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Knilling's highly portable Thinline Acoustic Jazz Bass.
Bass Line Knilling’s latest bass, the Thinline Acoustic Jazz Bass, is designed to provide the playability and sound of a traditional upright without the bulk. Despite the name, it’s appropriate for a variety of styles including blues, salsa, swing, and rock ’n’ roll. The bass, which has a traditional shape but is only 3¼ inches deep, consists of a laminated spruce top, laminated back and sides, a solid maple neck, and an ebony fingerboard and nut, and features a hand-rubbed spirit varnish and chrome-plated machine heads. The Knilling custom adjustment includes a fully adjustable maple bridge with Fishman pickup and ¼-inch input, ebony tailpiece, two-inch endpin, and Helicore strings. For more information, contact St. Louis Music at (800) 727-4512 or visit www.knilling.com. Baroque and Alone? For those of you who want to play Baroque violin but are having trouble finding harpsichordists and viol players to join you for jam sessions, there is now another way: the three-volume DiscContinuo series by KatastroPhe Productions ($35 plus shipping for each book-and-CD set; 6389 Florio St., Oakland, CA 94618; telephone [510] 601-9631; e-mail phebec@aol.com) features the first Baroque chamber music play-along CDs for treble instruments. Compiled by well-known harpsichordist Phebe Craig in collaboration with Katherine Westine, the spiral-bound volumes of The Pre-DiscContinuo, The DiscContinuo, and The DiscContinuo II include music from a variety of early composers and offer difficulty levels of early intermediate, intermediate, and advanced intermediate. The music, from composers such as Purcell, Telemann, Marais, Lully, Corelli, Dowland, Frescobaldi, and Bach, is playable on violin, recorder, oboe, or flute. The "instant ensemble" is completed on the CD by combinations of noted early-music performers: Craig on harpsichord, Michael Sand on violin and viola da gamba, Frances Blaker on recorder, Barbara Blaker on cello, and even Susan Rhode Morris singing soprano on a Handel Cantata selection. Being a violinist, I particularly enjoyed the challenge of playing pieces like Francesco Turini’s Sonata a due canti, with violinist Sand playing the second part on the accompanying CD track. I found his introductory advice on structure, tempos, phrasing, and ornamentation to be very informative and useful. All of the music in the series features a written biography of the composer as well as specific performance instructions. One of the introductions in the books offers the caveat, "We, the accompanists, have had to imagine an interpretation, and you, the soloist, are obliged to fit into it." Taking this into consideration, I think that Craig and Westine have provided the perfect solution to a frustrating problem, and I look forward to future volumes of the DisContinuo series. —Meg Eldridge
Virtual Sale Adam Johnson of Johnson String Instrument in Newton Centre, Massachusetts, is making the most of the Internet. One of the "early adapters" of Net technology, he reached a new milestone in April: he sold a violin directly from his Web site (www.johnson-inst.com) for the first time. Many luthiers use Web sites to lure new buyers to their shops, but Johnson’s client actually chose his instrument, entered his credit card number, and received a confirmation of his order, all electronically. Instrumental Italy The ninth Triennial International Competition for Bowed Instruments, known as the Triennale, will be held September 27, 2000, in Cremona, Italy. The international jury will be under the presidency of Charles Beare and will consist of five violin makers (Roland Baumgartner, David Gusset, Christopher Graff, Hieronymus Köstler, and Primo Pistoni) and five musicians (Rocco Filippini, Giulio Franzetti, Thomas Martin, Danilo Rossi, and Angelo Stefanto). The winning instruments will be exhibited and made available to try out in the salon of the Cremona Chamber of Commerce, October 7–15. Also, the group Solisti Italiani will give a concert on new and past winning instruments at Teatro Ponchielli. For entry forms or more information, write to Corso Matteotti 17, 26100 Cremona, Italy; call or fax (39) 0372 21454; or e-mail triennale@graffiti.it. Mondomusica, the annual commercial exhibition of instruments and accessories, will take place October 13–15, 2000, in the Santa Maria della Pietà Cremona Cultural Center. For more information or to book exhibition space, contact the Triennale (see above). And while in town for these events, check out the exhibition of instruments by illustrious Cremonese makers entitled There Were Stringed Instrument Makers in Cremona in the Renaissance, Baroque, and Romantic Periods. About 40 instruments will be displayed in Cremona’s Civic Museum, September 29–October 22. All in the Family Haig Avsharian has been promoted to vice president of stringed-instrument and accessory retailer Shar Products Company (2465 Industrial Hwy., Ann Arbor, MI 48106; www.sharmusic.com). He is the grandson of Shar’s founder, Michael Avsharian, Sr.; the son of its president, Charles Avsharian; and nephew of senior vice president Michael Avsharian, Jr. Haig has been with the company since 1994. "I look forward to taking Shar to the next level," says Haig, "by working with our talented staff and launching our new and improved Web site this summer, and focusing on our core business of high-quality instruments." The Beare family is mourning the loss of 89-year-old William Beare, who was chairman and managing director of the venerable violin-dealing firm of J. & A. Beare, Ltd. (7 Broadwick St., London W1V 1FJ, England; www.beares.com). He was the grandson of John Beare, who founded Beare, Goodwin & Co. in 1892. William started out in the company in 1929 as a repairer and restorer; he began running the company in 1945, and in 1954 took the title of chairman and managing director. In the late 1960s he passed down the daily management of the company to his stepson Charles, although he remained active as chairman until retiring in 1998. Comings and Goings In May, Lashof Violins moved a few blocks from its current location in Gaithersburg, Maryland, to the recently renovated, historic Cannery Corner. The new address is 1F E. Diamond Ave., Gaithersburg, MD 20877; telephone remains (301) 330-2606, and the Web site is www.lashofviolins.com. Maker and repairer Jeffrey Loen has closed the Vintage Violin Shop in Butte, Montana, and opened Loen Violins in the state of Washington at 18725 60th Ave. NE, Kenmore, WA 98028; telephone (425) 488-6169; e-mail loenviolin@aol.com; Web site members.aol.com/loenviolin. Orcas Island Tonewoods, a supplier of tonewoods for all instruments also based in Washington, can now be found on the Web at rockisland.com/~tonewoods; e-mail tonewoods@rockisland.com. Frédéric Hugues Chaudière, a maker of fine violins, violas, and cellos and a dealer in Italian violins and French bows, moved in March from 2 rue de la Merci in Montpellier to 10 rue du Bayle, 34000 Montpellier, France; telephone (33) 467 60 5555; fax (33) 467 60 5556; e-mail fchaudiere@ifrance.com. Cremonese maker and restorer Silvio Levaggi, formerly to be found on via Aselli, is now located at via Aspromonte 21, 26100 Cremona, Italy; telephone and fax (39) 0372 432316; e-mail slevagg@tin.it. Fellow Cremonese luthier Sandro Asinari has a new e-mail, info@asinari.it, and a new Web site, www.asinari.it. Faith Restored A study published this past March in the Journal of Archeological Science addresses some concerns about the authenticity of the "Messiah" violin, considered to be the greatest work of Antonio Stradivari. Questions raised by inconsistencies in the violin’s provenance seemed to be given credence when a scientific test of the top indicated that the wood was still growing at the time of Stradivari’s death in 1737, making it impossible for him to have made it at all—much less in 1716, the year on the label. The test used dendrochronology, which dates objects by the growth rings of the wood; scientists have assembled master chronologies that can be used to determine the earliest date a given piece of wood could have been used. Although the method is quite reliable, in this case it was based on photographs rather than on measurements taken directly from the instrument, and was therefore only preliminary. For the current study, 33 violins made in Cremona were measured to assemble a chronology specific to Stradivari’s time, in order to further cross-check the master chronologies. Although not confined to Stradivari, the group included 20 of his violins, two of them made within a year of the "Messiah." The results show that the latest top ring on the "Messiah" corresponds to the year 1682, making it entirely possible for Stradivari to have made the violin in 1716. There was an even higher correspondence with the tops of the two violins made within a year of the "Messiah," leading the authors of the study to assert cautiously that the tops of all three instruments came from the same log. The study, published in a professional journal after peer review, was conducted by John Topham and Dr. Derek McCormick. Topham is uniquely suited to the task at hand: a graduate of the violin-making school in Mittenwald, he has gained a reputation as one of the top restorers in the field. Holding degrees in science and mathematics, he has immersed himself in the study of dendrochronology for the past five years. He has been joined in this by McCormick, a neuropathologist at Queen’s University, Belfast, who has done significant medical research and is an avid amateur violin maker. Topham and McCormick, who have also done an extensive dendrochronlogical study of English violin makers, have been guided in their endeavors by Cathy Groves of the dendrochronological laboratory at Sheffield University. Dr. Peter Klein was also consulted about the current study; a leader in the field of dendrochronology as applied to violins, his were the preliminary results that originally called into question the accepted date of the instrument. While issues still remain to be settled, Topham and McCormick’s study casts new light on the subject. The entire study is on-line at www.idealibrary.com/links/toc/jasc/latest. It is Volume 27, No. 3, pages 183–192. —James N. McKean March Highlights At Phillips’ March 13 auction, the top sellers were surprises. A violin with a Joseph Ceruti label, estimated at £1,200–£1,500, sold for £30,000 ($49,500), and an unattributed ca.-1820 violin, estimated at £2,000–£2,500, took £21,000 ($34,650). At Sotheby’s on March 14, the top seller was a violin built in Turin ca. 1773 by Giovanni Battista Guadagnini. With buyer’s premium, it took £216,000 ($390,000). Also impressive was a Giuseppe Rocca violin after Guarneri del Gesù, made in Turin in 1849, which went for £133,500 ($241,000). Bow sales were topped by a silver-mounted violin bow made by Dominique Peccatte in Paris, ca. 1850, which brought £26,450 ($47,755). At Christie’s the following day, a Neapolitan violin attributed to Nicolo Gagliano shot past its estimate of £9,000–11,000, achieving a price of £55,200 ($86,660) including premium. A Pietro Giovanni Mantegazza violin from late 18th-century Milan took a more expected £43,700 ($68,600). The highlight of Butterfields’ March 21 sale, which was held in conjunction with a sale of furniture and decorative arts, was a Florentine violin made by Valentino de Zorzi in 1906, which went for $14,950. A silver-mounted violin bow by Eugene Sartory took $7,000, and a violin bow by Alfred Lamy brought $4,025. Market-related news items and information on new products, from the U.S. or abroad, are always welcome. Please mail to Jessamyn Reeves-Brown, Market Report, Strings, PO Box 767, San Anselmo, CA 94979; fax to (415) 485-0831; or e-mail to jessamyn@stringletter.com.
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