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Augustin Handelich Got a New Violin He Says is Better Than his Old Strad!

Aspen Public Radio | By Chris Mohr
Published July 20, 2026 at 4:41 PM MDT

Violinist Augustin Hadelich played a Stradivarius for years, and now plays a del Jesu, which he says has a more even tone. It certainly shined in his recent performance of the greatest American violin concerto ever composed, by Samuel Barber in 1939. APR Sunday live broadcast host Chris Mohr talks with him about his new violin, and the uniquely beautiful violin concerto of America's own Samuel Barber.
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Classical Music from Aspen
Chris Mohr
Classical music reporter Chris Mohr has loved classical music since he was twelve. “And I owe it all to radio,” Chris explains. “I grew up in a farm town east of Cleveland. One day I turned on the local classical radio station. They were playing Vivaldi, and it was like the gates of heaven opened up to me!" Chris is also a composer, and is working on a 53-note-to-the-octave oratorio, "Melodies of the Shoreless Sea." This is his 11th summer working for Aspen Public Radio.
See stories by Chris Mohr