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Double bassist killed and cellist harmed in suspected carbon monoxide poisoning in Perugia
Double bassist Davide La Rosa and cellist Tao Wei Huang were due to perform with the Orchestra delle Cento Città as part of Music Fest Perugia
US violinist Gabrielle Wunsch dies aged 51
The musician spent many years performing with period and Baroque orchestras in the Netherlands, before making her home in California’s Bay Area
Artists as athletes: why musicians should look after their bodies like sportspeople
Violinist Laura Frautschi shares her experiences and approaches to maintaining a high level of physical and mental endurance as a musician, drawing parallels between the demands of professional musicians and elite athletes
Playing Hub
‘It’s impossible to place its origin’: The many lives of a transatlantic dance
Violinist and composer Keir GoGwilt discusses the new album The Zarabanda Variations, created by the performing collective he convened to connect the familiar Baroque sarabande with a wider world of migration, improvisation and musical exchange.
‘Music can allow time to absorb what just happened’ - Q&A with composer Mary Kouyoumdjian
Ahead of its premiere recording by the ensemble Alarm Will Sound, composer and documentarian Mary Kouyoumdjian discusses her sonic documentary, Paper Pianos, which tells the story of four refugees
Outside the practice room: the value of summer festivals
Violinist Hector Scott shares what a summer in rural Vermont taught him about performance, perfectionism and why musicians sometimes need to escape the institutions that trained them
Colorado Music Festival: 50 years of music beneath Boulder’s Flatirons
Davina Shum reports back from the Colorado Music Festival in Boulder, a hidden gem of a festival that celebrated music making with a sense of community, conviviality and commemoration of America in its myriad identities
Beyond Technique: recording Beethoven, finding flow
With the release of the Rautio Trio’s latest Beethoven album, violinist Jane Gordon explores how her holistic approach to playing has helped her embrace creativity when recording with fortepiano
Session Report: cellist Alban Gerhardt on recording the Dvořák and Elgar concertos
German cellist Alban Gerhardt tells Jessica Duchen about challenging entrenched performance habits and returning to the composers’ markings in his recordings of the Dvořák and Elgar concertos
Premium ❘ Feature
Bach Cello Suites: inspired by Bach’s feet
Could Bach’s experience as an organist have influenced his decision to write the Cello Suites? Markus Rathey examines the role that pedal technique may have had in the creation of these revolutionary works
Premium ❘ Feature
Trade Secrets: Set-up guidelines for the five-string violin
Jennifer Halenar shares some tips that take into account the differences in bridges, strings, dimensions and fingerboards
Premium ❘ Feature
Bach Cello Suites: inspired by Bach’s feet
Could Bach’s experience as an organist have influenced his decision to write the Cello Suites? Markus Rathey examines the role that pedal technique may have had in the creation of these revolutionary works
Premium ❘ Focus
Postcard from California: Ojai Music Festival
Esa-Pekka Salonen’s California homecoming created a dialogue between European modernism and American experiment, as Thomas May discovered
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Premium ❘ Focus
‘Create a philosophy about what you do as a musician’ - Gary Hoffman’s life lessons
The US–Canadian cellist on Janós Starker and his other formative influences, and on finding authenticity
Competitions
Cello winner announced for the 2026 World’s Biggest Stage Competition
Greek cellist Maria Elli Petridou wins $5,000 and further performance engagements
Finalists announced for 2026 Barbash J.S. Bach Competition
Five string players proceed to the final round, which will take place in New York in October
Semi-finalists announced for the 2026 Oskar Nedbal International Viola Competition
16 violists have been selected to participate in the competition’s live rounds in Prague from 29 October to 1 November 2026
Premium ❘ News
Competitions, Awards and Appointments: August 2026
The latest competition results, appointments and forthcoming contests
Premium ❘ News
Premiere of the Month: Baldwin Giang’s new work for the Jack Quartet
A new string quartet full of rhythms and grooves
Masterclass: Grieg Violin Sonata no.3 in C minor, op.45, first movement
Esther Yoo guides violinists through a movement of turbulence and tenderness in a work that requires complete technical command
Masterclass: Mozart Violin Sonata no.32 in B flat major, first movement
In a movement that evokes all the delightful quirks of a Mozart opera, it’s important to maintain a dialogue between violin and piano, says violinist Arnaud Sussmann
Masterclass: Grieg Violin Sonata no.3 in C minor, op.45, first movement
Esther Yoo guides violinists through a movement of turbulence and tenderness in a work that requires complete technical command
Masterclass: Mozart Violin Sonata no.32 in B flat major, first movement
In a movement that evokes all the delightful quirks of a Mozart opera, it’s important to maintain a dialogue between violin and piano, says violinist Arnaud Sussmann
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
The Strad Podcast: How to tailor the Suzuki Method to different students with violinist Meghan Faw
The violinist shares her personal experiences with the method as both a student and a teacher
The Strad Podcast: How to hold a masterclass with violinist Paul Huang
The violinist speaks about his teaching approaches in a unique learning experience, in the third part of our four-part education-themed podcast series
The Strad Podcast: How to teach collaborative skills with violinist Annie Fullard of the Cavani Quartet
‘We should live in a chamber music world’ - the violinist speaks about the importance of collaboration inside and outside of the practice room, in the second episode of our four-part education-themed podcast series
The Strad Podcast: How to practise effectively with violinist Ray Chen
The first in our new four-part education themed podcast series features our September 2024 cover star
The Strad Podcast: How to tailor the Suzuki Method to different students with violinist Meghan Faw
The violinist shares her personal experiences with the method as both a student and a teacher
The Strad Podcast: How to hold a masterclass with violinist Paul Huang
The violinist speaks about his teaching approaches in a unique learning experience, in the third part of our four-part education-themed podcast series
The Strad Podcast: How to teach collaborative skills with violinist Annie Fullard of the Cavani Quartet
‘We should live in a chamber music world’ - the violinist speaks about the importance of collaboration inside and outside of the practice room, in the second episode of our four-part education-themed podcast series
Competitions
Cello winner announced for the 2026 World’s Biggest Stage Competition
Greek cellist Maria Elli Petridou wins $5,000 and further performance engagements
Finalists announced for 2026 Barbash J.S. Bach Competition
Five string players proceed to the final round, which will take place in New York in October
Semi-finalists announced for the 2026 Oskar Nedbal International Viola Competition
16 violists have been selected to participate in the competition’s live rounds in Prague from 29 October to 1 November 2026
‘Dance, when you’re perfectly free’: NYO performs Anna Clyne’s DANCE
The orchestra plays with cello soloist Danushka Edirisinghe under the baton of Constança Simas
‘Dance, when you’re perfectly free’: NYO performs Anna Clyne’s DANCE
‘Literally the hardest thing I’ve ever had to learn to do’: Pedro Pascal to play cellist in upcoming film
Combining virtuosity with opera: violinist Hannah Cho honours Vienna with Carmen Fantasie Brillante
Yo‑Yo Ma joins Kakuma refugee collective Exile Key for ‘Yelele Mama’
Teaser trailer drops for Singaporean animated film ‘The Violinist’
From prison to performance: new film spotlights violinist Christian Howes’s artistic transformation
A violinist and three cellists walk into a studio: Emerald Strings rethinks ‘Bolero’
After hours at Guildhall Art Gallery: Vilde Frang and Lawrence Power perform ‘Capricci’
Merging cello and voice: Nicolas Altstaedt and Anna-Lena Elbert perform ‘Ophelia’s Song’ by Shostakovich
Watch: a video performance from Timothy Ridout’s new album, Alto Appassionato
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Trade Secrets: Set-up guidelines for the five-string violin
Jennifer Halenar shares some tips that take into account the differences in bridges, strings, dimensions and fingerboards
My Space: Erli Gurra’s Tirana workshop
Take a look at the maker’s Albanian shop
Matthew Hardie: ‘The Scottish Stradivari’
Matthew Hardie, who died 200 years ago this year, was possibly Scotland’s most influential violin maker. To mark the anniversary, David Rattray tells the story of his life and examines a selection of his violas
Making Matters: Comparing volume of air within the violin soundbox
John Waddle and Steve Sirr use CT scanning to examine how the amount of air inside a violin soundbox varies between the works of several early Cremonese makers
In Focus: A 1776 mute violin by Nicolò Gagliano
Nazrin Rashidova and Peter Beare take a look at the unique instrument
Obituary: British luthier Colin Irving (1945–2025)
The instrument maker, who began as an engineer in the 1950s, became best known for his cellos
Trade Secrets: Set-up guidelines for the five-string violin
Jennifer Halenar shares some tips that take into account the differences in bridges, strings, dimensions and fingerboards
My Space: Erli Gurra’s Tirana workshop
Take a look at the maker’s Albanian shop
Matthew Hardie: ‘The Scottish Stradivari’
Matthew Hardie, who died 200 years ago this year, was possibly Scotland’s most influential violin maker. To mark the anniversary, David Rattray tells the story of his life and examines a selection of his violas
Making Matters: Comparing volume of air within the violin soundbox
John Waddle and Steve Sirr use CT scanning to examine how the amount of air inside a violin soundbox varies between the works of several early Cremonese makers
In Focus: A 1776 mute violin by Nicolò Gagliano
Nazrin Rashidova and Peter Beare take a look at the unique instrument
Obituary: British luthier Colin Irving (1945–2025)
The instrument maker, who began as an engineer in the 1950s, became best known for his cellos
Concert review: Leila Josefowicz (violin) Philadelphia Orchestra/Matthias Pintscher
Bruce Hodges hears the performance of John Williams, Copland and Matthias Pintscher himself, at Philadelphia’s Marian Anderson Hall on 1 May 2026
Concert review: Mark Steinberg (violin) Jonathan Biss (piano)
Bruce Hodges visits Philadelphia’s Perelman Theater on 7 May 2026 for the recital of Mozart violin sonatas
Concert review: Joseph Conyers (double bass) Philadelphia Orchestra/Naomi Woo
Bruce Hodges listens to the performance of Tan Dun, Caroline Shaw and Mozart, Hindemith and Bartók at Philadelphia’s Marian Anderson Hall on 9 May 2026
Quiroga Quartet: Arriaga
Gutsy performances of a short-lived genius
Arnold Rosé: Bach, Beethoven, Brahms etc
An assured celebration of a great historical violinist
Christoph Croisé: Folklore
A traversal of folk idioms offers much pleasure
Book review: Notes to a Violinist
Celia Cobb reads the teachings of American violinist and pedagogue Jan Mark Sloman, who died in 2022
Book review: Violin Making the Newark Way
Benjamin Hebbert reads the notes taken by Clare Hutter (née Nicolls) when she was a student at the Newark School of Violin Making in the 1980s
Book review: Beauty at the Edge of Catastrophe: Cultivating mindful presence in musical performance
Anne Inglis reviews Ruth Phillips’s book on the usefulness and application of mindfulness to musicians
Debate
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
Opinion: Finding creativity in scales
Love them or hate them, scales are at the heart of string training. Violinist and teacher Mark Knight examines why, when approached correctly, they are the gateway to a world of expressive freedom
Accessories
Products July 2026: Modacity practice app
A new app that acts as a practice companion for musicians
Products July 2026: Fiedler Sonowood double bass endpin
The endpin mirrors the properties of ebony
Products July 2026: BAM Bonbon case for ¾- and half-sized violins
The company has released a smaller version of its colourful range
Concert review: Leila Josefowicz (violin) Philadelphia Orchestra/Matthias Pintscher
Bruce Hodges hears the performance of John Williams, Copland and Matthias Pintscher himself, at Philadelphia’s Marian Anderson Hall on 1 May 2026
Concert review: Mark Steinberg (violin) Jonathan Biss (piano)
Bruce Hodges visits Philadelphia’s Perelman Theater on 7 May 2026 for the recital of Mozart violin sonatas
Concert review: Joseph Conyers (double bass) Philadelphia Orchestra/Naomi Woo
Bruce Hodges listens to the performance of Tan Dun, Caroline Shaw and Mozart, Hindemith and Bartók at Philadelphia’s Marian Anderson Hall on 9 May 2026
Book review: Notes to a Violinist
Celia Cobb reads the teachings of American violinist and pedagogue Jan Mark Sloman, who died in 2022
Book review: Violin Making the Newark Way
Benjamin Hebbert reads the notes taken by Clare Hutter (née Nicolls) when she was a student at the Newark School of Violin Making in the 1980s
Book review: Beauty at the Edge of Catastrophe: Cultivating mindful presence in musical performance
Anne Inglis reviews Ruth Phillips’s book on the usefulness and application of mindfulness to musicians
Quiroga Quartet: Arriaga
Gutsy performances of a short-lived genius
Arnold Rosé: Bach, Beethoven, Brahms etc
An assured celebration of a great historical violinist
Christoph Croisé: Folklore
A traversal of folk idioms offers much pleasure
Artists
Brett Dean: the music from within
Australian composer and violist Brett Dean has long drawn on his experience from playing inside the orchestra to shape his own music. He tells Jessica Duchen about how his writing and playing continue to inform each other
Jordi Savall: connections beyond words
The Catalan gambist and conductor Jordi Savall speaks with Michael White about his six decades of music making, the ideals that have guided his work and the future of the early music world he helped to shape
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
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