
March 13, 2006 at 1:02 AM
Well......the violin was old....so was the guy who had played it !!It had belonged to my friend's old uncle, who had lived to be 103 years old. His mom had given him the violin when he graduated back at the turn of the century. He played professionally in NYC for a time, until he was called into service in WWl. During the war he lost a good portion of his hearing and so could no longer play professionally, but could still play very well. He played this old violin to a ripe old age, even after loosing about all of his hearing....he passed in 1991. Since then this old violin has layed in it's case collecting dust...and my friend wanted to find someone who would play it. I volunteered ! :-D
I tried to buy it from her but she wouldn't sell. She's very attached to it...family heirloom and all. We took it to Charles Magby in Ct. to get it appraised. Turns out it's a 250 year old saxon violin made somewhere in France. The top is not original to the rest of the violin and there is no label inside telling who the maker was. It has a beautifully hand carved one piece back with a high arch. It isn't worth much monetarily, but it's in pretty good shape and has a WONDERFUL melow clear even tone. (I had a few folk who know how to play, run it through it's paces for me....they were all VERY pleased with it...especially on the "G" )
So, I had a violin....and signed up for lessons ! I don't know how to read a note of music, have no background in it at ALL ! I can't even sing....lol... I'm 39 years old...and I'm going to play the violin...........AHHAAHHAAAA !
Yeah, I thought it was pretty funny too !
This entry has been archived and is no longer accepting comments.
Violinist.com is made possible by...
Violinist.com Holiday Gift Guide
Dimitri Musafia, Master Maker of Violin and Viola Cases
International Violin Competition of Indianapolis
Johnson String Instrument/Carriage House Violins
Discover the best of Violinist.com in these collections of editor Laurie Niles' exclusive interviews.

Violinist.com Interviews Volume 1, with introduction by Hilary Hahn

Violinist.com Interviews Volume 2, with introduction by Rachel Barton Pine