Posted on 09/10/2006 8:02:03 PM PDT by Westlander
A group of top classical musicians has warned of the threat to artistic life from a hand baggage ban introduced after police foiled an alleged bomb plot against transatlantic airliners.
Many performers refuse to let their instruments, often centuries old and extremely valuable, out of their sight when they travel on planes in case they are damaged in the hold.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
Heck, even my trombone is a Stradivarius.
"Playing the cello could be an expensive undertaking!"
It's true. All of the violin family instruments run into a lot of money at the professional level. Prominent musicians, meaning anyone in a major symphony orchestra, all have tons of money tied up in their instruments. They couldn't make the sounds they make without it.
That's why a violin, viola, or cello that can live up to the standards of these musicians is so costly and so rare.
It's not exactly the same situation with most of the other instruments. I was an oboist. Finding an oboe that suited me ended up costing me about $5000, and that was back in the 70s. I tested about 24 seemingly identical oboes of the same brand and model before choosing that one. Even though they looked identical, there were tiny differences between them. There are no benefits to an antique oboe, though, like there are with the stringed instruments like violins. In fact, the technology in wind instruments keeps making better and better instruments possible.
Worse, with things like oboes, which are made of wood, is that they have to be protected from drastic changes in temperature or humidity. A mistake in handling will crack the instrument, ruining it. Mine was never played outdoors, and traveled in an insulated, airtight case to keep changes to a minimum. For outdoor performances, I had a second oboe. It was a nice one, but was expendable.
And I was just a semi-pro musician. Professional musicians, particularly those at the top of the game, have enormous investments in their instruments. For example, an oboist in a major symphony orchestra will have three or four primary oboes. Each is used for a particular period of music, or for different conductors who require a slightly different sound. They also must own an English Horn, and most own an Oboe d'Amore. At that level, they are buying instruments directly from the company that makes them, typically in France, and go there to test instruments, trying dozens of them, and having modifications made to the one they buy. Very spendy stuff.
It's her handling of the trumpet that leaves something to be desired :-)
"Heck, even my trombone is a Stradivarius.
"
Yup. I'm not a brass player, but I recognize the Bach model name. I'm sure it was chosen to indicate that it was their top model, by association.
My husband once built his own string bass. I think he was probably praying the airline would lose it ;-).
My niece plays flute, piccolo, oboe, french horn, piano and most recently bag pipes. She's a junior in high school and runs a music store (as an employee for now). She gives private lessons when she's not repairing instruments in the back room. She wants to own the music store when she is legally able.
"I just came back from Europe with an expensive instrument in tow. There was no problem carrying in on board."
Yeah, the only time I played in Europe, everyone carried their instruments, but that was pre 9/11. The only problem I had was in Germany. The customs guy asked me why I didn't play a German oboe after looking in the case.
Saved my starter model flute for that endeavor.
Whoa - - that's the second time today that joke, or a variation of it, has been posted! (It's really supposed to be about banjos.)
Ha! That's pretty funny that the Customs guy knew enough about instruments - esp. oboes - to know the difference in workmanship and style. :-)
Some people don't even have a clue about just how valuable a bow in and of itself can be.
PING to an interesting musician-related thread.
30 years ago, Gibson guitar, smashed.
You may be interested to know that them high-falutin' "violins" also make damn fine fiddles...in case you got a hankerin' to do some foot-stompin' honkytonkin...
</sarcasm>
"I'll bet you never played in a marching band (wink, wink). "
I sure did. Not with an oboe, though. That ain't happening. Actually, in my junior and senior year, I was the drum major. The reason for that was that the band's drum major's uniform fit.
"Ha! That's pretty funny that the Customs guy knew enough about instruments - esp. oboes - to know the difference in workmanship and style. :-)"
Yeah. Actually, I did try some Miraphone oboes. They were nice, but not as nice as the Rigoutat I ended up buying.
"Some people don't even have a clue about just how valuable a bow in and of itself can be."
That is true. I've made some nice eBay sales of bows. I check all the violins I find at garage and estate sales for their bows. I've found some very nice ones in cases that were holding the usual horrid violin. It's interesting.
Yeah, life sucks.
Try being a competitive shooter. Bad enough having to store our handguns in the hold, at least they quit putting the 'steal me' stickers on them, yet somehow the lowlife baggage handlers still get a clue as to which bags have handguns.
In addition, most major matchs require at least 300 rounds of ammo, and the airlines will allow 50 of factory, most comptetive shooters reload.
I'm headed to the IDPA Nationals in Little Rock in 10 days. Lucky for me some buddies are driving and willing to transport my gear, guns and ammo.
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