History in sound

Editor’s letter

Each great instrument has a story to tell. Waiting

Contributors

CELIA COBB

SOUNDPOST

Letters, emails, online comments

Brain training

Can learning a musical instrument have a positi ve eff ect on a child’s mental health? Players and teachers give their thoughts on the psychological benefits for young people

Lighting up the sky

An aerial journey for double bass and strings

TAILPIECE Sting in the tail

Titanium continues its rise as a material for instrument fittings

Life lessons Laura van der Heijden

Seven years after winning the BBC Young Musician competition, the British cellist discusses how different forms of music making inspire her

Managing a good ending

When a child wants to stop instrumental lessons, teachers have a duty to bring matters to a positive close, argues violin teacher Celia Cobb

A MASSIVE ACHIEVEMENT

Made in 1677, the ‘Romanov’ Nicolffati viola is one of the maker’s late masterpieces. Alberto Giordano and Rudolf Hopfner investigate its turbulent history and examine how it fits into the Amati family’s oeuvre

A TREASURY OF SOUND

The Royal Danish Orchestra has been adding to its collection of fine stringed instruments for centuries – but there is revolution as well as evolution behind its distinctive string sound, which is unmistakable whatever the repertoire and whoever the conductor, finds Andrew Mellor

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION

As the founder of Music in Vision, Kathleen Ross has built a business from supplying professional musicians for on-camera roles. Introducing instrumentalists to the world of film and TV can be challenging, but, she writes, ensuring that musicians in background parts are convincingly portrayed is well worth the effort

Into the light

Rebecca Clarke’s 1923 Rhapsody for cello and piano was never publicly performed during the composer’s lifetime, and has only recently received proper attention in the hands of champions of British music Raphael Wallfisch and John York – who makes the case for the forgotten masterpiece as its score is finally published

Like fathers, like sons

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the death of Emile Auguste Ouchard, as well as the 40th of his son Bernard – both regarded as among the 20th century’s finest bow makers. Thomas Martin, Andrew McGill, Martin Lawrence and George Martin examine the legacy of the Ouchard dynasty, particularly focusing on their double bass bows

A CONDUCTOR’S TALE

Music director Manfred Honeck has brought a distinctly European flavour to the Pittsburgh Symphony. Gavin Dixon spoke to him at his summer festival in Wolfegg, Germany, as he prepared to embark on a tour of Europe with his Pittsburgh forces – and discovered how his time as a violist in the Vienna Philharmonic helped him to become the conductor he is today

DAVID STIRRAT

A close look at the work of great and unusual makers

Flattening planes

A sadly necessary task for all luthiers, which should have been taken care of by the manufacturer in the first place

HONORATA STALMIERSKA

A peek into lutherie workshops around the world

A phoenix from the ashes

Points of interest to violin and bow makers

BERG VIOLIN CONCERTO

ln the first of two articles, Leila Josefowicz explores ideas of feverishness, hallucinati on, death and resurrecti on in the second movement of a great 20th-century concerto

Teaching rhythm and bowing to beginners

How to inspire very young musicians to learn new cello playing skills

Reviews

Your monthly critical round-up of performances, recordings and publications

From the Archive

The pseudonymous ‘L.H.W.’ gives his thoughts on teaching, in an article he might himself call ‘profuse and extravagant in expression’

IN THE NEXT ISSUE

The violinist has taken over as artistic director of

LINUS ROTH

Weinberg’s Violin Concerto is a work of passionate intensity, as the German violinist found – even though he hadn’t encountered the composer unti l eight years ago