The Experience- From The Top, NPR's Classical Music Program for Youth

By Matt Lammers of Fein Violins

This past June (2011) my string quartet, the Malik String Quartet, was invited to perform on National Public Radio's youth-in-classical-music showcase program "From the Top". We were thrilled; "From the Top" is a hearty dose of protein for any resume. As a matter of fact it's safe to say you'd have difficulty finding a major competition anywhere in the United States without "From the Top" somewhere in the program biographies. We (and our coach too, it must be said) were nervous on top--rather, from the top--of our excitement.

The Strad Disaster: Spanish Cello Damaged During Photo Shoot

By Matt Lammers and Andy Fein, Luthier at Fein Violins

As of a little over three weeks ago the Spanish Royal Palace is faced with a problem that has classical musicians everywhere cringing: the 1694 Stradivarius cello known as the "Spanish" was severely damaged during a routine photo shoot. While the cello was being positioned alongside its counterparts, the two violins and viola of the "Spanish Quartet," it was knocked off its side from a table onto the floor.

Vera Martinez, Abel Tomas (violins), Jonathan Brown (viola), and Arnau Tomas (cello) of the Casals Quartet, who currently perform using Stradivarius' Spanish Quartet

image from the Casals Quartet website