Valuable violin turns up OK, but many questions remain (Update)

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 12-31-2005 | Steve Rubenstein

[GOP_Proud]

< Ok. Scale of 0 - 10.
0 = dumber than a bag of hammers
10 = Albert Einstein

So where is the music dealer on this scale? >

Loaning out violins on approval is very common. It just appears that something else is going on here.

[samtheman]

got it

[samtheman]

How long has your daughter been playing?

[libstripper]

Oddly enough, I think it's a bit hard to say without knowing more about the person to whom he loaned it. When I first set out to purchase a Navigator in 2000, I wanted to test drive it a total distance of about 36 miles before buying it. The dealership loaned me the vehicle, I drove it home over a variety of roads, parked it in my garage, and drove it back to the dealership. Its sticker price was about $50,000. By loaning it to me for an unsupervised test drive they made the sale. That was the same motivation here and the uniqueness of the violin, valuable as it was, still made it very hard for anyone to dispose of it. Thus, if they reasonably viewed the potential purchaser as reliable, the loan for a tryout was probably a good idea.

[AnAmericanMother]

She started in the third grade, but her playing didn't really take off until she moved to a new school for high school. This school is very, very into music - both voice and chamber orchestra - and her playing has improved by leaps and bounds in the last four years (she's a senior now.)

Just to show how good these kids are, they play Handel's Messiah (Part I) every Christmas from the original score. No cuts, no dumbing down. They give 3-4 concerts a year from an extensive repertoire of Baroque, Romantic, and modern music. The soloists are all headed for conservatories, including Juilliard.

I'm sure it's the good influence of all those serious musicians, but I'm amazed at how good she's become. She won't be a career musician, she doesn't have either the exceptional talent or the drive for that, but she will always be a good competent amateur who enjoys music.

[randita]

follow up ping

[sitetest]

Dear randita,

Thank you very much for the ping!

What a truly strange story!

Classical Music Ping List ping!

If you want on or off this list, let me know via FR e-mail.

Thanks!


sitetest

[nuconvert]

Strange story

[mylife]

surprise! surprise! surprise!

[samtheman]

And she will love having that ability, and love you for encouraging her. What a nice story!

Happy New Year.

[6SJ7]

I don't know a lot about the specifics but a good friend of mine is a bow luther. She mends and restrings bows. People have asked her to go to Europe to repair their bows rather than ship them here. It's a whole subculture.

It is fascinating to dig into any hobby, craft, profession, etc. and see how it layers. Special magazines devoted to to the craft, special groups, sub-groups, factions. The deeper one goes, the higher the price! Not that I know a good bow from a cross bow, but I think it's neat there is a market for specialists like custom bow makers. Viva La Free Enterprise!

[308MBR]

I have lain awake for weeks, worrying myself to death about that danged fiddle. (heavy sarcasm)

[festus]

Rhee-Nakajima then changed her story, Gittens said, and admitted that the violin had never been stolen and that she had filed a false police report.

You could smell this a mile away.

[TontoKowalski]

She won't be a career musician, she doesn't have either the exceptional talent or the drive for that, but she will always be a good competent amateur who enjoys music.

And isn't that the real goal? At 10, Tonto Junior shows real promise, and as I said on the previous thread on this topic, we're already looking at upgrading our piano. He's on his first week of learning to play the guitar at home, and has expressed some interest in a violin. Still, the percentage of young people who will translate their ability to a professional career is small.

I don't believe he has the passion required to become exceptionally good, and that's OK. He has too many other interests, and he's not going to dedicate more than an hour or so a day to practice.

My hope for him is that he'll mature in his abilities, and with that, will come an increase in his enjoyment of music.

Besides that, with his future careers as a Professional Golfer, Brain Surgeon, and Constitutional Scholar, who much time will he have to dedicate to a fourth professional pursuit?

[Jaded]

The first time my daughter bought a 'real viola' it was a painful experience. 3 months of slogging aroung Houston. She finally settled on one that was made by a friend of a friend. The guy had won many awards for his violins and violas and made one for the principal violinist in Miami, I believe.

Then there was the accident. The original maker who could have fixed it had passed away.

Her professor had called in some favors. The new one was love at first site. I told her she pays for the next one.

[Dr. Bogus Pachysandra]

I took a violin and bows to a music dealer. $50 for the violin. $750 for the Max Wunderlich bow. And that was almost 20 years ago!

[Pablo64]

"It is the same to a guitarist as the amplifier he uses.

Watch out! There are some guitarists who would tell you that electric guitars and amplifiers are an abomination. Some purists don't even like the accoustical guitars that are amplified. And don't even start a conversation about which brand/guage of strings are the best, LOL!

[mtbopfuyn]

Thanks for the update. The story sounded suspicious from the get go.

[Drew68]

And don't even start a conversation about which brand/guage of strings are the best, LOL!

If you don't use GHS Boomers .010"-.046" then you're a liberal puke!

;-)

[Pablo64]

Not on my Alvarez 12-string!! Never! ;-)