News & features

worst things about playing the violin

The 10 worst things about playing the violin

Squeaky chairs

The very best duets for musical instrument… and chair

Min Kym

What’s it actually like to be a child prodigy? Violinist Min Kym explains

Nicola Benedetti has been victim to “three or four” serious cases of stalking

Nicola Benedetti ‘has learned to live with’ her stalker

Violin animal noises

Violinist makes ANIMAL noises on his instrument

Ray Chen performs on a plane

Violinist Ray Chen played his Strad to entertain a load of frustrated plane passengers

cheap and expensive violin bow

Can you hear the difference between a $500 and $160,000 violin bow?

Valletta, Malta

Music and politics in the Mediterranean: the Malta International Music Festival

World's smallest violin music

What’s the origin of the ‘world’s smallest violin’?

Ray Chen at the Malta International Music Festival

'Some competitions haven't been good at keeping their integrity' - violinist Ray Chen

Esther Abrami Florian Leonhard

Can you hear the difference between a £10 million Stradivarius and an exact copy?

Menuhin Competition RPO

Diana Adamyan just won the 2018 Menuhin Competition - and her winning Bruch concerto was astonishing

Quiz: Can you name the violin parts

Quiz: Can you name all the parts of a violin?

Anne Sophie Mutter

Anne-Sophie Mutter: ‘When I was young, there were a lot of Harvey Weinsteins around’

Case Notes Min Kym

We investigate what happened to Min Kym’s £1.2m stolen Stradivarius violin

string instruments quiz

How well do you know your string instruments?

Viola fail

Try not to jump out of your seat at this hilarious viola fail