March-2009
Yehudi Menuhin’s career comes under the spotlight and we report from the Eindhoven string competition. Steven Isserlis reveals his passion for Schumann, we hand on tips on buying an instrument and there’s a profile of the Sacconi Quartet. Plus, Peter Cropper discusses how to play Beethoven’s ‘Kreutzer’ Sonata.
February-2009
We examine the 1715 ‘Titian’ Stradivari using the latest technological methods, celebrate the 200th anniversary of Mendelssohn’s birth and investigate the history of the Cretan lyra. Plus, a report from the VSA Competition, advice on commissioning instruments and an interview with the Paris-based Calvet Quartet.
January-2009
Andrea Amati ‘King’ cello poster
Our posters are shipped separately from other products. One tube can hold up to 10 posters. Save on postage costs by purchasing up to 10 posters per tube today.
G.B. Guadagnini 1774 Salabue Berta Violin poster
Our posters are shipped separately from other products. One tube can hold up to 10 posters. Save on postage costs by purchasing up to 10 posters per tube today.
Pietro Giacomo Rogeri cello 1717 poster
Our posters are shipped separately from other products. One tube can hold up to 10 posters. Save on postage costs by purchasing up to 10 posters per tube today.
‘Viotti’ Antonio Stradivari violin 1709 poster
One of the top Stradivari violins in the world, the 1709 'Viotti' helped to establish the master's name – thanks to its illustrious owner. The powerful tone and brilliance of sound created by this exceptional combination of instrument and performer (G.B. Viotti) helped to create the Stradivari legend. Includes measurements
‘The whole instrument seems to have been designed to be light, to exploit the minimum mass of wood in the plates and ribs which could support a low but characteristically stiff arching. The arching is full and seems undistorted and extremely regular. The front is delicately worked with a reverse gradation of 2.5–3mm around the perimeter reducing to 2mm in the centre. Yet still the arching is firm, with no sign of collapse around the fs or excessive pressure from the soundpost.’ – John Dilworth in the March 2006 issue
Our posters are shipped separately from other products. One tube can hold up to 10 posters. Save on postage costs by purchasing up to 10 posters per tube today.
An A-Z of Instrument Care by Jane Dorner (2nd Edition)
Matteo Gofriller violin 1700 poster
A classic example of the great Venetian's work: his own pattern with glorious varnish and individual wood selection. Includes measurements
'The violin's hollowed edge is characteristic and the purfling is swept across the corner in Stradivari fashion. The f-holes are typical of the Cremona-influenced Tyrolean makers – based on the Brothers Amati but wider and upright in stance. Over the wood Gofriller laid the most supple varnish, which often seems to have no substance at all but is steeped into the wood, turning it a deep burgundy colour. Beneath the dark patina there is a slight rose-madder tint to the red.' – John Dilworth in the December 2000 issue of The Strad
Our posters are shipped separately from other products. One tube can hold up to 10 posters. Save on postage costs by purchasing up to 10 posters per tube today.
G.B. Guadagnini viola 1785 poster
Our posters are shipped separately from other products. One tube can hold up to 10 posters. Save on postage costs by purchasing up to 10 posters per tube today.
‘Conte Vitale’ Andrea Guarneri viola c.1676 poster
An important instrument from the first maker to concentrate on the smaller-pattern viola. Includes measurements.
‘Guarneri’s scrolls are always charming and totally distinctive. Careless in cutting the central eye perfectly round, he left a little tail into the first turn of the volute that is a Guarneri trademark, giving the bonus of having two different scrolls to enjoy either side of the one head. The fluting carries right round the front of the head and is very cleanly finished at the throat, ample testimony to Guarneri’s skill. What finally elevates this viola to highest rank is its almost entire coat of fine yellow varnish.’ – John Dilworth in the October 1996 issue.
Our posters are shipped separately from other products. One tube can hold up to 10 posters. Save on postage costs by purchasing up to 10 posters per tube today.
Brothers Amati tenor viola 1592 poster
A fine example of the rarely played tenor viola, which set the standard for all the great Cremonese makers. Includes measurements
‘Generally the workmanship, though clean and delicate, lacks something of the usual pristine quality which one would normally associate with a Brothers instrument. Fortunately true art is seldom precise and the majestic beauty of this head is not marred by any shortfall in mathematical symmetry.' – Roger Hargrave in the March 1993 issue
Our posters are shipped separately from other products. One tube can hold up to 10 posters. Save on postage costs by purchasing up to 10 posters per tube today.
‘Alard’ Amati violin 1649 poster
Our posters are shipped separately from other products. One tube can hold up to 10 posters. Save on postage costs by purchasing up to 10 posters per tube today.
Andrea Amati violin 1564 poster
The beauty of the workmanship, tonal properties and rich decoration of this royal instrument has seldom if ever been matched or surpassed. Includes measurements.
'For his scrolls, Andrea seems to have gone directly back to Nature itself. The concept was mathematically and optically so perfect that what followed over the centuries could only be a steady degeneration' – Roger Hargrave in the December 1991 issue of The Strad.
Our posters are shipped separately from other products. One tube can hold up to 10 posters. Save on postage costs by purchasing up to 10 posters per tube today.
‘Servais’ Stradivari cello 1701 poster
Our posters are shipped separately from other products. One tube can hold up to 10 posters. Save on postage costs by purchasing up to 10 posters per tube today.
Lord Wilton’ Guarneri ‘del Gesù’ violin 1742 poster
Once the concert instrument of Yehudi Menuhin, this magnificent violin makes an interesting contrast with the ‘Alard’ of the same year
Our posters are shipped separately from other products. One tube can hold up to 10 posters. Save on postage costs by purchasing up to 10 posters per tube today.
The Strad Calendar 2017
The Strad's 2017 calendar pays tribute to the conservatoires, music schools and academies that provide the backbone and ensure the future of the great classical music tradition. Twelve instruments, including examples by Antonio Stradivari, the Brothers Amati and Pietro Guarneri of Mantua are featured, along with some surprises – such as a 19th-century church bass by American luthier Abraham Prescott. This calendar will be essential for students, teachers and anyone with an interest in beautiful stringed instruments.
Full list of featured instruments
- 1629 Brothers Amati violin
- 1679 Nicolò Amati violin
- 1685 Antonio Stradivari violino piccolo
- 1700 Antonio Stradivari ‘Stauffer’ cello
- 1709 Antonio Stradivari ‘Hochschule Berlin, Marteau’ violin
- 1709 Antonio Stradivari ‘Viotti, ex-Bruce’ violin
- 1714 Antonio Stradivari ‘Joachim–Ma’ violin
- 1714 Pietro Guarneri of Mantua violin
- 1716 Antonio Stradivari ‘Provigny’ violin
- 1726 Antonio Stradivari ‘Marquis de Corboron’ cello
- 1736 Antonio Stradivari ‘Belle Skinner’ violin
- c.1809–20 Abraham Prescott church bass
The Strad Directory 2017
Newly published, the current edition of The Strad Directory is as indispensable as ever. It provides you with everything you need to fulfil your stringed instrument needs, from makers and repairers to dealers, wholesalers and auction houses. It even gives details of making schools, insurance providers, teaching organisations, publishers and all kinds of other string-related businesses.
Violin Heroes
Nine of today's top violinists, including Itzhak Perlman, Joshua Bell, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Maxim Vengerov and Nikolaj Znaider, talk about the players who have most influenced them. Plus, articles from The Strad’s archive give an insight into the greatest players of the last century, including Heifetz, Menuhin, Kreisler and Ysaÿe.
Great Instruments 2
In 2011 The Strad published a 92-page collection of articles on some of the finest violins, violas and cellos to grace its pages over the previous decade. As well as examinations of historic works such as the Amati 'King', thought to be the oldest cello in existence, and Stradivari's 1713 'Huberman' violin, now played by Joshua Bell, this new collection introduces articles on double basses by Rocca, Gofriller and Gasparo da Salò. With high-quality photographs throughout, this is a must for anyone interested in the history and development of beautiful stringed instruments.
Full list of featured instruments
- c.1550 Gasparo da Salò double bass
- Mid-16th century Andrea Amati ‘King’ cello
- 1686 Francesco Rugeri violin
- 1710 Antonio Stradivari ‘Baron Rothschild, Gore-Booth’ cello
- 1713 Antonio Stradivari ‘Huberman’ violin
- c.1720 Matteo Gofriller double bass
- 1726 Antonio Stradivari ‘Saveuse’ cello
- 1743 Giuseppe Guarneri ‘del Gesù’ ‘Brusilow’ violin
- 1767 José Contreras violin
- 1774 Giovanni Battista Guadagnini ‘Salabue’, ‘Berta’ violin
- c.1851 Giuseppe Rocca double bass
- 1865 Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume cello
