Long-standing relationships, a quick decision - and a happy ending to round off our series.
Which violins are played in our orchestra? Who made them and what character do they have? In our focus on violins, ten musicians talk about their instruments: Here they are Kilian Schneider, Elizaveta Shnayder-Taub, Josef Gazsi and Julia Becker, with photos by Paolo Dutto.
"I've been playing this instrument since I was 16 years old. A violin enthusiast I was teaching at the time lent it to me; when I got the job in the orchestra in 1992, I was able to buy it. It's a very healthy violin, without any damage, and it hasn't been tinkered with. For the few solos that I have as principal of the 2nd violins, I can play with it adequately to a concertmaster Stradivarius. But apart from that, it doesn't always make my life easy: it can actually do everything, but sometimes you have to ask it a lot to do what it's supposed to. Fortunately, I have two wonderful French bows: a Vigneron for the fine, soft nuances and a Fétique, which I use when I really want it to crack. They complete the instrument into a great whole."
"This violin has a special history. Ted Kremer, a good friend and silent supporter of young musicians, had it made for me; it has belonged to his family since his death. He was a Holocaust survivor, a Christian family had saved him as a child. But his grandmother was murdered in Auschwitz and he wanted this instrument to bear her name: Anna Kaplanskaia-Poverennaia. So the violin carries on her voice, so to speak. It has a very warm, rich sound. Jacques Fustier improved it again after I had played it for a year. He opened it with a knife in front of me without warning, that was a shock! He is no longer alive either. He was an incredibly warm and generous person and very modest - even though one of his instruments once won a blind test against a Stradivarius."
"My favourite violin is a copy of the 'Lord Wilton' by Guarneri del Gesù, which Yehudi Menuhin played. Philip Ihle made it, partly with wood from my home country of Romania, and it's phenomenal. I picked it up and after three minutes I said: OK, I'll buy it. Ihle learnt in Cremona, then worked in Switzerland for a few years, today he is in London - and very much in demand. The instrument has at least doubled in value since I got it. But of course I'm not selling it! Apart from that, I like trading; I started with erasers as a child. Today I have a collection of around forty violins, all of which I play in various projects. Sometimes I discover a new instrument, then I sell an old one to be able to afford it. I have quite a large network of contacts, so there's always something exciting going on."
"The Stradivarius that I've been playing since 2019 has already been heard in this orchestra before: A patron had bought it for the former concertmaster Primož Novšak. I am very happy with this instrument, thanks to which I was able to close a difficult chapter. I had previously had a Stradivarius on loan for over 20 years, but I had to give it back because it was stipulated in my will that it should be made available to young, up-and-coming talents. That was tough, because you have a very personal relationship with an instrument. I then played my own violin for a while, a Vincenzo Panormo, which also worked well. But a Stradivarius is still something special."
