June-2018
We complete our analysis of the ‘Vieuxtemps’ Guarneri, with Anne Akiko Meyers’ views on playing the priceless violin. There’s a look at the pitfalls of playing outdoors, we go in search of Stradivari’s ‘lost’ mould, and Kyung Wha Chung gives her Life Lessons.
Plus Accessories 2018: your guide to strings, bridges, rosin, pickups, and much more.
May-2018
The Strad Directory 2018
December-2017
Buy the December 2017 issue of The Strad. Includes focus on Stradivari's final years and the turbulent social and political times in Cremona from 1702 to 1737.
Plus Renaud Capuçon on teaching; Steven Isserlis’ trench cello; double bassist Barry Guy; Dragonetti’s Gasparo da Salò bass and its seismic effect on English luthiery; Trondheim Chamber Music Festival; an 1856 violin by Giuseppe Rocca; luthiers David Finck and Eric Benning; exercises to release tension and improve movement; Daniel Müller-Schott on Shostakovich’s First Cello Concerto
The Strad Calendar 2018: The Friends of Stradivari
Guarneri Del Gusu Heifetz, 1742
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Gibson viola, 1734
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Tuscan’ Medici’ Stradivari viola, 1690
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Maggini Contralto viola poster
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Domenico Montagnana cello 1740
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.
July-2016
Chamber music tutor Tim Frederiksen discusses putting together string quartets and we examine the history of violin making in Amsterdam. Joshua Bell and Steven Isserlis discuss their latest collaboration, and there’s an In Focus on a Stradivari cello. Plus bassist Dan Styffe on Arvo Pärt’s Spiegel im Spiegel.
May-2016
In a special edition to mark the 100th anniversary of Yehudi Menuhin’s birth, we ask some of the people who knew him best fr their memories of the great violinist. We also explore Menuhin’s photo archive and examine his favourite instrument, the ‘Lord Wilton’ Guarneri. Plus two free supplements: Cremona 2016 and Degrees, your guide to string teaching courses around the world.
December-2015
Baroque violinist Rachel Podger discusses the perils of scordatura and we a late-period Guarneri violin comes under scrutiny. Christian Tetzlaff completes his Masterclass on Beethoven, there’s a Kodály retrospective and double bassist DaXun Zhang gives his Practice Diary. Plus Jan Vogler on Tchaikovsky’s Rococo Variations
September-2015
Violinist Nicola Benedetti discusses her work with young players in our education special, while recent competition winners discuss their practice methods. We look back at the life and teaching style of luthier Peter Paul Prier, and Roby Lakatos gives a guide to gypsy fiddling. Plus Jaime Laredo and Sharon Robinson on the Brahms ‘Double’
August-2015
We talk to Itzhak Perlman, 70 this month, and investigate the story of America’s first female violin maker. Lynn Harrell gives a guide to resonant cello sound, and Rachel Barton Pine explains why Mozart’s Third Violin Concerto is her ‘good friend’. Plus a Masterclass on Brahms’s Viola Sonata and a tribute to Lindsay Quartet co-founder Peter Cropper.
June-2015
We talk to the Carducci Quartet about its upcoming Shostakovich quartet cycle, and examine the career of Gregor Piatigorsky. There’s a report on how acting techniques can benefit string players, and the second of two articles on the Andrea Amati ‘King’ cello. Plus Hilary Hahn on Vieuxtemps, Christian Tetzlaff on Beethoven, and a celebration of Leopold Auer’s life and career.
April-2015
Simon Rattle discusses the Berlin Philharmonic’s characteristic string sound in a German speical, which also includes articles on cellist Anja Thauer and the development of instruments in Markneukirchen. Alban Gerhardt discusses playing Dvořák’s Cello Concerto, Tabea Zimmermann gives a Masterclass on Hindemith and there’s a guide to double bass bowing from Jeff Bradetich. Plus Sarah Chang’s practice diary.
January-2015
December-2014
We interview Korean violinist Kyung Wha Chung and examine a 1767 violin by José Contreras, described by some as ‘the Spanish Stradivari’. Russian pedagogue Maya Glezarova recalls her 70 years of teaching, and Augustin Dumay and Louis Lortie reflect on performing as a duo. Plus a Dvořák Masterclass with 14 audio examples
October-2014
A Girolamo Amati contralto viola reveals its secrets in an extensive study, and we talk to US quartet Brooklyn Rider about its latest multidisciplinary project. We examine the legacy of French violinist–composer Jean-Marie Leclair and there’s a Masterclass on Rimsky-Korsakov. Plus mutes, chin rests, violin cases and carbon-fibre bows in Accessories 2014.
September-2014
In our special education issue, some of today’s top string players and teachers recall the tutors who made the biggest impression on them. We explore a youth education scheme in London, the Bologna school of violin making, and how to deal with unruly kids. Plus, Leon Bosch on Dittersdorf’s Second Double Bass Concerto
August-2014
We mark the centenary of the First World War’s outbreak with an issue on music and conflict, exploring string works about war, soldiers’ instruments, and the work of Musicians without Borders. Plus Tamsin Waley-Cohen’s Practice Diary, the Henschel Quartet on Schulhoff, and taking care of instruments in summer.
July-2014
Latvian violinist Baiba Skride discusses her love of modern repertoire and Didier Lockwood talks about his genre-hopping career. We talk to artists including Natalie Clein, Daniel Hope and Rachel Barton Pine about premiering new works, and explore the world of commissioning instruments. Plus Gary Karr on the plight of orchestral bassists.
June-2014
We examine a 1774 Guadagnini violin that has survived in almost pristine condition, and talk to string players who have set up their own festivals. Concertmaster Glenn Dicterow recalls his time at the New York Philharmonic, and orchestra principals discuss the works of Strauss. Plus Leonidas Kavakos gives a Masterclass on the Brahms Violin Concerto
