Million dollar Guadagnini violin - thrashed!

[amerikajinda]

After seeing this picture of his jeans, he deserves to have fallen on his violin!

 

[amerikajinda]

Originally Posted by antirabbit

When starting out this is the challenge, what do you find first a great bow or great violin? I opted for a bow, which enabled me to find the right violin down the road.
I would say first and foremost, find your violin. Most violinists have a few bows depending on the situations they may encounter (e.g., one bow for orchestral playing, another for chamber music, a third for practicing which is lighter -- to conserve energy), a fourth for recitals, and a fifth more secure bow for performing as a soloist with orchestras. Violinist - how many bows do you have? And have you ever played with a Peccatte, Sartory, Voirin, Vuillaume, Pajeot, Kittel, or Tourte bow?

 

[amerikajinda]

Here's a violin bow for sale for $25,000:

 

[Violinist]

..

 

[amerikajinda]

Originally Posted by Violinist

I own a Peccatte, and a while ago I had a gold mounted Sartory. I've played a few Kittels, including one of only 5 gold and tortoiseshell mounted ones, worth somewhere over 100k. I've played a number of Tourte's, some of them in the 300,000 range. I don't think people have bows for chamber or practicing or orchestra. People with multiple bows choose which to use based on humidity and repertoire. Different kinds of weather will affect differnet bows, especially really supple sticks. Sometimes you need a stiffer bow, for Shostakovich and Bartok concertos for example. You might use a Voirin if you're playing certain Paganini or Wienawski F#- concerto. I know that for Bruckner, many orchestral musicians have a special, very light bow, because of the hours of tremolo you have to play in those symphonies.
Thank you -- that's very interesting! Let me ask -- what would be the best bow for the Mozart Concertos -- something lighter? If you have any pics of your Peccate or of your late Sartory that would be awesome if you'd post them... and you might have mentioned it in another thread -- but what violin are you currently playing with? It wasn't a Storioni was it? I may be thinking of someone else... but if you have any pics of your violin that would be awesome if you'd post those too. Thanks in advance!

 

[antirabbit]

I found finding a bow that suited my style, and I was comfortable with in all situations before finding the violin, made finding the violin easier.

Oddly, I play on early 20th century bow and violin.

I pretty much specialized in 20 th century concerti.

For mozart, you want a bow with loads of control and a lightness. Something I care not to have in most situations.
I had an HR Pfretchzner bow that was great for Mozart and the like. It was also good for showing off. My teacher and his line of players all have the most amazing flying spicatto (both up and down), and I found this bow to do wonderful for passages that required that.
But, what I really loved to play was music that required a huge sound and lots of aggression, so I never really used it except for Bruckner symphonies and some chamber/quartet use and the odd times I had to play show pieces and Mozart.
I sold it to buy my wifes engagement ring.

I am a bow freak, now that I have the income, i should start collecting. I dont want to break up my rig though, so it would be just a collection.

 

[antirabbit]

Originally Posted by amerikajinda

After seeing this picture of his jeans, he deserves to have fallen on his violin!

Is that a fake tat to go with the fake jeans?

 

[amerikajinda]

Originally Posted by antirabbit

I found finding a bow that suited my style, and I was comfortable with in all situations before finding the violin, made finding the violin easier. Oddly, I play on early 20th century bow and violin. I pretty much specialized in 20 th century concerti. For mozart, you want a bow with loads of control and a lightness. Something I care not to have in most situations. I had an HR Pfretchzner bow that was great for Mozart and the like. It was also good for showing off. My teacher and his line of players all have the most amazing flying spicatto (both up and down), and I found this bow to do wonderful for passages that required that. But, what I really loved to play was music that required a huge sound and lots of aggression, so I never really used it except for Bruckner symphonies and some chamber/quartet use and the odd times I had to play show pieces and Mozart. I sold it to buy my wifes engagement ring. I am a bow freak, now that I have the income, i should start collecting. I dont want to break up my rig though, so it would be just a collection.
Check out Heifetz at the 5:23 mark... that's some serious spiccato!! Also, check out the spiccato from 7:33... sublime. Also check out the Concertmaster from :05 to :10 rapping on the back of his violin with his bow! I mean, wtf? And what happened at 7:02? Was that a mistake or his own transcription?

 

[Violinist]

..

 

[crazyquik]

Originally Posted by amerikajinda

Another theory is the idea that wood grown during the Little Ice Age (Maunder Minimum ~1645-1750) was used to construct Stradivari's instruments. This theory bases itself upon the high density of this wood; some consider it 'ideal' for making stringed instruments. Trees that grew during this freezing period contained tree rings which were closer together and denser than would be produced in more temperate conditions.

Further evidence for the "ice age theory", comes from a simple examination of the dense growth rings in the wood used in Stradivari's instruments.

Yet another possible explanation is that the wood originated and was harvested from the forests of northern Croatia. This javor wood is known for its extreme density due the slow growth from harsh Croatian winters. Croatian wood was a commodity traded by Venetian merchants of this era and is still used for crafting musical instruments by local luthiers to this day.


Stupid global warming

Blame Bush

 

[amerikajinda]

Originally Posted by Violinist

It was an early period Sartory, before he became so commercial and boring. They're far more rare and prized by collectors, which is why I got an excellent price for it.

I don't have any pictures on this computer, everything was lost on the old laptop (I posted about it here a few months ago).

I have a Scarampella. For the Peccatte I'd have to scan the certificate, which I should probably do soon anyways.

For Mozart I'd use an earlier bow like Pajeot or Persois which is perfect for this repertoire. When I have an extra 30,000 I really want to seriously consider buying a Pajeot.

Nice! Scarampella... does it sound like a Guad?

I'm sure you're familiar with the story of the lost Scarampella:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/05/ny...on&oref=slogin

 

[amerikajinda]

My current favorite violinist: Hilary Hahn http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqokU...eature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lh3D_...eature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZN10...eature=related http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZN10...eature=related Anybody know what violin she's using? Who are your favorite violinists? (Violinist - don't say "me"

)

 

[Violinist]

Originally Posted by amerikajinda

My current favorite violinist: Hilary Hahn

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqokU...eature=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lh3D_...eature=related

Who are yours?

(Violinist - don't say "me"

)


Ferras

 

[antirabbit]

Originally Posted by amerikajinda

Check out Heifetz at the 5:23 mark... that's some serious spiccato!! Also, check out the spiccato from 7:33... sublime.




Also check out the Concertmaster from :05 to :10 rapping on the back of his violin with his bow! I mean, wtf?

And what happened at 7:02? Was that a mistake or his own transcription?

That is not a flying spicatto in the sense I am talking about.

I am drawing a blank on a good example, but imagine that passage done on either an up or down bow.




at 2:09 that should be done on a down bow but sound like it did. I love this piece, one of the few show pieces I like.

 

[Violinist]

Originally Posted by antirabbit

That is not a flying spicatto in the sense I am talking about.

I am drawing a blank on a good example, but imagine that passage done on either an up or down bow.




at 2:09 that should be done on a down bow but sound like it did. I love this piece, one of the few show pieces I like.



If you want you see flying staccatto... it doesn't get much better than that.



In this clip (around 40 seconds) there's really good ricochet (which is infact what you're talking about). There's a lot of that and flying staccato.