{"id":9135,"date":"2026-03-30T13:10:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T12:10:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thestradshop.com\/store\/?post_type=product&#038;p=9135"},"modified":"2026-04-16T21:43:37","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T20:43:37","slug":"may-2026","status":"publish","type":"product","link":"https:\/\/www.thestradshop.com\/store\/thestrad\/may-2026\/","title":{"rendered":"May 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Contents:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>CHIAROSCURO QUARTET<\/strong> The members of the UK-based foursome talk to Pauline Harding about their current project to record Beethoven\u2019s complete string quartets on gut strings<\/li>\n<li><strong>ORCHESTRAL BLENDING<\/strong> Peter Somerford speaks to section leaders from some of the world\u2019s top ensembles to discover the secrets of maintaining a balanced, distinctive orchestral sound#<\/li>\n<li><strong>SGARABOTTO AND ORNATI<\/strong> The veteran lutherie tutors donated their workshops\u2019 contents to the Cremona School of Violin Making. Matteo Giovanetti and Luca Baratto examine the treasures<\/li>\n<li><strong>SESSION REPORT<\/strong> Violinists John Mills and cellist Bozidar Vukotic of the Tippett Quartet tell Harry White about the group\u2019s latest recording of string quartets by Glazunov<\/li>\n<li><strong>AN 18TH-CENTURY COMPOSITE CELLO<\/strong> Sally Gosling details the restoration of an instrument that turned out to combine parts of Pietro Guarneri of Venice, Domenico Busan and Paolo Antonio Testore<\/li>\n<li><strong>MICHAEL RABIN<\/strong> One of the most gifted American violinists of all time would have turned 90 this year. Jonathan Woolf examines the career of the tragically short-lived virtuoso<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Regulars:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>IN FOCUS<\/strong> Inkyu Hwang\u2019s method for camouflaging a patch using a veneer<\/li>\n<li><strong>TRADE SECRETS<\/strong> Hannah Lobe on refinements of the scroll in the final stages of carving<\/li>\n<li><strong>MY SPACE<\/strong> Koichi Furukawa of Ozaka, Japan<\/li>\n<li><strong>MAKING MATTERS<\/strong> Examining the case built to house the famed \u2018Il Cremonese\u2019 Stradivari<\/li>\n<li><strong>MASTERCLASS<\/strong> Cellist Edgar Moreau and his violinist brother David on the first movement of Schubert\u2019s Piano Trio no.2 in E flat major<\/li>\n<li><strong>TECHNIQUE<\/strong> Double bassist Nina DeCesare gives hints and tips on double bass shifting<\/li>\n<li><strong>LIFE LESSONS<\/strong> The memories and opinions of American cellist David Finckel<\/li>\n<li><strong>OPINION<\/strong> Students should regard practising scales as more than just a chore<\/li>\n<li><strong>POSTCARD FROM THE NETHERLANDS<\/strong> The 2026 String Quartet Biennale Amsterdam<\/li>\n<li><strong>FROM THE ARCHIVE<\/strong> From May 1926<\/li>\n<li><strong>SENTIMENTAL WORK<\/strong> Bonnie Hampton on her love for Beethoven\u2019s \u2018Triple\u2019 Concerto<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>We talk to the Chiaroscuro Quartet and examine how some of the world\u2019s top orchestras achieve their own distinctive sound. There\u2019s a look at the career of US violinist Michael Rabin and we examine a cello with elements of Testore, Busan and Pietro Guarneri. Plus a Schubert Masterclass and David Finckel\u2019s Life Lessons.<\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thestrad.com\/magazine\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read more<\/a> in The Strad<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thestradshop.com\/store\/subscriptions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-9147 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/www.thestradshop.com\/store\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2_Banner-1500x300-Subscribe-1-1024x205.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1024\" height=\"205\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.thestradshop.com\/store\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2_Banner-1500x300-Subscribe-1-1024x205.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.thestradshop.com\/store\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2_Banner-1500x300-Subscribe-1-300x60.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.thestradshop.com\/store\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2_Banner-1500x300-Subscribe-1-768x154.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.thestradshop.com\/store\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2_Banner-1500x300-Subscribe-1-600x120.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.thestradshop.com\/store\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/2_Banner-1500x300-Subscribe-1.jpg 1500w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":9136,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"product_brand":[],"product_cat":[108,113],"product_tag":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-9135","1":"product","2":"type-product","3":"status-publish","4":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"product_cat-the-strad-merchandise","7":"product_cat-the-strad-merchandise-single-issue","8":"product_shipping_class-the-strad-standard","10":"first","11":"instock","12":"purchasable","13":"product-type-simple"},"bundled_by":[],"bundle_stock_status":"instock","bundle_stock_quantity":297,"bundle_virtual":false,"bundle_layout":"","bundle_add_to_cart_form_location":"","bundle_editable_in_cart":false,"bundle_sold_individually_context":"","bundle_item_grouping":"","bundle_min_size":"","bundle_max_size":"","bundle_price":[],"bundled_items":[],"bundle_sell_ids":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>May 2026 - The Strad Shop<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"We talk to the Chiaroscuro Quartet and examine how some of the world\u2019s top orchestras achieve their own distinctive sound. There\u2019s a look at the career of US violinist Michael Rabin and we examine a cello with elements of Testore, Busan and Pietro Guarneri. Plus a Schubert Masterclass and David Finckel\u2019s Life Lessons.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thestradshop.com\/store\/thestrad\/may-2026\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"May 2026 - The Strad Shop\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"We talk to the Chiaroscuro Quartet and examine how some of the world\u2019s top orchestras achieve their own distinctive sound. There\u2019s a look at the career of US violinist Michael Rabin and we examine a cello with elements of Testore, Busan and Pietro Guarneri. 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