ContributorsMISHA GALAGANOV (Telemann’s viol fantaisies on the

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Editor's letterThird time’s the charm for the superstar US

Making the gradeHow much difference do graded music exams make to students’ performance in schools? A study in Italy has been attempting to find out

NEWS IN BRIEFViolist wins Australian award bit.ly/405kVWd Australian violist

OBITUARIESFELIX AYO Spanish violinist Felix Ayo has died

Tales of oldIrish folklore comes to life in a new quartet

COMPETITIONS1 Animato Quartet 3 Luka Coetzee 4 Rilian

A cellist’s best friendENDPIN

SOUND YOUR HORNMUTE

SPEAK OUTCELLO STRINGS

Life lessonsPhilippe Quint

On high groundCharlotte Gardner headed to the Swiss Alps for the Verbier Festival’s 30th-anniversary season where she was doubly dazzled by the combination of star players and the quality of the music-making

WHAT’S NEXT?US violinist Anne Akiko Meyers speaks to Rita Fernandes about her Californian roots, lifelong hunger for commissioning new works, and determination to make a lasting impact on the future of new music

SHARING the TREASUREWhen a long-lost set of Telemann bass viol fantaisies was found in a private collection a few years ago, Mikhail ‘Misha’ Galaganov set about arranging them for the viola. Here he explores the history of the works and reveals some of the challenges he encountered in his quest

FROM VATICAN TO VARNISHThe 19th-century violin maker Filippo de Filippi had an unusual route to his chosen career, taking in the Papal court, the Risorgimento and Rome’s cultural milieu. Stefano Pio explores his intriguing life

CHILDHOOD JOURNEYSViolist Hiyoli Togawa speaks to Carlos María Solare about her latest recording, Children!, which mixes new music with Bach and is based around the themes of childhood memories and family love

A FRESH STARTTaking on other people’s ex-pupils can be a tricky business – especially when they come with ingrained unhealthy habits. Focusing on upper strings, Alun Thomas outlines what may need to be addressed to make progress

RENAISSANCE MANAs a luthier, musician, composer, teacher and successful businessman, Luigi Mozzani spread his talents far and wide. Lorenzo Frignani examines his eventful career, which produced all kinds of instruments

JAMES W. BRIGGSIN FOCUS A close look at the work

Preparing a two-piece violin topAn accurate method for sawing and preparing tonewood before the main process of carving the plate

LUTHIER GIANMARIA STELZERMY SPACE A peek into lutherie workshops around

Bringing it all back homeDutch luthier Geerten Verberkmoes details the process of making a violin using local materials from his home town of Bergen op Zoom, between October 2022 and May 2023

DVOŘÁK CELLO CONCERTO FIRST MOVEMENTMASTERCLASS

Comfort zone Finding effortless ways to playTECHNIQUE

THIS MONTH’S RECOMMENDED RECORDINGSOur pick of the new releases

New York/PhiladelphiaOpening the season in style: Yo-Yo Ma with

LondonDANISH QUARTET, JEREMY DENK (PIANO) WIGMORE HALL 15

EdinburghDavid Kettle reports on the string highlights of Nicola Benedetti’s inaugural season as the Edinburgh International Festival’s director

RECORDINGSSOUL OF BRAZIL ASSAD Glitch JOBIM Four Songs

Maud Powell: Pioneer American Violinist Karen A. Shaffer

TourtePaul Childs, Gabriel Schaff, Lucy Sante, Isaac Salchow

From the ARCHIVEViolin professor John Tiplady Carrodus (1836–95) exhorts students to show the same commitment to their craft that he did when he was a boy

IN THE NEXT ISSUE1713 ‘Boissier, Sarasate’ Stradivari violin An in-depth look

ILYA GRINGOLTSThe Romance in F minor for violin and orchestra was the first piece by Dvořák that the Russianborn violinist ever played – and a passport into the composer’s unique harmonic sound world