June 2026 issue | Christian Tetzlaff | The Strad, essential reading for the string music world since 1890

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From this month's magazine

Christian Tetzlaff: ‘Following the score is freedom’

German violinist Christian Tetzlaff has built a career defined by artistic independence. As he celebrates his 60th birthday, he speaks to Richard Bratby about the values that have shaped his musical life

Chamber music in small spaces: music without boundaries

Chamber music has its roots in proximity and shared listening. As the genre increasingly migrates to large halls, Irina Rostomashvili explores what happens to musical intimacy – and speaks to fellow musicians about how connection can be preserved

Postcard from New York City: Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center

In snowbound New York, Davina Shum gained an inside view of the collaborative ethos within the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center

June 2026: Editor’s welcome and contents

The Strad’s editor Emma Baker introduces the June issue, in which German violinist Christian Tetzlaff dicusses turning 60, the values that have shaped his career and why he finds dignity in speaking out about what he believes in

Pierre Fournier: In quest of higher truth

Born 120 years ago this June, Pierre Fournier emerged as one of the 20th century’s most influential cellists. Oskar Falta traces his life, artistry and complex legacy, and hears from two of his former pupils

Sentimental Work: Laura van der Heijden on Amy Beach’s Piano Quintet

Rehearsing Amy Beach’s Piano Quintet in F sharp minor with the Kaleidoscope Chamber Collective was a memorable experience for the cellist

In Focus: A 1718 violin by Francesco Gobetti

Michel Samson on the Italian maker’s late-period instrument

Making Matters: Examining a rare James Dodd II bow

Philip Kass looks at a rare 1839 bow that exhibits all the hallmarks and idiosyncrasies of its maker, James Dodd II

A violinist’s experience of San Francisco’s disastrous 1906 fire - From the archive: June 1906

Violinist Henry Heyman gives a first-hand account of the catastrophic San Francisco fire of 1906, in a personal letter to The Strad editor Ian Lavender

Technique: Working with hypermobile violinists

Drawing from both personal and teaching experience, violinist Usha Kapoor outlines the ways players and teachers can deal with hypermobility

Masterclass: Chausson Poème for Violin and Orchestra op.25

Understanding the harmonic framework is key to making sense of Chausson’s fluid, freely structured Poème, says violinist Maria Włoszczowska

Big is beautiful: violoncello da spalla

After decades of relative neglect, the violoncello da spalla is undergoing a resurgence of interest. Daniela Gaidano, who has made several examples, looks into its history and explains its appeal for both players and makers

My Space: S.K. Lim’s Singapore workshop

The luthier presents his central workshop

‘Chamber music is a microcosm of life’ - Paul Huang’s life lessons

The Taiwanese–American violinist on his formative influences and the importance of chamber music

Mysteries of the soul: soundpost acoustics

Often called the violin’s ‘soul’, the soundpost is possibly the least understood part of the instrument. Joseph Curtin details a series of experiments that shed light on the acoustic role of this tiny piece of wood

Auction Report June 2026: Room for optimism

Kevin MacDonald discovers a plethora of ‘golden age’ instruments and a fine selection of bows at this season’s London sales

Analysis June 2026: How musical institutions have endured in Ukraine five years on

The Russo-Ukrainian war is now in its fifth year. How have Ukrainian music institutions adapted to the ongoing situation and the ever-present threat of drone attacks?

Opinion: Period instruments aren’t just specialist tools

Benjamin Shute questions our assumptions about contemporary instrument set‑up and the idea that period instruments are merely specialist equipment

Session Report: the Catalyst Quartet on recording the Chevalier de Saint-Georges quartets

Catalyst Quartet violinist Karla Donehew Perez speaks to Thomas May about the focus required to reconstruct and record all 18 string quartets by Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges