ContributorsSEAN BISHOP (In Focus, page 61) is a

SOUNDPOSTLetters, emails, online comments

CHECKLISTQuestions to help you find the right course and to prepare you for life as a student

INSPIRED TO SUCCEEDFind out where you can study with some of the string world’s most in-demand pedagogues

COURSE LISTINGSARGENTINA Taller Escuela de Música y Artes (TEMA),

Edith Cnockaert, violinKoninklijk Conservatorium Brussel, Brussels

Kristian Mráček, violinPrague Conservatoire, Prague

Sophie Kauer, celloNorwegian Academy of Music, Oslo

Élise Hiron, violaHaute École de Musique de Lausanne, Sion Campus

Elliot Kempton, violaGuildhall School of Music & Drama, London

Alyssa Barker, violinBerklee College of Music, Boston, MA

Editor’s letterOne of the marks of a great player

Rise and shineNews and events from around the world this month

OBITUARIESNAM YUN KIM Korean violinist and pedagogue Nam

‘Baltic’ Guarneri sells for $9.44 million at auctionThe c.1731 ‘Baltic’ Guarneri ‘del Gesù’ sold for

PREMIERE of the MONTHMAN OF THE AUER: Italian violinist Giuseppe Gibboni

COMPETITIONS1 Trio Menil 2 Abel Selaocoe 3 Nicola

On the goMUSIC STAND

GOLDEN TOUCHVIOLIN STRINGS

TWICE AS NICEVIOLIN CASE

Life lessonsCatherine Hewgill

RC WILLIAMS COMPANYRCWilliamsCompany.com

Pride of NorwayMusicians, luthiers and experts converged on Oslo’s National Museum in February for ‘Master to Master’, a feast for the eyes, ears and brain. Christian Lloyd reports on a full-on celebration of fine instruments

‘I WANT TO LIVE EVERY NOTE OF THE MUSIC’The Russian-born UK-based violinist Alina Ibragimova is famed for her versatility and an intensely honest musical approach. She speaks to Jessica Duchen about her influences and plans for the future, including an increasing focus on playing–directing

BEYOND THE LIMITSSince its creation in 2001, the charity Luthiers sans Frontières has brought the tools and skills for violin making to some of the poorest countries in the world. Peter Somerford speaks to representatives of the UK and US chapters to discover its impact over the past two decades

STEPPING OUT OF THE SHADOWSMyra Ross began to lose what vision she had in her teens, but that hasn’t stopped her pursuing her passion for playing the viola and the violin. She writes about her experience as a blind string player, and the skills she has learnt in order to enjoy playing orchestral and, above all, chamber music

TWENTIETH CENTURY CLASSICShostakovich’s Cello Sonata is a cornerstone of the repertoire, but with the composer’s own interpretative view seemingly shifting during his lifetime, it’s hard to know what he really meant. Cellist and Shostakovich scholar Elizabeth Wilson examines the puzzle of the different editions

TOTAL IMMERSIONBritish violinist Rachel Podger tells Toby Deller why making her new disc of C.P.E. Bach with keyboard player Kristian Bezuidenhout was an intense and all-consuming experience

ROOM TO BREATHEIn the first of two articles investigating how the arching of violin plates affects tone, Nigel Harris presents evidence, theoretical and experimental, regarding the ‘breathing action’ of the plates

GAETANO ANTONIAZZI A close look at the work of great and unusual makers

Restoring the octagon of a violin bowMakers reveal their special techniques

MICHALIS PANTELIDESLUTHIER

Artists in resonance Points of interest to violin and bow makers

GLAZUNOV ELEGY IN G MINOR FOR VIOLA AND PIANO OP.44Violist Paul Laraia explores the lyrical possibilities of this miniature masterpiece and the emotional journey on which it takes the listener

Sound connectionsSostenuto: how to sing on the violin

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

RECORDINGSCAROLINE BITTENCOURT AUERBACH 24 Preludes for violin and

BOOKSMATADOR PUBLISHING Jacksons, Monk & Rowe and the

From the ARCHIVESpanish virtuoso Pablo de Sarasate gives an exclusive interview to The Strad in his eye-wateringly bright yellow salon in Paris

IN THE NEXT ISSUEAyanna Witter-Johnson The British cellist and singer– songwriter

ANTOINE TAMESTITThe French violist has performed Mozart’s Sinfonia concertante with a host of different violin soloists, but the second movement still packs a hefty emotional punch