The Nippon Music Foundation presents a video excerpt of a performance from violinist Ray Chen on 9 August 2023. It took place at Blue Rose, Suntory Hall in Tokyo.

Before embarking on his encore of Schön Rosmarin by Kreisler, with pianist Takashi Sato, Chen speaks candidly about his violin, the 1714 ‘Dolphin’ Stradivari, loaned to him from the Nippon Music Foundation. The violin previously belonged to the legendary violinist Jascha Heifetz, to which Chen felt a little intimidated.

‘I was thinking, “Am I good enough?”’

Fun fact: the violinists Kreisler and Heifetz share the same birthday! They were born on 2 February in 1875 and 1901 respectively.

Best of Technique

In The Best of Technique you’ll discover the top playing tips of the world’s leading string players and teachers. It’s packed full of exercises for students, plus examples from the standard repertoire to show you how to integrate the technique into your playing.

Masterclass

The Strad’s Masterclass series brings together the finest string players with some of the greatest string works ever written. Always one of our most popular sections, Masterclass has been an invaluable aid to aspiring soloists, chamber musicians and string teachers since the 1990s.

Calendars

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.