Viola 101 - Famous Violists that everyone should know!

William Primrose
b. 8.23.1904  d. 5.1.1982

William Primrose

William Primrose studied with Eugene Ysaye and played in the London String Quartet and NBC Symphony Orchestra.  He commissioned the Bartok Viola Concerto, which was unfinished at Bartok's death.  Benjamin Britten composed Lachrymae for him.  During his life he brought the viola repertoire into the public spotlight.

Lionel Tertis

Lionel Tertis

b. 12.29.1876  d. 2.22.1975 

For several years Lionel Tertis played a 17 1/8" Montagnana viola until he worked with British violin maker Arthur Richardson to create a more manageable 16 3/4" viola.  The "Tertis" pattern viola was inspired by the wide pattern used by early Brescian makers.  The result was a rather pear shaped viola with a wide lower bout which produces the tonal advantages of a large instrument. 

Tertis Pattern Viola

Walter Trampler

b. 8.25.1915  d. 9.27.1997

Walter Trampler

 
Walter Trampler performed extensively in the United States and Europe.  He taught at Juilliard, New England Conservatory, Yale School of Music and Boston University.

Milton Katims

Milton Katims

b. 6.24.1909  d. 2.27.2006

Milton Katims joined the NBC Symphony Orchestra to replace William Primrose.  He was also a conductor who conducted the Seattle Symphony for 22 years.  In addition he conducted the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Boston Symphony, London Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra and Montreal Symphony.  

Here we see Katims conduct the Seattle Symphony and perform the finale of the Mozart Symphonia Concertante with violinist Heinrich Szeryng. 

Lillian Fuchs
b. 11.18.1901 d. 10.5.1995

Lillian Fuchs

Lillian Fuchs taught at the Manhattan School of Music, Juilliard, Aspen Music Festival and founded the Blue Hill Music School.  She was a noteworthy composer.  Her compositions include Twelve Caprices, Fifteen Characteristic Studies, Sixteen Fantasy Etudes and Sonata Pastorale - all for viola.


She owned violas made by Matteo Gofriller and Gaspar DaSalo and played a lovely bow made by John Dodd.  Lillian used a gut A string as she considered it sacrilege to use a steel A string on an old Italian instrument.  


Karen Tuttle
b. 3.28.1920  d. 12.16.2010

Karen Tuttle

Karen Tuttle was a student of William Primrose at the Curtis Institute of Music,where she would later become a faculty member.  In addition she taught at the Peabody Conservatory of Music and Juilliard.

In the early 1950's She was a member of the NBC Symphony Orchestra, which was highly unusual for a woman back then.  

Karen was a frequent participant at the Marlboro and Casals Festivals.  She had an extensive discography.

In 1994 she received the Artist Teacher Award presented by the American String Teacher's Association.

Pinchas Zukerman

b. 7.16.1948

Pinchas Zukerman

Pinchas Zukerman studied at Juilliard under Ivan Galamian.  He made his New York debut in 1963.  


Zukerman's discography includes over 100 recordings.  He has been nominated for a Grammy 21 times.  


In addition to teaching he is also an accomplished conductor.  He has conducted the English Chamber and St. Paul Chamber Orchestras.





 


Michael Tree

b. 1934

Michael Tree

Michael Tree studied at the Curtis Institute for music.  He is a founding member of the Guarneri String Quartet. 

Tree has been a soloist with the Philadelphia, Los Angeles, New Jersey and Baltimore Orchestras. 

Paul Neubauer

Paul Neubauer

b. 1963

Paul Neubauer joined the New York Philharmonic in 1984 at the age of 21.


He has recorded with labels including Sony Classical, RCA, New World, Red Seal, Delos and Decca.  Neubaurer has performed as a sololist with orchestras all over the world.


Nobuko Imai
b. 3.18.1943

Nobuko Imai

Nobuko Imai was born in Tokyo and studied at Juilliard and Yale University.  She has soloed with nearly every major orchestra including:  the Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Symphony, BBC Symphony, London Symphony, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Boston Symphony and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.  She is a former member of the Vermeer Quartet.
In addition to being a soloist she is a very active chamber musician.


Geraldine Walther
b. 1951

Geraldine Walther

Geraldine Walther is the former violist of the Takács Quartet.  She studied at the Curtis Institute with Michael Tree and at the Manhattan School of Music with Lillian Fuchs.  Walther won first prize at the 1979 William Primrose International Competition.  (Any names sound familiar?)

She was principal violist with the San Francisco Symphony for 29 years and previously was the assistant principal violist with the Pittsburgh, Miami and Baltimore Symphonies.  Currently she is teaching at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

Inquiry about a violin

Your Question:

I purchased a violin over 20 years ago from the Weaver Violin Shop in Maryland.  I am now considering whether to donate or sell it.  None of the dealers whom I have spoken to have been able to tell me anything about my violin.  I have attached photos of it in the hope that maybe you have more information.

Any information that you could offer would be greatly appreciated.

Label

My Answer:

My first thought is to ask you if you have contacted The Violin House of Weaver.  The folks at Weaver, including Bill Weaver, are very nice, friendly and helpful people.  They may be familiar with this instrument or have records of your purchase.  In addition they may be able to give you the current market value of this instrument.

I can't make out the first name of the maker from the photo of the label and in reality this may be a "trade name" rather than an actual maker. 

Scroll

The violin appears to be a good quality student grade instrument.  The reason that I am saying student grade is because it looks like it has Caspari pegs, which are a mechanical peg.  They are great when they work properly but in time the bushings tend to come unglued and in many cases the outer shaft of the peg can crack thus causing tuning problems.  The disadvantage to these pegs is that they add quite a bit of weight to the scroll and if you have traditional (friction) pegs fit to the instrument the peg holes will have to be bushed (filled in with new wood and re-drilled and shaped to accommodate new pegs with a smaller shaft).  Depending on the violin shop that does the work this can be rather expensive in relation to the quality of the violin.

Front

The Wittner tailpiece with built in fine tuners and the plastic chinrest also give the appearance of a student quality instrument.  

Back

Overall impression:  The violin appears to be a well made instrument in good condition.  I don't see any obvious cracks or damage, although the photos don't allow enough detail.  I don't doubt that it is German.

This violin would make an excellent donation to a school or teaching studio and would be quite serviceable for an advancing student.  Without better detail it is hard to put a value on this instrument but I would place it around $1,000.00.  Again, it would make sense to check with the shop that you purchased it from.  Good luck with your decision.

Manta Member

Viola Hero: Emanuel Vardi dies at age 95

Emanuel Vardi

Manny

Emanuel Vardi 

 passed away on January 29, 2011 at the age of 95.  Known by many a a champion of the viola during a time when there were few famous violists.

Manny entered the Institute of Musical Art which later became Juilliard.  He was a member of the NBC Symphony Orchestra under the direction of Arturo Toscanini. 

Paganini 24 Caprices

His viola career spanned over 50 years.  Manny had several recordings including his 1965 recording of the Paganini 24 Caprices.  The Caprices are incredibly difficult on the violin and even more so on the viola.  Only one other violist has recorded the Caprices. 

 

I had the honor of playing for Manny at a masterclass and again when he performed the Walter May Viola Concerto with the South Dakota Symphony.  He played a viola built for him by Hiroshi Iizuka.  It is a stunning instrument with power and a cellistic sound.  The viola was made for Manny and he could get every bit of color and sound out of the instrument.

An Iizuka Viola

Emanuel Vardi was born in Jerusalem on April 21, 1915.  His father was a violinist and painter and his mother was a pianist.

Schubert Trout Quintet - Emanuel Vardi

In 1993 he retired from playing after a broken wrist and torn rotator cuff.  He then turned to painting.  

Manny's paintings of musicians and cityscapes have been exhibited in galleries in New York and around the country.  Critics have praised his control of color and tone. 

Emanuel Vardi will be missed by violists and friends all over the world.

"I love painting my musicians, and it is my hope that through the use of color and design, I can allow the viewer a glimpse and a greater understanding of the world of the musician." - Emanuel Vardi

Violin - Copy of Antonio Stradivari Made in West Germany

Your Question:
I am caring for a violin of a dear friend of mine while she's away.  She has had it for 30 years, and the inside has a sticker that says "Copy of Antonio Stradivari, Made in West Germany".  Then a smaller sticker says "Otto Stein v-933".  I was wondering if you had any information regarding the maker.  Also, should I have it reconditioned in some way for her or would that devalue the instrument?

Scroll

My Answer:
After extensive research I was unable to find any information on Otto Stein.  My guess is that is either a trade name (a name of a fictitious maker used usually used to distinguish a particular model of student instrument) or perhaps a dealer who added a shop label to this instrument.

Copy of Antonio Stradivari West Germany

In examining the wood selection used for the top and particularly used for the back, neck and scroll in addition to the quality of varnish and overall workmanship, my conclusion is that this is a student grade instrument made circa 1950-1970.  The West Germany label helps to date this violin as Germany was divided between East and West starting July 1st, 1945 and the Reunification started in 1990.  Thus providing an age span for instruments bearing labels from East and West Germany.  To my eye the scroll looks like factory work and the varnish appears to be spirit, or alcohol based as observed by chips in the varnish.  

Back

You will not do any harm to this instrument if you have it reconditioned by an experienced luthier.  In fact it would be a good idea to have it checked for open seams, cracks and proper fit of the bridge and sound post.  When you ask about reconditioning I hope that you don't mean revarnishing.  It is rare for an instrument to be revarnished unless there is a good reason for it, such as most of the varnish is either missing or severely damaged.  It looks as though the violin will need to have the pegs lubricated and adjusted so that they turn evenly and fit well.  There appears to be significant wear on the fingerboard so it should be planed or "dressed" to removed grooves, bumps and ridges.  Your luthier will probably want to fit a new soundpost, bridge and strings.  From the photo the end button appears to fit well but if the luthier determines that it does not fit well he or she may recommend replacement.  The violin should have a good cleaning, some varnish retouch and a fresh set of strings. 

End Button

A suggestion would be to replace the tailpiece with a Wittner tailpiece with built-in fine tuners.  The Wittner tailpiece is lighter weight than the ebony tailpiece on this instrument and the fine tuners are curved on the underside which runs less risk of damage to the top of the violin if the fine tuners are turned all the way down.  I hope that you are able to get this violin into good playing condition so that it can make music once again.