SMALL IS BEAUTIFUL: Violin maker Maria Sandner has used her time in lockdown to pursue her interest in making miniature playable violins. Each 10cm instrument is made to the same specifications as a normal-sized violin, with a bass-bar, soundpost, linings and ebony fittings. ‘For the top, the spruce has to have annual rings that are very close together,’ Sandner explained. ‘The same is true for the maple for the back; I also need extremely tight flames or very close together bird’s eyes.’ The strings come from Thomastik-Infeld in Vienna. ‘ You could play the violins in theory,’ Sandner admits, ‘but it is very difficult to play a piece of music, as the fingers can’t really grip.’ The violin shown here is a Stradivari model. Main photo: Kriner Weiermann
Frank Almond, concertmaster of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra in Wisconsin, US, for the past 25 years, has stepped down from his role. The violinist originally announced last year that this would be his last season with the orchestra, but, owing to the coronavirus lockdown, he has been forced to leave it incomplete.