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Violinist.com members may keep personal journals on the website. Violinist.com's editor selects the best entries for the column below. Links to all other recent blog posts may be found in the column on the right.

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V.com weekend vote: How much did your violin cost?

By The Weekend Vote
March 19, 2010 14:57

Today I was chatting with some friends, one who is looking at buying a pretty pricey fiddle.

It probably costs more than your house. Like double.

It made me think about my own decision to buy a fine fiddle, and how glad I am that I bought my violin -- and not a house -- in 2006!

Now, it didn't cost the same as a house, but it did require a loan, which I'm still paying. It was a lot like buying a very, very nice car.

What did your violin cost? I've purposely made this a little bit vague, relating the cost to other purchases people typically make: a computer, a car, a house. Also, let's talk about what it cost, not about what you believe it is now worth, for the sake of the poll. It's too easy to enter the realm of fantasy here -- though I was happy to hear that fiddles continue to increase in value. Also, please share your thoughts about buying a violin, violins as investments, etc., below in the comments section.

poll by twiigs.com

14 replies

Thank you to Violinist.com's March advertisers

By Robert Niles
March 19, 2010 09:21

I'd like to take a moment to thank the violin shops, retailers and music programs who are advertising on Violinist.com in March. Their financial support helps Laurie and I to keep the site running and filled with great new interviews and features.

So thank you to our returning advertisers:

As well as to our new and returning advertisers this month:

A. Cavallo Violins is promoting its "Art of Sound" exhibition, which begins today and runs through April 9. And Deutsche Grammophon is presenting the latest from violinist Daniel Hope, "Air: A Baroque Journey," with works by Bach, Handel, Pachelbel and more.

We hope that you will show your appreciation for these advertisers' support of Violinist.com by considering them when you're making a decision about violin- and music-related purchases, or your violin career.

If you run a music-related business, or are an administrator at a music school, competition or camp, we invite you to consider supporting this lively community by becoming an advertiser on Violinist.com.

Thank you, again, to everyone who has helped make Violinist.com such a fun and informative community!

0 replies

Not Just for Kids

By Mendy Smith
March 17, 2010 20:25

As Laurie mentioned, it is that time of year again to submit applications for summer camps and festivals. I put in my submission a few weeks ago for Interlochen's Adult Chamber Music Camp and received an e-mail the other day that I am confirmed. This will be my third year. I'm looking forward to this more than ever before. This year my "stand-partner-in-crime" will be joining me and we are making it a road trip from Houston to Traverse City and back. We have signed up for a two day pre-organized intensive study: Brandenburg #6, Bridge's Lament and Daugherty 's Viola Zombies. Yes, Viola Zombies. Think "Twilight Zone". Besides the normal excitement of being able to indulge myself in what I love for a week, I'm also looking forward to seeing my old viola teacher again and introducing him to my stand-partner-in-crime. We are hoping that the two-day intensive will be with my old teacher. Who else better to guide us through the techniques needed to perform "Viola Zombies"? Read more...
1 reply

Violin Community News 2010, Op. 10

By Laurie Niles
March 17, 2010 12:13

It's been a difficult week for a number of violinists who received notice that they must return violins lent to them by Southern California collector Peter Mandell. Among these violinists is Lindsay Deutsch, who was told that she must return the 1742 Sanctus Seraphin, which she has been playing for seven years, by April 19. "It's a very special violin, it's the best violin I've ever had the opportunity to play on," Lindsay said. "Back when I first started playing it, it was shocking to see how much of a difference it could make how good a violin could be." Without the violin, Lindsay has many concerts to play, but "I absolutely don't have a piece of wood to play on," she said. "I don't know what I'm going to do. It's your worst nightmare come true." She said she welcomes any leads!

* * *

The American String Teachers Association and Coda Bow are taking applications through March 31 for a program in which they will donate carbon fiber bows to string programs throughout the United States. It looks like you need to be a member of ASTA to qualify.

* * *

Haitian violinist Romel Joseph has been released from the hospital, and this CNN story includes some video of him trying the violin again...

15 replies

Music by O'Carolan for St. Patrick's Day

By Pauline Lerner
March 17, 2010 00:30

Turlough O'Carolan, the blind Irish harper, composer, and itinerant musician is one of Ireland's best known and loved musicians. He was born in 1670, and when he was 14 years old, his father went to work at an iron foundary owned by the McDermott family -- an unplanned blessing for Turlough. Mrs. McDermott was impressed by Turlough's intelligence, and she had him educated with her children until he was 18. When he was 14, disaster struck him. He was stricken with smallpox and became permanently blind. There were few employment opportunities for the blind in Ireland at that time, and most blind people became musicians. Turlough studied the harp for 3 years and then became a wandering ministrel. He stayed at the home of one nobleman after another, composing and playing his harp for the families he lived with. He often wrote songs for his employers, called Planxty (Name) meaning In Honor of (Name). Living among the aristocracy, he was exposed to Italian classical music, which influenced his compositions. When he died in 1738, he was well known as one of Ireland's greatest bards. (See this website for more details.)

Although O'Carolan wrote for the harp, his music is now played by many people on many instruments, including me on violin.

Celebrate St. Patrick's Day by listening to some of O'Carolan's gentle music. You won't hear this music in Irish pubs.

Here is Planxty George Brabazon on harps and other instruments.

9 replies

Festivals and Camps Listings Are Up-to-Date!

By Laurie Niles
March 16, 2010 15:37

Dear V.commies,

At long last, I have brought all our Festivals and Camps Listings up to date on Violinist.com. You should now find, on ALL pages, links that work and dates that are current, with only a handful of exceptions for dates that have not yetbeen set. I hope these listings will prove useful for both those who are looking for a camp or festival, and for those trying to get the word out about their own.

Deadlines for most of these are rapidly approaching (some are past), so get yourself going if you wish to apply for a camp, festival or institute for this summer.

A huge thanks to those people who kept their listings current, or who brought the listing for their favorite camp/festival/institute up to date.Any Violinist.com member can submit a camp, festival or institute to our listings, and also any member can edit these listings. This is a service we offer for free, for the good of the community, and the more you can help us keep these listings comprehensive and current, the better.

Happy summer planning!

0 replies

Excessive scales?

By Stephen Brivati
March 15, 2010 21:39

Greetings,

thanks for posting this great stuff about Vadim Repin in a recent blog. A marvelous player who is/will be a very powerful teaching force in my opinion.

I do respectfully disagree with one of his points and am sufficently moved to write a blog on the subject. I not only think it is unnecessary to practice scales for two hours per day, but I actually think in many cases it could actually be if not harmful at least a less useful way of spending time than doing other aspects of playing.

This might sound a bit strong/opinionated but if one takes a look across a broad spectrum of violinists then two hours of scales is quite a long way from the norm. And when things are outside the norm one should raise questions. To give some examples before I go on, DeLay recommended one hour of scales within the context of five hours practice; Flesch spoke in terms of less than an hour within an even more truncated regime; Midori concentrates on upcoming repertoire for however long it takes; Ilya Gringolts wrote on this site that his professional soloist and high level colleagues practiced in his view an average of 1 and half hours per day and so forth. Frankly I think it the experience of most of us to consider an hour of scales more likely... Read more...

28 replies

Advice from Masterclass by Vadim Repin

By Anne-Marie Proulx
March 14, 2010 20:17

I had the luck to watch, in February, as an audience member, a masterclass by Vadim Repin at Montreal conservatory. It was very interesting to see how this very talented violinist teach. Making everything clear and mimicks when words aren't ennough to explain well. In fact, I have saw two 3 hours masterclasses with Repin over the years. I just wanted to share a few tricks he told and mention that it's all things regularly discussed here on v.com! A very good new according to me. - Even advanced students still have slight posture problems with lifting the left shoulder, tension, not using all the bow parts and such. So Repin was very clear about the fact that one had to lift the violin from the left shoulder and hold the scrool slightly up since it's the only way to gain a flexible left hand able to do variet and coulours in vibrato. (and shift smoothly) The violin is mainly hold by the left hand; it should be seen as an extension of the left hand. - One has to FIGHT this natural tendency the body has to tense the left hand when you play forte and energically with the bow... - exagerate creshendos when needed. Do not just play short notes as if you don't care. - never do a same melody that repeats twice the same - In Brahms, don't play for your grand-mother as he said so well... Do it magistral, grandiose. Hungarian music is like dance so really put this energy on the notes that need it. It's important to end well the short notes. In Brahms, also don't slow tempo when not written - super important for sound (as students sometimes played well but with not ennough sound according to Repin...) Good contact with the strings... use this index on your bow hand...

11 replies

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Laurie Niles
Violinist.com's editor is a professional symphony violinist and former newspaper journalist who interviews top violin performers and pedagogues, as well as reports on her experience in violin music and education.