Edward Elgar found the process of writing the Violin Concerto agonizing at times; throughout it all, Alice Stuart-Wortley was his confidante, egging him on when his energy was flagging.
The fragrance of varnish and curing wood drifts by as you enter Side Door Strings, transporting you to an era when objects and the tools that built them were all made by hand. A violin in the raw sits ...