Magik*Magik Orchestra - Crossover artistry!

By staff at Fein Violins

Magik*Magik Orchestra

Ever wondered if you can really make a living being a classically trained violinist, violist, or cellist? These days, there are more opportunities than just soloing or playing in a symphony orchestra. In fact, the members of the Magik*Magik Orchestra have found a way to be successful musicians by thinking outside the box.

Minna Choi is the music director of the Magik*Magik Orchestra.

Anne-Sophie Mutter, Superb Violinist in a Strapless Gown

Written by:  Andy Fein, luthier at Fein Violins 
and Angela Newgren


 Anne-Sophie Mutter is one of the premier violinists of our time. Born in Rheinbelden, Germany in 1963, Mutter started performing in her early teen years, when she was asked by conductor Herbert Von Karajan to play with the Berlin Philharmonic at age 13.

Anne-Sophie Mutter

Starting off her stage career at such a young age did her well. From then to now she has taught, recorded albums, conducted, and performed worldwide.

She picked up some no-big-deal awards on the way, too;

Ennio Bolognini - Serious BadA$$!

Written by: Amy Tobin of Fein Violins

Recently, National Public Radio asked the question 'Who was the most bad-ass composer ever?' This, indeed, has gotten us all thinking. Of course we all came up with the usuals......Wagner, Berlioz, Mozart, Beethoven, etc. After doing a little thinking and research, however, we here at Fein Violins were treated to the discovery of one of the most gloriously irreverent personages that the classical music world has possibly ever seen! So, dear readers, it is my great honor to introduce you to:

Ennio Bolognini!

Ennio Bolognini

'Lady Blunt' Going Once, Going Twice, Sold - For $16 Million Dollars!

Written by: Amy Tobin of Fein Violins

I am a little late in posting my reaction to the recent sale of the 'Lady Blunt' Stradivarius. Perhaps I just needed a little time to process the fact that this gorgeous, near perfect condition, absolutely incomparable violin sold at auction for nearly $16M dollars! Here, let me put the zeros after that so you can get the full effect: $16,000,000

The top of the 'Lady Blunt'

image by Tarisio Auctions

The 'Lady Blunt' Stradivarius is the new record holder.
The almost $16M that it sold for is nearly 4 times the amount of the previous record, set by the sale of the 'Molitor' Stradivarius, for $3.6M, to Anne Akiko Meyers in 2010.

The other astonishing fact about the sale of this instrument, put up at auction by the Nippon Music Foundation,

The Value of Violins, Violas, and Cellos

Written By: Andy Fein, luthier at Fein Violins

A question I'm often asked is "Why is that violin $400 and that other one $40,000? They look the same to me."

While many violins can look very similar, to a player there can be tremendous differences in sound. To my way of thinking, that should be a reflection of the price difference - the $40,000 violin sounds and feels far better to a player than the $400 violin. And if it doesn't, it's not really worth $40,000!

With violins, violas and cellos, how the instrument plays and sounds to you, the player, should be the paramount consideration in valuing an instrument. If a $2,000 instrument sounds