at Harvard, her experience of winning the Queen Elisabeth Competition and her new album, which marks a fresh chapter in her career

Standing on great shoulders: the Lakatos dynasty

The Lakatos family has long been synonymous with Gypsy violin playing. Erika Nyerges looks at the key figures of this generations-old musical dynasty, meeting Sándor Déki Lakatos along the way and discovering what it takes to become a Roma musician

Postcard from Munich: Hindemith International Viola Competition

Carlos María Solare reports from the wide-ranging and eventful second edition of the Hindemith International Viola Competition

Making Matters: How to make a big-sounding viola for smaller players

Maj-Lisa Herzberg presents her innovative solution to the question of how to build a big-sounding viola for a small person

Cover story

Stella Chen

Stella Chen: a bright future

The American violinist chats with Rebecca Franks about her philosophy of playing and teaching, studying at Harvard, her experience of winning the Queen Elisabeth Competition and her new album, which marks a fresh chapter in her career

Playing

Sándor Déki Lakatos Jr. and his band 2010

Standing on great shoulders: the Lakatos dynasty

The Lakatos family has long been synonymous with Gypsy violin playing. Erika Nyerges looks at the key figures of this generations-old musical dynasty, meeting Sándor Déki Lakatos along the way and discovering what it takes to become a Roma musician

Lutherie

Lead image - Spanish painting of a vihuela player

Iberian lutherie guilds: Tradition and Innovation

Instrument making in the Iberian peninsula was once tightly controlled by a network of guilds. Pablo Soriano examines regulations and personal documents to reveal the details of luthiers’ working lives

Technique

Gaelen McCormick

Technique: Double bass spiccato

Gaelen McCormick offers tips on teaching the technique on double bass

Masterclass

_AFR4728_(c) Katjana Frisch_mid res

Masterclass: Beethoven Violin Sonata no.10, op.96, first movement

Simplicity is the challenge in this peaceful, pastoral movement, creating an image of Beethoven at one with nature, says violinist Lena Neudauer

Trade Secrets

8

Trade Secrets: Extending the reach of metal F-clamps

Making wooden jaws for a lighter, safer long-reach clamping alternative