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‘A commentary on my musical identity and journey’: catching up with Jacques Forestier
Missing: Lipkins double bass bow disappears in transit
‘You want to give your best for every note’: cellist Alisa Weilerstein on Bach and Ortiz
Spring Cadenzas: violinist Midori performs a Covid-commissioned concerto by Derek Bermel
String faculty changes announced for Manhattan School of Music orchestral programme
‘You want to give your best for every note’: cellist Alisa Weilerstein on Bach and Ortiz
Davina Shum spoke with Alisa Weilerstein about her two contrasting performances at the 2026 Edinburgh International Festival: Ortiz’s concerto Dzonot and a marathon performance of the Bach Cello Suites
Switched on: the 2026 Edinburgh International Festival
Davina Shum reports from four concerts at the 2026 Edinburgh International Festival, where a diverse range of repertoire from Bach to Ortiz satiated the musical appetites of the ever-hungry festival attendees
Obituary: violinist and pedagogue Henryk P. Kowalski (1947–2026)
The Polish-born Danish violinist taught numerous musicians who went on to enjoy illustrious careers
Playing Hub
Beyond the breakthrough: young artists’ programmes
Today’s young artists’ schemes serve very different purposes. Hattie Butterworth explores how programmes ranging from mentoring academies to career trusts and performance platforms support string players at different stages of their early careers
Opinion: How community teaching can inspire all teachers
Nabile Galván outlines how community-based teaching can inform all educators, no matter where they teach
‘You want to give your best for every note’: cellist Alisa Weilerstein on Bach and Ortiz
Davina Shum spoke with Alisa Weilerstein about her two contrasting performances at the 2026 Edinburgh International Festival: Ortiz’s concerto Dzonot and a marathon performance of the Bach Cello Suites
Spring Cadenzas: violinist Midori performs a Covid-commissioned concerto by Derek Bermel
The violinist performs the first movement ’fields, mountains’ from Bermel’s work Spring Cadenzas, that also features A Far Cry, Project STEP and conductor Earl Lee
Switched on: the 2026 Edinburgh International Festival
Davina Shum reports from four concerts at the 2026 Edinburgh International Festival, where a diverse range of repertoire from Bach to Ortiz satiated the musical appetites of the ever-hungry festival attendees
‘DALE’ documentary shines a light on first Asian American woman to join the LA Phil
The award-winning documentary by Justin Streichman focuses on violist Dale Hikawa Silverman
Premium ❘ Feature
The practice principle: how I practise
Musicians spend thousands of hours practising but the questions about how to do it most efficiently never go away. Four leading string players share their insights with David Kettle and reveal their individual, and sometimes surprising, approaches to practice
Premium ❘ Feature
In the midst of transition: the French transitional period – part two
In the second of two articles on the French transitional period, Florent Boyer examines the development of the violin in Paris between 1790 and 1830 – and how Nicolas Lupot’s influence proved to be seismic
Premium ❘ Feature
The practice principle: how I practise
Musicians spend thousands of hours practising but the questions about how to do it most efficiently never go away. Four leading string players share their insights with David Kettle and reveal their individual, and sometimes surprising, approaches to practice
Premium ❘ Focus
Postcard from Brussels: Queen Elisabeth Cello Competition
A week of high-stakes performances and exacting repertoire marked this year’s Queen Elisabeth Competition cello final, as Davina Shum discovered
Premium ❘ Focus
‘Great principals serve their section for the good of the music’ - Scott Pingel’s life lessons
The US principal bassist on his approach to practice and what makes an effective leader
Competitions
Motus Quartet wins Jürgen Ponto Foundation Music Prize
The Vienna-based quartet receives the prize worth €60,000 and includes numerous concert engagements
16-year-old violinist wins 2026 Cooper International Competition
Chinese violinist Mingzhe Ye won first prize of $20,000, plus loan of a fine violin and future performance opportunities
Cello winner announced for the 2026 World’s Biggest Stage Competition
Greek cellist Maria Elli Petridou wins $5,000 and further performance engagements
Premium ❘ News
Competitions, Awards and Appointments: September 2026
The latest competition results, appointments and forthcoming contests
Premium ❘ News
Premiere of the month: Eric Nathan’s new violin concerto
A violin concerto that reaches new heights
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
Motus Quartet wins Jürgen Ponto Foundation Music Prize
The Vienna-based quartet receives the prize worth €60,000 and includes numerous concert engagements
16-year-old violinist wins 2026 Cooper International Competition
Chinese violinist Mingzhe Ye won first prize of $20,000, plus loan of a fine violin and future performance opportunities
Cello winner announced for the 2026 World’s Biggest Stage Competition
Greek cellist Maria Elli Petridou wins $5,000 and further performance engagements
Spring Cadenzas: violinist Midori performs a Covid-commissioned concerto by Derek Bermel
The violinist performs the first movement ’fields, mountains’ from Bermel’s work Spring Cadenzas, that also features A Far Cry, Project STEP and conductor Earl Lee
Spring Cadenzas: violinist Midori performs a Covid-commissioned concerto by Derek Bermel
Tuned to Perfection: the life and legacy of violinist Alberto Lysy
Video premiere: Bella Hristova performs David Serkin Ludwig’s Violin Concerto no.2 ‘Paganiniana’
‘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’
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In the midst of transition: the French transitional period – part two
In the second of two articles on the French transitional period, Florent Boyer examines the development of the violin in Paris between 1790 and 1830 – and how Nicolas Lupot’s influence proved to be seismic
Making Matters: Achieving a glow from within
The varnish of many Cremonese makers seems to glow from within – but how did they achieve this without knowledge of optics? Tamás Guminár investigates – and argues that one secret ingredient may be kaolin
Trade Secrets: Carving a Gofriller-style scroll
Alessandro Peiretti shares a method on making a personal interpretation of the Venetian scroll model
In Focus: A c.1850 violin by Lorenzo Arcangioli
Peter Körner examines the mid-19th century instrument
Analysis September 2026: Ten years on from the Brexit vote, how have instrument workshops been affected?
A decade after the UK’s split from the European Union, the impact is still being felt by both musicians and makers. Peter Somerford looks at how are regular instrument workshops dealing with the changes?
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
In the midst of transition: the French transitional period – part two
In the second of two articles on the French transitional period, Florent Boyer examines the development of the violin in Paris between 1790 and 1830 – and how Nicolas Lupot’s influence proved to be seismic
Making Matters: Achieving a glow from within
The varnish of many Cremonese makers seems to glow from within – but how did they achieve this without knowledge of optics? Tamás Guminár investigates – and argues that one secret ingredient may be kaolin
Trade Secrets: Carving a Gofriller-style scroll
Alessandro Peiretti shares a method on making a personal interpretation of the Venetian scroll model
In Focus: A c.1850 violin by Lorenzo Arcangioli
Peter Körner examines the mid-19th century instrument
Analysis September 2026: Ten years on from the Brexit vote, how have instrument workshops been affected?
A decade after the UK’s split from the European Union, the impact is still being felt by both musicians and makers. Peter Somerford looks at how are regular instrument workshops dealing with the changes?
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
Concert review: Carter Brey (cello) New York Philharmonic/Elim Chan
Leah Hollingsworth visits New York’s David Geffen Hall on 27 May 2026 for the performance of Noriko Koide, Saint-Saëns and Prokofiev
Concert review: Pieter Wispelwey (cello) Orchestra Of St Luke’s/Nicholas Ellis
Leah Hollingsworth braves the warm weather of 10 June 2026 to hear the performance of Bach and Haydn at Zankel Hall, in New York’s Carnegie Hall
Concert review: Laura van der Heijden (cello) London Symphony Orchestra/Oliver Zeffman
Hattie Butterworth hears the performance of Barber, Ravel and Henriëtte Bosmans at London’s Barbican Hall on 14 June 2026
Minna Pensola: Joseph Marx
Much promise as a new survey starts out
Duo Dorado: Spice of Italy
A duo shines fresh light on Restoration London
L’Achéron/François Joubert-Caillet: Nicolai
A German viol master makes for an absorbing listen
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: How community teaching can inspire all teachers
Nabile Galván outlines how community-based teaching can inform all educators, no matter where they teach
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
Debate
Opinion: How community teaching can inspire all teachers
Nabile Galván outlines how community-based teaching can inform all educators, no matter where they teach
Concert review: Carter Brey (cello) New York Philharmonic/Elim Chan
Leah Hollingsworth visits New York’s David Geffen Hall on 27 May 2026 for the performance of Noriko Koide, Saint-Saëns and Prokofiev
Concert review: Pieter Wispelwey (cello) Orchestra Of St Luke’s/Nicholas Ellis
Leah Hollingsworth braves the warm weather of 10 June 2026 to hear the performance of Bach and Haydn at Zankel Hall, in New York’s Carnegie Hall
Concert review: Laura van der Heijden (cello) London Symphony Orchestra/Oliver Zeffman
Hattie Butterworth hears the performance of Barber, Ravel and Henriëtte Bosmans at London’s Barbican Hall on 14 June 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
Minna Pensola: Joseph Marx
Much promise as a new survey starts out
Duo Dorado: Spice of Italy
A duo shines fresh light on Restoration London
L’Achéron/François Joubert-Caillet: Nicolai
A German viol master makes for an absorbing listen
Artists
Juilliard Quartet at 80: lines of inquiry
As the Juilliard Quartet celebrates its 80th anniversary, its members speak to Thomas May about teaching, rehearsal‑room disagreement, new commissions and the essential questions that keep the ensemble’s tradition alive
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
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