The Strad’s editor Emma Baker introduces the April 2025 issue, which stars German violinist Arabella Steinbacher and a range of other German and Austrian musicians and makers
This issue of The Strad is dedicated to the musicians and makers of Germany and Austria. Our cover star, the brilliant and versatile German violinist Arabella Steinbacher, speaks to Pauline Harding about her upcoming recording of two deeply contrasting violin concertos: Beethoven’s – a cornerstone of the Classical repertoire – and a brand new concerto entitled ‘…to beam in distant heavens…’ written especially for her by the Luxembourg-born, Australian composer Georges Lentz (b.1965). Among other subjects, she talks about how she recorded the works on two extraordinary instruments, the 1744 ‘Sainton’ Guarneri ‘del Gesù’ and the 1718 ‘Benno Walter’ Stradivari respectively, and how her interpretation of the Beethoven Concerto has changed and matured over the past 20 years.
We also feature interviews with cellist Maximilian Hornung (Life Lessons) and violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann (Sentimental Work). Carlos María Solare travels to the beautiful medieval city of Heidelberg to attend its String Quartet Festival, which recently celebrated not only its 20th year but the 90th birthday of composer-in-residence Helmut Lachenmann. Our Session Report features music by that most cosmopolitan and prolific of German Baroque composers, Georg Philipp Telemann.
In lutherie, Rudolf Hopfner takes a close look at the work of the 18th-century luthier Franz Geissenhof – the so-called ‘Viennese Stradivari’ – examining a violin made by him in 1817 and analysing the similarities and differences with the Cremonese master’s own models. And Bruce Babbitt surveys the history of the hugely industrious German violin making town of Markneukirchen.
Last but not least, Rita Fernandes explores the many pieces of concert music for strings written by Hollywood film composers past and present – where it could be argued that the musical father of the modern movie score was the Vienna-born Erich Wolfgang Korngold.
Emma Baker editor
Email me at thestrad@thestrad.com or tweet @TheStradMag
Issue summary
We talk to violinist Arabella Steinbacher and investigate the work of Viennese luthier Franz Geissenhof and the makers of Markneukirchen. There’s a look at concert music written by film composers, and we ask top string players for the best advice they’ve ever had. Plus a Saint-Saëns Masterclass and Frank Peter Zimmermann’s Sentimental Work.
Contents
ARABELLA STEINBACHER The German violinist’s latest album pairs Beethoven’s Violin Concerto with a new work written for her by Georges Lentz. Pauline Harding finds out more
FRANZ GEISSENHOF Rudolf Hopfner examines a typical violin by the Austrian luthier to ascertain how much his instruments were indebted to the work of Antonio Stradivari
CONCERT WORKS BY SCREEN COMPOSERS From Erich Wolfgang Korngold to Hildur Guðnadóttir, Rita Fernandes looks at the concert pieces by composers better known for their work writing for the movies
MAKERS OF MARKNEUKIRCHEN Although the German town is best known for its production-line instruments, much of its output leaned towards the high-end market, as Bruce Babbitt explains
SESSION REPORT Adrian Butterfield and Gavin Kibble of the London Handel Players talk to Robin Stowell about the group’s latest album of quartets by Telemann
ADVICE FROM PEERS String players’ musical education lasts long after their time at conservatoire. Charlotte Gardner discovers the best tips they’ve had from their contemporaries
IN FOCUS A 1923 Guarneri copy made by the Berlin-based luthier Michael Dötsch
TRADE SECRETS Sharon Que demonstrates her method of wing crack repair using silk
MY SPACE Bernhard Ritschard of Lübeck
MAKING MATTERS The use of tulipwood
MASTERCLASS Benjamin Beilman gives his thoughts on performing the first movement of Saint-Saëns’s Violin Concerto no.3
TECHNIQUE Double bassist Susan Hagen with tips on how to find one’s individual technique
LIFE LESSONS The memories and opinions of German cellist Maximilian Hornung
OPINION Suzuki teacher Helen Brunner reflects on the ‘beauty of earnest repetition’
POSTCARD FROM HEIDELBERG The 20th anniversary of the city’s String Quartet Festival
FROM THE ARCHIVE From April 1925
SENTIMENTAL WORK Violinist Frank Peter Zimmermann on Schumann’s Violin Concerto
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