Name that alpaca -- after a violinist!

July 7, 2011 at 10:56 PM

Occasionally I get some unusual e-mail in my capacity as editor of Violinist.com. For example, yesterday:

"My wife and I raise alpacas, and every year we named them after artists. This year we've decided that we would like to use violinists. Our first cria (baby) is a female, so we would like to see a comprehensive list of female violinists. Where can we go to see such a list?

Thank you, Tom & Tsulan Balka, Lavender Fields Alpacas, Elizabeth, CO"

Here is the newborn alpaca that they'd like to name after a violinist:

Alpaca

Awwww! Shall we help them out? I'm all for anything that promotes violinists, and the art of violin!

Historic female violinists:

Maude Powell

Lady Wilhelmina Hallé

Wilma Neruda

Living female violinists:

Hilary Hahn

Anne-Sophie Mutter

Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg

Regina Carter

Rachel Barton Pine

...and in case any male alpacas join the mix:

Historical male violinists:

Nicolo Paganini

Jascha Heifetz

Isaac Stern

Living male violinists:

Ruggiero Ricci

Itzhak Perlman

Joshua Bell

Gil Shaham

Any other suggestions for Tom and Tsulan?

From Michael Divino
Posted on July 7, 2011 at 10:59 PM

My vote is Hilary!

Also:

Sarah Chang

Nurit Bar Josef (concertmaster of National Sym.)

Leila Josefowicz

Clara Jumi-Kang

From Tammy Kirwan
Posted on July 7, 2011 at 11:40 PM

Sedra Lynn Rose Bistodeau

Alex DePue

Wallace DePue

Jason DePue

Zach DePue

From Emily Liz
Posted on July 7, 2011 at 11:41 PM

Haha, awesome. I'm hoping to eventually get my list up on my website...when I do, I'll have a list of about 200 female violinists born pre-1920...that's a lot of alpacas.

As for names, I like Stefi (Geyer) and Teresina (Tua)!

From Steven Wetstein
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 12:08 AM

I think both Midori (Goto) and Akiko (Suwanai) have to be on this list for the first alpaca!

From Jack Shepard
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 12:12 AM

Lisa Batiashvili

From Corey Worley
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 12:15 AM

how about a violist!? Rebecca Clarke? :P

I do like Hilary though

From Danielle Martin
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 12:33 AM

Jelly d'Arayni

From Mateusz Papiernik
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 12:59 AM

Naoko, Sayaka, Akiko (Terai, Shoji, Suwanai) — as you can see, I have a great affection for Japanese violinists. ;-) Also, Isabelle and Wanda (Faust and Wilkomirska), the last one due to my heritage.

From Tanaeya McCoy
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 2:16 AM

Name her Ricci!

From Jefferson Dixon
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 2:15 AM

Ginette Neveu!! Ida Haendel is also a great historic (and still alive) violinist, but I prefer French names. I'm pretty sure Neveu is pronounced Ne-voo as my teacher is French and that's how he says it. It just rolls off the tongue!

From Gene Wie
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 3:52 AM

Alma Rose!

From Shumin Lim
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 7:52 AM

Isabelle Faust.

Rachel Podger

From Alice Kowalski
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 10:11 AM

She looks like a Hilary to me.

From Jude Ziliak
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 3:21 PM

How about Regina Strinassachi?

From Laurie Niles
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 4:55 PM

There were a healthy number of ideas from the V.com Facebook page, too: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Violinistcom/100897636577?ref=ts

For example, Leila (Josefowitz, I love her name!).

I will let everyone know what they decide! More pictures to come...

P.S. The cria's mom, or "dam," is "Emily Bronte"!

From Christopher McGovern
Posted on July 8, 2011 at 7:51 PM

Hilary Hahn, though I like to think Hilary's prettier than an alpaca!

From H. Liu
Posted on July 9, 2011 at 10:22 PM

Living male violinists:

Chuan Yun Li

Nikolai Znaider

From Haley Schricker
Posted on July 11, 2011 at 12:20 AM

For a female alpaca, the name Hilary Hahn gets my vote!

Some more historical male violinists: Eugene Ysaye, Fritz Kreisler, Nathan Milstein, David Oistrakh, Christian Ferras, Mischa Elman, Zino Francescatti, Leonid Kogan...if you wanted to include composers who were also violinists, that opens a whole other field. Felix Mendelssohn, Johann Sebastian Bach, and Wolfgang Amadaus Mozart, to name a few.

Personally, I think the name Eugene or Fritz would suit an alpaca perfectly. :)

From Nancy Sullivan
Posted on July 11, 2011 at 11:38 PM

I vote for Hilary Hahn

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