January 2025

We celebrate the life of cellist Jacqueline du Pré on what would have been her 80th birthday. There’s a look at tonewoods from South Africa, how to rectify wolf tones, and Daniel Hope reveals his Life Lessons. Plus Paul Huang gives a Masterclass on Mendelssohn’s Violin Concerto.

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From this month's magazine

The legacy of a legend: Jacqueline du Pré tribute

The impact of British cellist Jacqueline du Pré’s towering talent continues to endure, despite her cruelly short career. To mark 80 years since her birth on 26 January 1945, several prominent string soloists speak about the influence her playing has had on their own music making

A unique poster: ‘Paderewski, Wendling’ violin – part two

Expert and conservator Balthazar Soulier has curated this month’s poster which, for the first time, features an ‘original composite’ violin: the ‘Paderewski, Wendling’, made by Montagnana and Guarneri ‘del Gesù’. Here he places this unique instrument in context and highlights complementary information to enable a better understanding of the poster ...

Technique: Violin projection

Australian violinist Emily Sun outlines her strategies for projecting successfully on the violin

Online Exclusive Article

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A life of unimaginable possibility: the story of Jacqueline du Pré’s grandmother

What was the source of Jacqueline du Pré’s genius? To mark what would have been the great cellist’s 80th birthday on 26 January 2025, her sister Hilary Finzi tells the exclusive, extended life story of their grandmother Maud Victoria Greep, who overcame childhood poverty to give her daughter and granddaughter ...

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Family treasures: Leopold van der Pals

At the turn of the millennium, a young Scandinavian cellist discovered he had an illustrious musical forebear. Since then, a treasury of previously unperformed music has come to light. Andrew Mellor speaks to cellist Tobias van der Pals about his great-great-uncle Leopold’s legacy

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Masterclass: Mendelssohn Violin Concerto, first movement

Although this concerto is a well-known staple of the repertoire, violinists can still find opportunities to explore refreshing interpretations in this movement, says Paul Huang

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‘See each concert as the most important one in your life’ - Daniel Hope’s life lessons

The violinist on his many influences and what is at the heart of a musician’s career

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Trade Secrets: A new approach to bracing flat-back instruments

This system of ‘responsive bracing’ allows for the natural movement of the wood

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Analysis January 2025: 3D-printing technology in lutherie

The possibilities for violin makers afforded by 3D-printing technology are limitless, as a new exhibition in Cremona shows – but is there a danger of the knowledge being misused?

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Session Report: Baroque violinist Davina Clarke on The Art of Obligato

Baroque violinist Davina Clarke speaks to Harry White about her new album, The Art of Obligato, which explores the intricate interplay between vocal and instrumental lines in Bach’s sacred cantatas

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Stars of Africa: South African tonewood

Wood physicist Martina Meincken presents the results of a study investigating whether indigenous woods of southern Africa might be suitable for use as tonewood for instruments

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Sentimental Work: Anne Gastinel on Dutilleux’s 3 Strophes sur le nom de Paul Sacher

The French cellist was captivated by Dutilleux’s 3 Strophes sur le nom de Paul Sacher from the first hearing; and it also provided an opportunity to meet the composer

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Opinion: AI vs live performance?

Even with the proliferation of technology such as generative AI in the music industry, violist Toby Deller believes there will always be a strong human need to experience live performance

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In Focus: A 1937 violin by Giuseppe Castagnino

Alberto Giordano examines a 20th-century violin by the Chiavari-based luthier

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Auction Report January 2025: The nice and the good

Kevin MacDonald finds a wealth of interesting lots at the October sales in London, from fine old Italians to a fiddle by a Cumbrian farmer

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Postcard from Lesbos: Molyvos International Music Festival

On the Greek island of Lesbos, the Molyvos International Music Festival offers live chamber music to a diverse international audience, as Claire Jackson discovered