Strings Magazine

1874 Violino Harpa Forma Maxima by Thomas Zach and Grigori Sturdza, Courtesy Musée de la Musique, Cité de la Musique-Philharmonie de Paris (E.668) By Brian Wise | From the May/June 2026 issue of Strings When Knoxville, Tennessee, violin maker Kelvin Scott created a set of violins featuring intricately carved heads atop their pegboxes, he saw it as a chance "to do something a little more flamboyant" without affecting the sound or playability of his instruments.

By Miranda Wilson | From the May/June 2026 issue of Strings This new release from the Irish Chamber Orchestra under conductor Jörg Widmann gathers together slightly less-known compositions by blockbuster composers. First, clarinetist Widmann joins the wind section of the orchestra for a spirited performance of Mozart's Serenade for Winds in C minor. Next up is Mendelssohn's String Symphony No. 8 in D major, which for me was the highlight of the album.

Panna Czinka By Greg Cahill | From the May/June 2026 issue of Strings During her lifetime, an adoring public hailed Panna Czinka as "The Gypsy Sappho," a sobriquet meant to honor this unorthodox lyric poet and virtuoso violinist who blazed the trail for female musicians and inspired thousands of Hungarian ensembles over the past 300 years.

Gautier Capuçon performing on Mont Blanc to draw attention to climate change, Photo: Bertrand Delapierre/Parlophone Records Ltd. By Thomas May | From the May/June 2026 issue of Strings While traveling across the Pacific en route to Australia, composer John Luther Adams found himself scanning the horizon-the shifting line where sea meets sky.

The Forte3D team on Shark Tank: Mike Block, left, Alfred Goodrich, and Elijah Lee, Christopher Willard © 2025 Disney. All rights reserved. By Emily Wright | From the May/June 2026 issue of Strings There are three hardships endemic to string playing that rule a musician's relationship with their instrument: First, the difficulty. Second, the expense. Third, a stringed instrument's fragile, temperamental nature.

Gustav Mahler, Photo: A. Dupont, N.Y. By Robert Markow | From the May/June 2026 issue of Strings The First Symphony (1919-27) by English composer Havergal Brian (1876-1972) is slightly longer, by about ten minutes (depending, of course, on who is conducting). Nicknamed the "Gothic," it is also a record-breaker for the mind-boggling forces required: a 150-piece orchestra, four additional brass ensembles, five choirs, four vocal soloists, and organ.

Explore our directory of College & Conservatory programs to find the school that may be right for you (or your students!) This special advertising section originally appeared in the September/October 2026 issue of Strings magazine.

The oldest surviving copy of Johann Pachelbel's Canon and Gigue in D major, Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin (scan), IMSLP user Feduol (IMSLP upload) By Benjamin Shute | From the May/June 2026 issue of Strings I must admit to experiencing a twinge of sadness whenever I hear wedding musicians lament Pachelbel's Canon as the bane of their existence.

Marie Soldat-Roeger, Photo: Theodor Prümm By Miranda Wilson | From the May/June 2026 issue of Strings Marie Soldat-Roeger (1863-1955) was a 19th-century rarity, a woman violinist in an era when that distinction still carried a faint suggestion of being "unladylike." Yet Soldat-Roeger won the respect of some of the finest musicians of her time, including Clara Schumann, who described her as "a true artist by nature, and probably-in terms of warmth and enthusiasm-the most important woman...

C. 1715 Daniel Parker viola, London, Photo: Matthew Johnson By Cliff Hall | From the May/June 2026 issue of Strings There was a time when the Austrian maker Jacob Stainer (c. 1617-1683) reigned supreme. "In England, France, Germany, and Holland, it was the same; especially in England, as Stainer influence was early imported here-soon after 1700," posited W. Henry Hill, Arthur F. Hill, and Alfred E. Hill in their 1902 edition Antonio Stradivari: His Life and Work (1644-1737).