Editorís letterJohannes Moser isn’t afraid to challenge both himself

ContributorsCATHY ELLIOTT (Books, page 89 ) juggles playing

SOUNDPOSTLetters, emails, online comments

Seeing the wood for the treesNews and events from around the world this month

NEWS IN BRIEFFoundation launched to renovate Antonio Stradivari’s house bit.ly/3hrBLJ5

OBITUARIESJAAKKO KUUSISTO Violinist, conductor and composer Jaakko Kuusisto

Lost for wordsPREMIERE of the MONTH

COMPETITIONS1 Bryan Cheng 1 Canadian cellist Bryan Cheng,

Straight to the pointThe vertical endpin that promises better balance and motion

Life lessonsThe US violinist recalls childhood travels and discusses the challenges of a young soloist’s life

In the footsteps of mastersAs well as a rich selection of concerts and masterclasses, the Philharmonie de Paris’ tenth String Quartet Biennale included its first ever lutherie competition, as Mélissa Lesnie reports

SURROUNDED BY SOUNDThe German–Canadian cellist Johannes Moser embraces experimentation. He talks to Peter Quantrill about channelling his inner Jimi Hendrix and exploring the sound of the electric cello which, alongside the conventional cello, features in his latest recordings for Platoon

A question of datesFor centuries, historians have tried to settle on a definitive birthdate for Tyrolean luthier Jacob Stainer. Heinz Noflatscher explains how we now have an upper limit for his birth year – and why researchers were foxed by the elegant handwriting of the master

A MEETING AT THE CROSSROADSFor violinist Rachel Podger and pianist Christopher Glynn, recording Beethoven’s violin sonatas, which occupy the stormy transitional period between Classicism and Romanticism, brought together their disparate musical specialisms, as they tell Harry White

TWO OF A KINDWith the demand for massproduced German instruments skyrocketing in the 1920s, enterprising makers sent family members to America to represent them. Clifford Hall explores the careers and legacies of Andrew Schroetter and Heinrich Roth

MUSIC IN OTHER LANDSIn 2019, American five-string fiddler Casey Driessen and his family took off around the world for nine months for his music-sharing project Otherlands: A Global Music Exploration. In a tantalising snapshot of his journey, often into the musical unknown, he recalls meeting and playing with some of the great regional music masters in seven diverse countries

ENRICO CATENAR A close look at the work of great and unusual makers

Using Baker-style mechanics on a double bassHow to fit these brass pegs, gears and tuners, as used by English bass makers in times gone by

LUTHIER RAINER W. LEONHARDTA peek into lutherie workshops around the world

In tune with the typesLuthiers often examine a musician’s way of playing before setting to work on their instrument. David Leonard Wiedmer explains why it can be helpful to categorise players into two different ‘types’

GRIEG VIOLIN SONATA NO.2 IN G MAJORTo bring out all the joy, innocence and darkness in this first movement, it is essential to understand its combined roots in classical composition and Norwegian folk music, explains Eldbjørg Hemsing

Speaking with the bowHow to use language, vowels, consonants and inflection to colour and shape every phrase

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

RECORDINGSCOURTESY JENNIFER KLOETZEL BACH Solo Partitas: no.1 in

BOOKSJascha Heifetz in South Africa: Insights from 1932

From the ARCHIVEFROM THE STRAD 1902 APRIL VOL.12 NO.144

IN THE NEXT ISSUEViktoria Mullova The Russian violinist discusses her

CHRISTINE HOOCKMišek’s Double Bass Sonata no.2 has been by the German bassist’s side throughout her career – and helped to create a lot of friendships along the way