Undercover operative

Editorís letter

That the fresh-faced and vibrant Sarah Chang has reached

Contributors

JOSEPH CAMPANELLA CLEARY (Making Matters, page 78)

SOUNDPOST

Letters, emails, online comments

Reduce, reuse, recycle

In these environmentally aware times, players will be conscious of the long-term impact of the strings they’re using. What are manufacturers doing to set their minds at rest?

CITES exempts musical instruments from rosewood permit system

The 2019 CITES conference concluded with a significant

Hilary Hahn donates $25,000 award to music education charity

Violinist Hilary Hahn has chosen the Philadelphia-based

In plain sight

Less is more in this study of transparency and texture

Life lessons

The British violinist on the changing landscape of string playing and what modern instruments can offer top players

INTO THE MAINSTREAM

In the years since Gregor Piatigorsky first set out to boost the cello’s profile, the instrument has seen a massive growth in popularity, particularly through the efforts of crossover artists, says Yoshika Masuda

Marathon in the mountains

At the 13th Banff International String Quartet Competition ten young ensembles, their members all under 35 years of age, rose to the challenge of performing a vast amount of wide-ranging repertoire, reports Laurinel Owen

TURNING OVER A NEW LEAF

Since her professional debut almost 30 years ago, Sarah Chang has maintained a glittering solo performing and recording career. But, as she tells Charlotte Smith, her more recent desire to take on ‘passion projects’ has led to fulfilling chamber and contemporary collaborations

BRIGHT YOUNG THINGS

The New York String Orchestra Seminar, one of America’s first orchestral training programmes for young musicians, celebrated its 50th anniversary in December 2018. Bruce Hodges attended rehearsals and concerts of the landmark season, and looks ahead to the ensemble’s December 2019 edition

FIRST CLASS

Despite achieving a high level of quality, the American bow makers of the early 20th century have languished in obscurity – until now. Raphael Gold explores the lives of Frank Kovanda, Ernst Lohberg and Anders Halvarson, who all learnt their craft in the Chicago workshop of William Lewis & Son

Defining a NATION

For many classical enthusiasts Brazilian music can be summed up in the folk-inspired compositions of Villa-Lobos. Naxos’s multivolume series The Music of Brazil is set to broaden awareness, beginning with several 19th- and 20th-century composers whose string and orchestral works at once mirrored and defied their country’s colonial history, writes Peter Quantrill

VIEWS ON THE BRIDGE

In the second of two articles on set-up, Joseph Curtin investigates the acoustical role of the violin bridge and the interconnected relationships between mass, frequency and resonance

PAOLO GUADAGNINI

A close look at the work of great and unusual makers

Arching, channelling and edgework

A method that unites all three parts of the making process, for a more coherent and efficient way of working

MY SPACE

A peek into lutherie workshops around the world

MAKING MATTERS

Points of interest to violin and bow makers

STAMITZ FIRST VIOLA CONCERTO

Nils Mönkemeyer looks at how to tackle the challenges in the first movement of this important audition piece with style, panache and calm

TECHNIQUE

Tips to help you master a bow stroke vital for making a good impression at any orchestral audition

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Reviews

THIS MONTH’S RECOMMENDED RECORDINGS Our pick of the

RECORDINGS

BACH Sonatas and Partitas for Solo Violin

From the ARCHIVE

Marie Hall, seen here with her 1709 Stradivari, speaks exclusively to The Strad following a successful tour of South Africa

ALISA WEILERSTEIN

The climactic scene between Don Giovanni and his father the Commendatore was the American cellist’s bedtime listening for years – and has stayed with her for even longer