In light of our October issue feature Finding the right bow: A marriage made in heaven, where string players and makers share their experiences of searching for the right bow, check out this video from violinist Ray Chen.

Chen is joined by Joel Link, faculty member at the Curtis Institute of Music and first violinist of the Dover Quartet. On location at Frederick Oster Fine Violins, the pair listen to each other as they try out bows, with the makers and price revealed at the end of the video.

What are your experiences of searching for the perfect bow? Comment below or send us an email at thestrad@thestrad.com

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.