No. 259, November 2016

The Emersons Turn Forty

This season marks a milestone for one of the world’s most celebrated string quartets

By Thomas May

A Neighborhood Stroll

On the wealth of stringed-instrument resources within walking distance of my Marylebone home’s front door

By Inge Kjemtrup

All in the Family

The O’Connor Band brings killer vocals into a triple-fiddle mix

By Bob Doerschuk

SPECIAL FOCUS

Vintage Instruments & Bows

Market Watch

The state of the antique violin market since the record-setting sale of the ‘Lady Blunt’

By Philip J. Kass

History in the Making

World War II and the rise, fall, and resurgence of violin making in a tiny corner of Germany

By Richard Ward

How Original

4 things to think about before purchasing a fine antique bow

By Elizabeth Marshall

French Revolution

In the case of Parisian violin makers’ approach to varnish, evolution meant a return to the past

By Andrew Dipper

Editor’s Note

News & Notes

The Chiara Quartet performs Bartok’s complete cycle from memory at the Ravinia Festival; ‘The Calais Sessions’ recorded in refugee camp; plus Milestones; 5 minutes with author Anna Beer, and more

Curtain Call

Chad Hoopes on the ‘infectious charm’ of Fritz Kreisler’s ‘Preludium and Allegro’

Tales of the Trade

Luthier Joseph Curtin leads the violin world’s politest revolution

What’s in the Case?

Violinist Alexi Kenney shares the similarities and differences between his Greiner and the ‘Joachim-Ma’ Strad

New Products

Leatherwood Bespoke Rosin offers tailored rosin for your playing needs; Knilling to launch Impuls electric violins; and more

On My Music Stand

Violist Paul Neubauer tackles ‘Soul Garden,’ a contemporary work that explores the viola’s gospel side

My Studio

Cellist Jessica Ivry on how learning to teach well required more than just performance experience

Rep Prep

The spiccato bariolage passage of Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto in E minor is one challenge among many

REVIEWS

For the Record: Gypsy-jazz violinist Tim Kliphuis takes on Vivaldi with an improvisational twist. In Print: Dvorak’s earliest surviving trio illustrates his penchant for dance, and more