Mapping out the fingerboard

Editor’s letter

To mark a centenary is to celebrate the very great

Contributors

(Technique, page 84) is a jazz violinist and tutor

SOUNDPOST

Letters, emails, online comments

Welcome to Cremona

Mayor Gianluca Galimberti explains why the beating heart of the city is represented by its horde of talented luthiers

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RETURNING HEROES

The Museo del Violino is hosting a special exhibition of some of the National Music Museum’s finest Cremonese instruments while the US institution is closed for renovations

RARITIES from VENICE

Fausto Cacciatori reports on a Museo del Violino project to analyse and restore a unique collection of instruments from the Ospedale della Pietà, the Venetian orphanage where Vivaldi taught

Building bridges with violins

Fausto Cacciatori previews an exhibition in Croatia that explores the doctor and luthier Franjo Kresnik’s deep connection with Cremona and its violin making tradition

UNITED WE STAND

Cremona’s Cultural District of Violin Making brings together violin makers and municipal, academic and scientific institutions to promote lutherie education and research, writes Chiara Bondioni

Six years of success

Museo del Violino general director Virginia Villa celebrates the museum’s latest anniversary, and introduces a newly acquired masterpiece by Lorenzo Storioni

FROM CREMONA TO MEXICO

Paolo Bodini introduces an exhibition of Cremonese masterpieces in Puebla, the capital of Mexican Baroque

A DECADE OF friendship

The Friends of Stradivari project celebrates ten years of hosting great instruments in Cremona

FESTIVAL of FIRSTS

Cremona’s STRADIVARI festival features debut performances by leading violinists as part of a two-week musical feast, writes Roberto Codazzi

All under one ROOF

The Cremona Musica exhibition, held every year in September, has become an unmissable showcase of contemporary lutherie from around the world

Deal or no deal

With the prospect of a no-deal Brexit looking increasingly likely, what are the real ramifications for musicians - and what steps can be taken to minimise the impact?

OBITUARIES

Dutch cellist Anner Bylsma died on 25 July at the age

Yehudi Menuhin School to set up new institution in China

The UK’s Yehudi Menuhin School (YMS) is to set up its

Music of the spheres

Conjuring a puzzle out of thin air

Ready for boarding

An instrument with a detachable neck to make air travel easier

Life lessons

The Australian violinist on Crowded House, ‘classical’ music and the importance of the Antipodean perspective

PLAY IT AGAIN

A high-profile premiere might help young composers launch their career, but the story shouldn’t end there, says Tom Stewart

Double firsts

At this year’s quadrennial International Tchaikovsky Competition, the judges awarded the $30,000 first prize in both the violin and cello categories. Tim Homfray attended the violin section in Moscow, while Andrew Mellor visited St Petersburg to hear the cellists - and both were impressed by what they saw

Postcard from… ST PETERSBURG

Four of the six finalists in the cello discipline of

A HUMAN HEART

To mark the centenary of the completion and premiere of Elgar’s Cello Concerto, cellist Raphael Wallfisch reflects upon the period and circumstances surrounding the work’s creation and subsequent life

The classic interpretation

Jacqueline du Pré’s 1965 recording of Elgar’s Cello Concerto set the benchmark for every cellist who followed her. Tully Potter explores the enduring popularity of her powerful and iconic performance

THE FAB FOUR

At this year’s Suntory Hall Chamber Music Garden festival in Tokyo the Kuss Quartet performed a complete Beethoven cycle on the ‘Paganini’ quartet of Stradivaris, on loan from the Nippon Music Foundation. Gavin Dixon spoke to the players about this very special project – and learnt a little more about the Suntory phenomenon

A MASTER COPYIST

Gaetano Sgarabotto was renowned for making replicas of old Italian instruments – and left numerous records of his research on their makers’ styles. Focusing on his replica scrolls, Andrea Zanrè examines the secrets of Sgarabotto’s success

TASTE THE difference

Burgundy’s Musique & Vin festival has quickly grown from its humble origins to encompass a rich diversity of elements, not least first-rate performances from international artists and an instrument loan scheme for young musicians. Charlotte Gardner spoke to those involved in this unique project

ALL SET UP AND READY TO GO

In the first of two articles looking at instrument set-up, Joseph Curtin examines the acoustic roles played by the tailpiece and fingerboard in affecting vibration, frequency and resonance

PETTER HELLSTEDT

A close look at the work of great and unusual makers

Recreating original purfling

Precision and care are prerequisites for this detailed restoration method

STEFANO CONIA

A peek into lutherie workshops around the world

Ten out of ten

The great 19th-century French bow makers had to produce a large amount of stock to make a living. Christophe Landon explores how their working methods differed from ours, as he makes ten simultaneous copies of one Peccatte bow

FRANCK VIOLIN SONATA (CELLO VERSION)

Daniel Müller-Schott looks at the importance of connection, colour and line in the work’s third movement

Mapping out the fingerboard

Exercises to train your brain and fingers, to help you become a more fluent performer and improviser

CONCERTS

New York

RECORDINGS

BACH Sonatas for viola and harpsichord BWV1027-1029;

BOOKS

ABRSM Initial Grade:

From the ARCHIVE

The Strad responds to the declaration of war on 3 September with advice on how cellists can do their bit by programming feel-good standards for troops and civilians

IN THE NEXT ISSUE

Sarah Chang

BORIS KUSCHNIR

For the Austrian violinist, Mozart’s Violin Concerto no.4 in D major K218 brings back fond memories of David Oistrakh - and a less salubrious recollection of the Tibor Varga Competition