All in the Family

Written by Andy Fein, luthier at Fein Violins
 and Kevin Berdine

Yo Yo Ma, in PBS's Face of America with Henry Louis Gates, states "It takes three generations to make a musician: the first to leave poverty, the second to go to school, and the third to master an instrument." This quote inspired us to delve into musician families and to see just how many famous musicians have become successful, in some part, due to their upbringing. The results are a wonderful testament to the power of family.

What Cello Are They Playing? Is That A Strad?

Written by: Andy Fein, Luthier at Fein Violins
 & Kevin Berdine

When you hear a great performer, ever wonder "What instrument are they playing? Is it a Strad?" 

If you hear a great solist on violin, chances are good that they will be playing on a Stradivarius or a Guarnerius del Gesu. Not so much with great cellists. Sadly, the great Guarnerius del Gesu never made a cello. And many of Stradivarius' cellos, particularly the cellos he made before 1700, were very large and not particularly well suited to the demands of a modern soloist. All but two of those large pattern Stradivarius cellos have been "cut down" and reworked into easier playing modern instruments.  Luckily, two great Venetians, Montagnana and Gofriller, made great cellos that meet the demands of today's great cellists.

Here is a list of some wonderful cellists and the instruments they play.

Cellists:

Yo Yo Ma

1733 Domenico Montagnana-Nicknamed "Petunia" by a student in Salt lake City, Utah.

1712 Antonio Stradivari, "Davidoff"-formerly Jacqueline du Pre's cello

1722 Gofriller-Being played by Valentin Erben

image from Valentin's website

1673 "ex-du Pre/ex-Harrell" Stradivari

Erica Morini and the Davidoff Stradivarius

By Andy Fein, Violin Maker and Owner, Fein Violins, Ltd.

In this era of so many great women violin soloists, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Rachel Barton Pine, Hilary Hahn, Lara St. John, Anne Akiko Meyers, Sarah Chang, Midori, Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg and many others, it's hard to imagine a time when being a woman violinist and trying to make it as a soloist was very, very difficult. Solely because you were female!

That time was not very long ago. The first half of the twentieth century was a rough time for women violinists and it stayed that way at least through the 1960s!

Goffriller, Montagnana, and the Golden Age of Venetian Violin Makers

By Stefan Aune

In recent blogs we have focused on the city of Cremona, Italy, the renowned violin-making hub that gave us the names Amati, Stradivarius, and Guarnerius. While Cremona is certainly the nexus from which much of violin making history resonates, attention must also be paid to the city of Venice, renowned for its rich musical culture as well as its violin makers.

A Painting of the Venetian Canals by Joseph Turner

The political and economic context of Venice played a significant role in the development of its violin making culture. Venice was a "cultural crossroads" for commerce and art, with Saracens, Arabs, and Greeks rubbing shoulders with Europeans. The city was always staunchly independent from its European neighbors, hesitant to enter into long term alliances and agreements. The focus of Venetian politics was on propagating its trading culture, which flourished and made the city one of the mercantile centers of the world. Venice also maintained its independence from the Roman Catholic Church to such a degree that one of the popes excommunicated the entire city.  This was later reversed.

This independence resulted in two fundamental differences between the violin making cultures of Cremona and Venice. Whereas Cremona's fame derived from its provision of instruments to the courts of European royalty, Venetian makers made instruments for all classes of people, rich and poor alike. Additionally, the lack of church connections meant that Venice didn't benefit from the influences that spurred the development of the Cremonese violin designs. Consequently, the famous Venetian makers appear slightly after the rise of the Cremonese makers.

Yo Yo Ma - Virtuoso Cellist, Collaborator, Educator

Written by Stefan Aune of Fein Violins


October 7 is cellist Yo Yo Ma's birthday (happy birthday!) - and just in case you've been living under a rock and don't recognize him from the orchestral stage or your own television, we thought it fitting to pay tribute to one of the best cellists ever in today's blog.

Yo Yo Ma is widely considered to be the preeminent cellist of our time, and he is certainly the most famous. Unlike many classical virtuoso performers, Ma has managed to transcend the insular classical world and become a household name. He has even appeared on television programs such as Arthur, Sesame Street, The Simpsons, The West Wing, The Colbert Report, and Mr. Roger's Neighborhood. My personal favorite is in the television show Seinfeld, where the character Kramer exclaims "Yo Yo Ma!" whenever he is surprised by something. It is this accessibility and name recognition, combined with his towering skills on the cello, that have made Yo Yo Ma a superstar of the classical world.

Yo Yo Ma, with some help from Elmo

The Cellist of Sarajevo, Vedran Smajlovic

Written by: Andy Fein, Luthier at Fein Violins
Stefan Aune and Angela Newgren

Sometimes, the most powerful thing we can do is play music. That is what Bosnian cellist Vedran Smajlovic did in some of the worst conditions Europe has seen since WWII.

Smajlovic is a Bosnian musician born in 1956. He was living in Bosnia's capital, Sarajevo, when it fell under attack on April 5, 1992, during the Bosnian War. This year, 2012, marks the 20th anniversary of the devastating Siege of Sarajevo.

 Smajlovic playing at a bombed building in Sarajevo