No. 237, January 2015
Taking Liberties
Nils Bultmann’s viola duets evoke
the spirit of improv
By Louise Lee
A Tango State of Mind
Russian-American violinist Philippe Quint’s chamber ensemble prepares to tour and record
By Rory Williams
Now Hear This!
A new generation of cellists is pushing
the boundaries as singer-songwriters
By Miranda Wilson
Special Focus ON
Strings, Cases & Accessories
The Quest for Tone
16 pros—from concert soloists and chamber players to fiddlers and jazz musicians—
share their string set-up
By Greg Cahill
String Theory
Ever wonder how firms develop the latest strings? And just what do “warm” and “dark” mean when one describes a string’s tone? (from the Strings archive)
By James Keough
Lap of Luxury
Black German velvet? Custom inlay or gold fittings? Tough enough to survive a car crash? Buying an instrument case—when money is
no object (from the Strings archive)
By Erin Shrader
Creation Myth
Dreaming up new ideas for musical accessories was the easy part for these three designers. Then they had to market them (from the Strings archive)
By Patrick Sullivan
News & Notes
Int’l Bluegrass Music Association tips its big hat to fiddler Jason Carter and others at annual awards show; John and Arthur Beare launches an online auction site; and more; plus Milestones, and 5 minutes with cellist Rafael Wallfisch
Letter from China
With two tours of the People’s Republic under their collective belt, Dirty Cello is getting some well-deserved rest
Encore
Violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter adds curator to her CV as she programs a Carnegie Hall concert series
Strings 101
Advice for adult students who want
to get very, very good
Master Class
The quiet grandeur of Copland’s
Violin Sonata
The principles of string-quartet intonation
Practice Makes Perfect
Roman Mints: Building a daily
practice regimen
Teaching Strings
No joke—consider the benefits of encouraging laughter in the classroom
Strings Trade
An evolutionary biologist’s view of the violin; new study discredits vibration treatments; and more
Your Instrument
The bare facts about shoulder rests
Ask the Expert
What’s the proper way to clean a violin?
What’s in the Case
Mark O’Connor’s 2002 Jonathan Cooper fiddle has true grit
New Products
Musafia’s lightweight Lievissima violin case; Warchal Avantgarde Violin A String; and more
Reviews
Discs Brooklyn Rider’s ambitious ‘Almanac’; rare recordings by cellist Janos Starker; and more In Print A worthy new edition of Dvorak’s Quintet in G major—
