Comments

I have read and enjoyed the book very much. I also want to add that I know Eugene Drucker and have played that violin (the Zygmuntowicz) many times; it is a marvelous instrument But, if the average decent player goes to Zyg would he or she get the same quality violin or was this a special effort? Thanks for heads-up on this book! I look very much forward to it. Daniel Phillips left his Strad at home and played his Sam Z. in the Beethoven violin concerto with us in New Britain Symphony last month. I've loved Phillips' style for decades, and treasured meeting him and hearing him again. And the violin sounded awesome, just great. Everyone was asking about it (and I heard about bow, but like an idiot I forget now...). Looking forward to your Sam Z. interview, Laurie! I feel a need to defend Sam for a moment here. It makes no sense to me when people suggest that he would hoard all of his best violins for the most visable clients, and I will tell you why.
When Sam starts to work on your violin, it is YOUR violin. By that I mean you have likely made certain requests regarding model (almost all do actually), the specific violin to be copied, or even more specific requests regarding the wood to be used. So from the beginning, the violin is lined up for you. I have seen Joshua Bell's violin "in the works" sitting on the shelf next to a violin being made for a less well known collegue, and in both cases, and in every case, I am sure, Sam is hoping for them both to be exactly what the player was looking for, and what he was trying to achieve.
The implication that he saves his best work for a soloist is as silly as the idea that a concert artist saves his best playing for the big cities... No. Any true artist, and Sam is one of the finest I have ever known in any field, has a standard to which they hold themselves... I'd love to read the book. My friend and i were talking about the travels a violin has in its journey...amazing to realize that every violin, just like every human being, has its own biography and adventures. It sounds like a wonderful book. Thanks for telling us about it, Laurie.