Discover more episodes of The Strad Podcast here

Violinist Rachel Podger is no stranger to the pages of The Strad magazine, having featured in several articles and reviews throughout her prolific career. Ahead of her busy upcoming season, which sees her as artist in focus at London’s Kings Place, artistic director of Brecon Baroque Festival, a recording release of the Goldberg Variations, plus principal guest directorships with Tafelmusik in future seasons, Rachel makes her first appearance in the podcast to speak about the tools of her trade – including how she met her 1739 Pesarini/Pazarini violin, other instruments she’s met throughout her career, plus an explosive anecdote about a gut E-string. 

Rachel begins her residency as artist in focus at Kings Place on 21 September.

Bach Toccata and Fugue

Tutta Sola

Rachel Podger, violin

Channel Classics

Best of Technique

In The Best of Technique you’ll discover the top playing tips of the world’s leading string players and teachers. It’s packed full of exercises for students, plus examples from the standard repertoire to show you how to integrate the technique into your playing.

Masterclass

The Strad’s Masterclass series brings together the finest string players with some of the greatest string works ever written. Always one of our most popular sections, Masterclass has been an invaluable aid to aspiring soloists, chamber musicians and string teachers since the 1990s.

Calendars

American collector David L. Fulton amassed one of the 20th century’s finest collections of stringed instruments. This year’s calendar pays tribute to some of these priceless treasures, including Yehudi Menuhin’s celebrated ‘Lord Wilton’ Guarneri, the Carlo Bergonzi once played by Fritz Kreisler, and four instruments by Antonio Stradivari.