Comments

I definitely agree with what you said about us speaking to the wind. When we play for others who don't understand or appreciate fine music, we are just wasting time. Also, about the school programs, I, too, agree with that. A school would give more money to, say, their football team than a school orchestra in a heart beat. At first, I wondered why all my school's sport's teams had such nice new stuff all the time while our orchestra had 10 year old $60 instruments (well, what was left of them, that is). That's why I think it's great that there's this Amati Foundation. It's definitely going to help many schools. I'll definitely try to donate to it. Laurie, your writing is very moving, especially the first three paragraphs. It's true that we violinists have a love for some very beautiful things that most people just don't understand. That is why so many of us hang out at violinist.com. Here we speak each other's language, although we don't all say the same things. This is a belated "thank you" to you and Robert for giving us such a wonderful musical home.

It is so important to strengthen music education in the public schools, not just because violin classes help students perform better in math, but for benefits that are hard to describe but are worth so much more. I once heard a nreporter interviewing Yo Yo Ma, and he asked, "Why do you spend so much time teaching?" Ma replied, with a touch of exasperation, "Because I love music, and if younger people don't learn about it, classical music will die off after this generation." He spoke with an Asian perspective which we would all be well advised to follow up on. In one of your previous blog entries, you wrote about your experience visiting an elementary school and teaching the kids about music. It sounded like you gave a wonderful lesson in the meaning of music. You encouraged the rest of us to consider doing something similar in our own local public schools. That was a great suggestion, and your advocacy of the Amati Foundation, is great, too.

I think it is a good idea. However, the Amati Foundation seems like it is trying to take on too many things at once. Obviously, it is probably not going to be a nation-wide organization for a few years, I am assuming. I like the thing for up and coming musicians. I read the site, and I see it doing well. However, the whole idea with the fourth and fifth graders. I am in 10th grade, and I don't believe I could properly take care of such a nice violin as these 9 and 10 year olds are supposed to get. I started in sixth grade playing violin in my school orchestra. Lots of bad things happen to instruments with little kids. Kids do not have much respect for anything. Even in high school, people will bump into my case when I'm walking down the hall. Ordinary people have no respect for string instruments, even the band kids. I didn't really get into violin until I got into high school, and that was during my fourth year of playing. That's when I really began respecting the violin. I just hope that young students out in Calfornia do well with these really nice instruments. I feel, though, that the instruments would be better used and cared for in a professional orchestra, because even some professionals can't afford a nice violin. Hi Charlie. Just want to clarify something with you and the other readers. The Historical Collection is loaned to professionals. These are the instruments to be made by Sam Zygmuntowicz, Joseph Curtin, Francis Kuttner, etc.

The students (beginning in grades 4 and 5) receive a nicely made Stradivari style instrument from Romania. The instrument would retail for about $1500 in the US but we purchase for under $270. We are getting cases from China and carbon fiber bows from Europe.

How were the luthiers chosen to make the famous examples?