We had such a good time at this year’s Cremona Musica exhibition. From meeting luthiers and players to selling our popular books and posters, you can read all about it here!
Following on from the bustle of day one – which you can read about here – The Strad team continued to meet makers and players at the 2024 Cremona Musica exhibition, also watching many exciting performances.
Team Strad
Our eleven-strong team covered all bases during the exhibition. On the stand, we sold a range of our books and posters (see the bestsellers below!) as well as subscriptions, with a limited-time Cremona Musica offer. Our editorial team talked with luthiers and players, gathering their opinions about the future of string playing and violin making. We loved hearing about what they enjoy reading in the magazine, as well as their own feature ideas for regulars such as Trade Secrets, Making Matters and more. We were also on the lookout for new products, and heard about everything from innovative carbon fibre soundposts to new rosin formulas.
So stay tuned for new ideas, opinions and products in upcoming magazines!
You can meet the team here:
The Bestsellers
The figures are in! The Strad’s top three most popular posters were the 1713 ‘Boissier, Sarasate’ Stradivari violin, the 1741 ‘Vieuxtemps’ Guarneri del Gesù violin, and the 1716 ‘Messiah’ Stradivari violin. Our five most popular books were The Best of Trade Secrets 6, followed by Trade Secrets 5 and Trade Secrets 4, and Great Instruments 2 and Great Instruments 1. We also had our hands full with restocking the free September 2024 issue, as copies just kept flying off the shelves! (And not in the same way as the sample posters, which had a recurring habit of launching themselves and their hangers off the rack with a great deal of noise…) Check out all of these products here:
Many dropped by to renew their subscriptions, others to start a subscription anew, and to all of you we say thanks! If you missed out, then fret not: you can still sign up for our free trial here!
The Performances
On day two, live performances popped up all over the fair, including right in front of The Strad’s stand! Violinists Jaming Jones and Philip Middel, a casemaker and violinmaker respectively, serenaded attendees with a composition by Middel. Both performed on instruments from exhibiting makers; Jones on a violin by Andreas Haensel, and Middel on a violin by Thomas van der Heyd. Hungarian star violinist Roby Lakatos performed with his group at Thomastik-Infeld’s stand and could be spotted trying violins at other stalls later in the day.
That same evening, The Strad team attended the Unisono Exhibition’s Amorim Duo Recital at Amorim Fine Violins, enjoying a performance by violinist Evin Blomberg – who played the 1741 ‘Ebersolt’ Guarneri ‘del Gesù’ and Luiz Amorim’s copy of the 1737 ‘Panette’ Guarneri ‘del Gesù’ – and cellist Ilya Finkelshteyn, who played the 1730 ‘Farina’ Montagnana cello. We also attended Darling Publications’ exhibition of twelve violin makers, featuring both intricate bows and beautiful instruments, which later saw live traditional music and dancing in the courtyard!
Wrapping Up
It’s been a whirlwind of activity, but Cremona Musica has come to an end and The Strad team is back in London. We really appreciate everyone who took the time to come see us and share their stories, (including the grown-up player who has been subscribing to The Strad since they were 13!), and we’re already excited to see you again in 2025!
Until next time!
An exclusive range of instrument making posters, books, calendars and information products published by and directly for sale from The Strad.
The Strad’s exclusive instrument posters, most with actual-size photos depicting every nuance of the instrument. Our posters are used by luthiers across the world as models for their own instruments, thanks to the detailed outlines and measurements on the back.
The number one source for a range of books covering making and stringed instruments with commentaries from today’s top instrument experts.
The Canada Council of the Arts’ Musical Instrument Bank is 40 years old in 2025. This year’s calendar celebrates some its treasures, including four instruments by Antonio Stradivari and priceless works by Montagnana, Gagliano, Pressenda and David Tecchler.
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