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From the All Things Strings Community Online 
How to Record Stringed Instruments Successfully
As both a violinist and recording engineer, I’ve spent a great deal of time testing out different techniques, equipment, and approaches for successfully recording string players. Well, since people often ask me what the best approach is, I figured I would try and shed some light on the subject for those of you who are interested.
[READ THE BLOG]
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In This Issue of Strings. . .
Although you may not want to consider the possibility of losing or damaging your beloved instrument, it’s better to be safe than sorry. Strings lutherie editor Erin Shrader gives tips on choosing an insurance company and helps to explain the right policy to suit your needs.
[READ MORE]
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This Week’s Gear Review
Pinstop Cello Stop
On the list of life’s pleasures, the simplest can be the most elusive. For cellists, having a truly secure spot for your endpin surely ranks high. Along with the classic foam rock stop and a panoply of straps, cellists can now test the merits of the Pinstop, an adhesive-backed anchor about the size of four stacked credit cards. The inventor, a cellist, was inspired by the reusable adhesive used to hold climbing skins on her skis. Pinstop cello stop, black recycled plastic, $10; elegant maple model, $20. pinstoponline.com |
News Update
Carleen Hutchins, 1911–2009 
Luthier, acoustician, and creator of the “new violin family,” Carleen Maley Hutchins died August 7 at her home in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire. She was 98. Challenged by composer Henry Brant in 1957, Hutchins made an octet of violins proportional in size and pitch that hold the range of seven octaves to fill sonic gaps left by the traditional string family. She also popularized free-plate-tuning, a technique used for graduating backs and tops of violins before assembly. A science teacher, she came to the viola in her mid 30s. She learned violin making from Karl Berger and worked with Harvard physicist Frederick A. Saunders on acoustics. In 1963, she founded the Catgut Acoustical Society. Yo-Yo Ma recorded Bartók’s Viola Concerto on one of her alto violins. The Hutchins Consort continues to play her instruments. |
Mark Wood on the Move
Mark Wood has announced that he’s leaving the Trans-Siberian Orchestra after 13 years to focus on other projects. You can catch him live in the studio at WLIW21, a New York public-access TV station, on August 13 at 9 pm when he presents the premiere of the Mark Wood Experience, a half-hour performance special. He’ll play “Vivaldi Rocks,” “Hoedown,” and “Hands Across the Ocean,” on his Viper, a seven-string, fretted electric violin. markwoodmusic.com |
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Escala in the Park 
Escala—the all-female electric string quartet that gained fame from the TV show Britain’s Got Talent—will star in Proms in the Park, Hyde Park, London, on September 12, the last night of BBC’s Proms 2009, which will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 2. The quartet—violinists Victoria Lyon and Izzy Johnston, violist Chantal Leverton, and cellist Tasya Hodges—recently released a self-titled debut featuring works by Handel, Barber, and Led Zeppelin, among others. bbc.co.uk/proms/2009/promsinthepark/london.shtml
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New Music Stimulus Package
Meet the Composer has doubled the funds it will award to composers and performers this year. The New York–based nonprofit has announced that a total of $300,000 will be divided among 31 composers, including Steve Reich, Meredith Monk, and Nico Muhly, from the Commissioning Music/USA program. As part of MTC’s Cary New Music Performance Fund, another $150,000 will be split among 30 Manhattan-based ensembles and presenters, including the Da Capo Chamber Players and ETHEL. meetthecomposer.org |
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Minnesota Musicians Agree to Cuts
Minnesota Orchestra musicians are the latest to agree to salary and pension cuts to help the organization survive the recession. With the cuts also comes a hiring freeze, which will save the orchestra $4.2 million during the next three years of the five-year contract. “Although we had a binding contract through 2012, the musicians of the Minnesota Orchestra recognize that these are unusually challenging times,” principal harp Kathy Kienzle notes in a press release, “and we wanted to offer our help to minimize the negative impact of the recession and support our organization through this uncertain period.” |
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From the Top at the Pops on CD
From the Top, a nonprofit that showcases young classical musicians, has announced the August 25 release of the CD From the Top at the Pops on the Telarc Records label. Featured performers include violinist Chad Hoopes and cellist Matthew Allen. The premiere of composer Stephen Feigenbaum’s “Serenade for Strings” highlights the album. store.fromthetop.org |
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