21-year-old violinist María Dueñas speaks about her rapid rise to fame, finding her musical identity and her latest projects
MARÍA DUEÑAS The 21-year-old Spanish violinist tells Tom Stewart about her journey so far, her instruments, her latest recording and how she is finding her own unique voice
THE MAKERS OF FERRARA Florian Leonhard delves into the archives to discover the history of various luthiers from the Italian city: Alessandro Mezzadri and the Marconcini family
MANCHESTER COLLECTIVE In its eight years of existence, the ensemble has brought an innovative spark to the north of England and beyond. David Kettle meets co-founder Rakhi Singh
SESSION REPORT Fabio Biondi talks to Robin Stowell about his latest recording of short works by the Swedish Baroque composer Johan Helmich Roman (1694–1758)
GEMINIANI’S SCALES The Baroque violinist’s treatise The Art of Playing on the Violin includes a section on scales. Benjamin Shute considers what it reveals about performance practice
DECORATING A BOW FROG How do bow makers create the intricate designs seen on so many 19th-century frogs? Vladimiros Sorokin-Andreou gives a step-by-step guide to his own method
In our regular sections:
IN FOCUS A bow by Christian Wilhelm Knopf
TRADE SECRETS An alternative method for the construction of a violin rib garland
MY SPACE The workshop of North Carolina double bass restorer Anthony Morton
MAKING MATTERS A quirky violin commission involving a bespoke varnish method
MASTERCLASS Viktoria Mullova on the first movement of Beethoven’s Violin Sonata no.8
TECHNIQUE David Desimpelaere gives tips on various aspects of double bass fingerings
LIFE LESSONS The memories and opinions of Dutch jazz violinist Tim Kliphuis
OPINION Matching the music to the student
POSTCARD FROM DETROIT A report from the 2024 edition of the Sphinx Competition
FROM THE ARCHIVE From May 1894
SENTIMENTAL WORK Cellist Christian Poltéra on his love for Ravel’s Sonata for violin and cello
Print subscribers will also receive our annual Degrees supplement, with details on international courses for string players and teachers
Plus, in your digital edition:
- Read María Dueñas’s thoughts on Gabriela Ortiz’s violin concerto Altar de cuerda, while listening to clips from her new recording of the piece
- Masterclass: Viktoria Mullova discusses playing Beethoven’s Violin Sonata no.8, along with audio clips from her latest recording of the first movement
- Extra photos from some of the performances by the genre-defying Manchester Collective, including concerts in Liverpool, London’s CLF Art Café, and the Southbank Centre
- More photos from the Jack Quartet’s recent world premiere performance of Natacha Diel’s Beautiful Trouble for choreographed string quartet
- Session Report: listen to Fabio Biondi performing three of Johan Helmich Roman’s ‘assaggi’ - short pieces for solo violin, taken from his latest recording
- Postcard from Detroit: view extra photos from the 2024 Sphinx Competition, including all of the finalists
- Books: some of the instruments featured in Pablo A. Saravi’s tome on Italian lutherie in Argentina
- Reviews: read about the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center’s latest concert in New York, with photos of all four of the artist combinations
- And clips from the monthly ‘The Strad Recommends’ recordings
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American collector David L. Fulton amassed one of the 20th century’s finest collections of stringed instruments. This year’s calendar pays tribute to some of these priceless treasures, including Yehudi Menuhin’s celebrated ‘Lord Wilton’ Guarneri, the Carlo Bergonzi once played by Fritz Kreisler, and four instruments by Antonio Stradivari.
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