Green Line for cello and recorded audio was composed by Lembit Beecher in 2024 for his wife, cellist Karen Ouzounian. This personal and intimate work draws from recorded interviews conducted by Ouzounian and Beecher with Karen’s mother, Lena Ouzounian.

Karen’s cello and Lena’s voice are tightly interwoven as Lena shares her memories of a dramatic day in 1980 during the Lebanese Civil War, when she had to cross the Green Line—a demarcation line between East Beirut and West Beirut—in order to reach the Canadian embassy. In performance the recorded audio is triggered live by Beecher.

The live world premiere of Beecher and Ouzounian’s new show Mayrig, of which Green Line is a part, will take place at the Morgenland Festival in Osnabrueck, Germany on 10 July.

Karen Ouzounian, cello

Lembit Beecher, composer and electronics

With the voice of Lena Ouzounian

Audio recording by Ryan Streber at Oktaven Audio

Video by Vitor Hirtsch

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

In the second volume of The Strad’s Masterclass series, soloists including James Ehnes, Jennifer Koh, Philippe Graffin, Daniel Hope and Arabella Steinbacher give their thoughts on some of the greatest works in the string repertoire. Each has annotated the sheet music with their own bowings, fingerings and comments.

Calendars

The Canada Council of the Arts’ Musical Instrument Bank is 40 years old in 2025. This year’s calendar celebrates some its treasures, including four instruments by Antonio Stradivari and priceless works by Montagnana, Gagliano, Pressenda and David Tecchler.