Robert Burns, a Bed and a Violin Maker.....

So what do all three have in common? Well, probably nothing - until you add the words 'Bonhams Auction' to the list....
Apparently in 1874 a violin maker was inspired enough to find Robert Burns' old childhood bed, chop it up and make a violin out of it..... or so the unusual inscription on the back of an old violin would have us believe:

'SEPT.-1874 BY D.MURRAY MADE OF WOOD FROM THE COTTAGE AND BED IN WHICH ROBERT BURNS WAS BORN'

Also labelled internally: 'DANIEL MURRAY EDINBURGH 1874'

The violin itself has a 'squarish', hopf-like form, with a flat, ebony-tipped button. Underneath the inscription is a rather pretty engraving of a horse-drawn plough and a man.

Fact or Legend?

The problem is there is probably no way to prove that the wood used was once slept in by old Rabbie himself. And with no provenance alluded to in the catalogue, it will be interesting to see how much interest the violin will whip up on the day.

Who was Daniel Murray?
There are several Murrays mentioned by Meredith Morris in British Violin Makers and William Henley in his Universal Dictionary of Violin and Bow Makers including:

David Murray of Gorebridge (born 1850), 'an amateur of considerable ability, who has made several beautiful violins' (Morris) and who made 'fifty violins of Stradivarian and Guarnarian modelling.' (Henley)
James Murray of Dumfries (also born 1850), who was also a railway engine driver. (Henley)
and John Brown Murray (born 1849) of Clarebrand, 'An amateur who has made several good violins.' (Morris)

But there is no mention of a Daniel Murray. This, then, would seem to be at the heart of the mystery. For if we knew exactly who the maker was, it may be possible to investigate and authenticate the violin, the inscription and the legend....

The Violin will be up for auction on 7th December at Bonhams', George Street, Edinburgh, in their sale of 'Furniture, Works of Art, Clocks, Rugs and Carpets.'
Lot No. 769. Estimate £500-700 GBP.

You can view the violin online here

by Fiona Vilnite musicforstrings.com

London Violin Auction sales results - The Big Violin Makers.

With a combined sales total of over 3 million pounds (GBP), it would seem that London was the place to sell a violin this November.
Bonhams and Sothebys held their central London autumn musical instrument sales on the 6th and 7th.

Whilst it seems that Sothebys is often the place to find a 'star lot' when it comes to musical gems, Bonhams seemed to generate more revenue from its sales this time. But there were some great violins on offer at both houses and perhaps the rather unusual circumstance of there being two violins by the great cremonese violin maker, Nicolo Amati* - one in each auction house.

Sothebys' c.1675 example with a 354mm back and handsomely-carved scroll, also came with a handsome estimate of 50-80,000 GBP. Bonahms' specimen dated from 1651 with slightly smaller proportions (350mm back length) and had a slightly smaller estimate of 30-40,000 GBP. Both of the instruments had one piece backs, Bonhams' example having really attractive slab cut wood. According to Phillip Scott, Bonhams' Musical Instrument Department expert, their 1651 instrument may never have been offered at auction before, having been in the same European family since 1871**. The 350 year old instrument, which perhaps unsurprisingly looked well-played, seemed to have some minor scroll and table restorations and was sold with a recent colour-illustrated certificate of authenticity from the London dealer and repairer, Florian Leonhard. Sothebys' example looked to be in fine condition and ended up reaching over three times the lower end of its estimate at 153,000 GBP, the highest priced lot in Sothebys' sale. Bonhams' Amati sold for almost three times less than the example across the road at Sothebys, attaining just 55,200 GBP.

Another maker who was represented by an instrument in each house was Ferdinand Gagliano. The Gagliano family were making instruments in Naples from about the beginning of the 18th century to the middle of the 19th. Ferdinando worked up until about the end of the 18th century. The violin at Bonhams dated from 1772 with a certificate from J & A Beare (the London experts and violin dealers) and had been the property of a professional musician since the 1960s. The tiny viola at Sothebys by the same maker, measured just 369mm in back length (14 1/2 inches) and it also had a certificate from the Beare establishment. William Henley remarks, in his Universal Dictionary of Violin and Bow Makers, that these small violas were sometimes cut down and converted into large violins, but it was nice to see that this example was still very much a viola. The violin at Bonhams, with an estimate of 65,000-75,000 GBP, failed to sell, whilst Sothebys' viola fetched 30,000 GBP.

The highest priced violin sold over the two days was at Bonhams - an instrument by Josef Filius Andreae Guarneri, Cremona. This impressive c.1710 instrument came with a Tree Ring Analysis Report (by John C.Topham) linking the wood on this instrument to several other Cremonese and Venetian instruments including some made by Guarneri del Gesu, Antonio Stradivari, J.B. Guadagnini, D. Montagnana and Santo Serafin. This scientific analysis no doubt helped the instrument reach its 229,600 GBP sale price.

There were several mid-priced violins sold at Sothebys, including a violin by Jean Baptiste-Vuillaume of 1843 for 45,600 GBP, a Jacob Stainer at 48,000 GBP, two violins by Giuseppe Pedrazzini of 1920 and 1921 (which fetched 24,000 GBP and 36,000 GBP respectively) and an Antonio Zanotti violin, c.1725, which reached a surprising 42,000 GBP - despite its pre-auction estimate of 7-10,000 GBP. Not bad for a maker whose work, according to William Henley, was worth £400 in 1960. But it seems that the odd surprise happened at Bonhams too, when a violin simply catalogued as 'A Violin of the Italian School' reached 42,000 GBP. Perhaps its J.B. Guadagnini label was original...?

It is nice to see that are still some great Cremonese instruments new to the auction scene that emerge from time to time. Perhaps there are still some undiscovered masterpieces waiting to be found in the distant corners of the world by modern-day Tarisios.....


* Further information on the Amati family and violin making style, attributes, etc, can be found in George Hart's The Violin: Its Famous Makers and their Imitators

** Info. from Phillip Scott's article on Bonhams' Musical Instrument Department podcast.

All auction prices quoted include tax and buyer's premium.

Fiona Vilnite, musicforstrings.com

The Invisible Violinist.

Martin Pierre Joseph Marsick may not be on the tip of your tongue when you try to name an important violinist of past times, but this little-remembered Belgian violinist and composer forms an important link the history of violin playing.
A contemporary of the composers Jules Massanet and Camille Saint-Saens, Marsick was to teach a new generation of violinists including Jacques Thibaud, George Enescu (a teacher of Yehudi Menuhin) and Carl Flesch – whose influence on the modern school of violin playing is immense. Marsick himself was taught by the famous collaborator of Brahms – Joseph Joachim. So why has history forgotten Marsick? Was it because of the other great Belgian violinist, Eugène Ysaÿe?
With just a decade between them. Ysaÿe and Marsick were almost exact contemporaries. Both studied at the Liège Conservatory and they both began their studies with Rodolphe Massart, a disciple of Kreutzer. Each became a violinist-composer, important exponents of the 'Franco-Belgian' School of violin playing and led successful string quartets (The Quatour Marsick and the Ysaye Quartet).

Marsick's Legacy as a Teacher.

Marsick's success as a teacher is illustrated by some of the fantastic violinists he coached as a teacher at the Paris Conservatoire. One of them, Jacques Thibaut, described his systematic teaching method, using the studies of Gavinies, Rode, Fiorillo, Dont – a new study was to be prepared for every lesson, and with three lessons a week, it would seem that the teacher was keen to challenge the pupil's stamina and development. Thibaud explains:

“With him [Marsick] I believe that three essentials - absolute purity of pitch, equality of tone and sonority of tone, in connection with the bow - are the base on which everything else rests.”
(From: Violin Mastery – Talks with Master Violinists and Teachers by Frederick H Martens, New York, 1919.)

Playing Style.

Marsick's own playing was praised particularly by Vieuxtemps who witnessed Marsick's debut performance at the Concerts Populaires in Paris of Vieuxtemps' own 4th Violin Concerto. European tours were to follow and in 1885 he toured Russia. Then, in 1895-6, he toured the United States. His delivery was apparently large in style, with a sophisticated bowing technique.

Original arrangements and compositions.

According to E. Van der Straeten in 'The History of the Violin', Marsick composed 'three violin concertos and a number of effective pieces.' However, the violin concertos are not listed in the Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians online, and they have certainly not become part of a violinists' mainstream repertoire. He is perhaps most well known today for his transcription of Massenet's Meditation from Thais for violin and piano, and it seems that he was probably the most qualified man to do this - as a contemporary of Massenet and ex-opera orchestra player.

His Violin

Marsick apparently owned several fine violins and his 1705 Antonio Stradivarius was played later by David Oistrakh.

Marsick seems to be one of violin history's forgotten characters, whose almost invisible legacy pervades our modern times.

Dates:
Martin Pierre (Joseph) Marsick 1847-1924
Eugène (Auguste) Ysaÿe 1858-1931
Jules (Emile Frédéric) Massenet 1842-1912
[Charles] Camille Saint-Saens 1835-1921
Henry Vieuxtemps 1820-1881
Jaques Thibaud 1880-1953
Georges Enescu 1881-1955
Carl Flesch 1873-1944
Yehudi Menuhin 1916-1999

Some interesting remarks from around the web:

Past owners of Marsick's 1705 Stradivarius include: Baumgartner, Delgay, E. Français, Perilhou, Vatelot, Vormbaum and Wilmotte. (From: jose-sanchez-penzo.net/strad.html)

From the German Wikipedia site: 'On the grounds of a personal scandal, he went to the USA in 1900 and ended his teaching at the Paris Conservatoire.' (“Auf Grund eines privaten Skandals ging er 1900 in die USA und beendete seine Lehrtätigkeit am Conservatoire.” )

Fiona Vilnite musicforstrings.com

STRADIVARI by François-Joseph Fétis

François-Joseph Fétis' treatise, Antoine Stradivari, luthier célèbre, was first published in Paris in 1856. This fascinating document traces the history and develpment of bowed-instruments and discusses the old Italian master luthiers. It also includes an analysis of the bows of
François Tourte and a chapter on the Guarneri family.

Highly regarded by contemporary scholars and researchers because of Fetis' original research, the work has now gathered a 'second life' for modern researchers who are able to witness the author's first-hand accounts of his historically important colleages and associates - such as the violin maker and dealer Jean Baptiste Vuillaume and the scientist and acoustics experimenter Félix Savart. His other writings, including the Notice biographique sur Nicolo Paganini (published 1851, and translated into English in 1852), bear testament to the fact that he was contemporary to some of the most revered figures in musical history.

Notice of Anthony Stradivari, the Celebrated Violin Maker (translated in 1864 by John Bishop) is now available at musicforstrings.com.

EARLY MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS - AUCTION RESULTS

Auction Sale Results of Early Musical Instruments.

A diamond necklace that once belonged to Catherine the Great that reached over 2,000,000 CHF Swiss Francs (about $1.5 million US dollars) at a Sotheby's auction of 'Magnificent Jewels' in Switzerland on 17th November made headline news.

Slightly less 'dazzling', however, was the Sothebys November auction of Early Musical Instruments.... Perhaps the sale was overshadowed by their sparkling event the week before, where a record price was attained for a Bergonzi violin which had once belonged Paganini....

With apparently just over fifty per cent of their lots sold, it would seem that Sothebys held a relatively low-key Sale of Early Musical Instruments on November 8th. The prices attained for sold lots appeared to meet estimates comfortably, however. Included were keyboard instruments, woodwind, brass and stringed instruments.
The latter performed particularly well during the sale, leaving only three out of the eleven stringed lots unsold. The three unsold lots were: a Harp Lute c.1820, with an estimate of 800 - 1,200 GBP, an early nineteenth century Milanese Mandolin (estimate 1,200 to 1,800 GBP) and a lot of three Dancing-Master Kits, with a pre-sale estimate of 2,000 to 3,000 GBP.
The star of the string lots was a beautiful Bass Viola Da Gamba by Hendrik Jacobs. Made in Amsterdam, c.1675 (with a string length of 680mm & length of back: 645mm) it sold for 38,400 GBP (including the buyer's premium), reaching the lower end of its estimate. A guitar c.1830 by Louis Panormo exceded its estimate, attaining 3,000 GBP. An interesting small 'German' 15 1/2 inch viola, which had been converted from a viola d'amore, made 6,000 GBP - three times the higher end of the pre-sale estimate. It was labelled 'Jacob Raymann, at ye Bell Yard in Southwark, London 1653'. Some bidders must have seen more in the instrument than the worth of the auction house's estimate.
A quinton (a French five-stringed 'cross' between a violin and a treble viol used c.1730-1789) made by Louis Guersan in Paris 1752 attained 3,600 GBP, also beating its 1,800 to 2,500 GBP estimate and an English tenor Viola da Gamba by Frederick Hintz with a back length of 536mm made 6,600 GBP.

The most expensive lot of the day, however, was a two-manual harpsichord by Burkat Shudi and John Broadwood of London 1773. That fetched 102,000 GBP - an instrument worthy of Catherine the Great herself.

Fiona Vilnite, Editor musicforstrings.com

Sarasate. The Legendary Violinist.

Pablo de Sarasate is perhaps best known nowadays for his sparkling violin compositions, such as Zigeunerweisen Op.20, the Carmen Fantasy Op.25, and the Spanish dances - made popular by Itzahk Perlman and others.

Sarasate was also an outstanding virtuoso violinist of his day. He toured in Europe, North and South America, Russia and even India. Born in 1844 in Pamplona, Spain, he was the son of a military bandmaster. He studied the violin at the Paris Conservatoire with Delphin Alard (the son-in-law of Jean Baptiste Vuillaume * and former pupil of Francois Antoine Habeneck) and harmony with Henri Reber (a former pupil of Le Sueur). His compositional output of 54 opus numbers illustrate his skill both as performer and composer. He was widely admired and 'main-stream' composers dedicated works to him. These included Max Bruch (the Scottish Fantasy and the famous Violin Concerto No.2), Eduard Lalo (the Symphonie Espagnol for violin and Orchestra and two of his Violin Concertos), Dvorak (Mazurek op.49) and the contemporary violinist-composers: Joachim and Wieniawski. He died at Biarritz in 1908.

Sarasate is known to have owned some beautiful old Italian violins, including three instruments by Antonio Stradivari and a Guarneri del Gesu which had belonged to Ferdinand David (1810-1873). Queen Isabella of Spain, who had been Sarasate's patron whilst at the Conservatoire in Paris, gave Sarasate the Boissier Stradivari of 1713. He apparently left his favourite Stadivari (the ex Sarasate of 1724) to the Paris Conservatoire. This violin had once alledgedy belonged to Nicolo Paganini.

Zigeunerweisen, published in 1878, has become one of the best-known show pieces in the violin repertoire. Its contrasting sections of fire and romance have appealed to audiences and violinists for over 125 years.

Miramar Zortzico for Violin and Piano Op. 42 was published in 1899. It has a time signiture of 5/8 and elegant folk-like idiom.

Romanza Andaluza for violin and Piano Op. 22 No.3 was also published in 1899. A real spanish-sounding Romance, includes the typical 'Sarasate sound', without many technical complexities.

Adios Montanas Mias, for Violin and Piano, Op.37, published in 1896.

Jota Navarra, for Violin and Piano, Op.22, published Berlin 1879.

Spanish Dance, for Violin and Piano, Op.26 no.2, published Berlin 1882.

Zapateado, for Violin and Piano, Op.23 No.2, published Berlin 1880.

by Fiona Vilnite, Editor, musicforstrings.com

*See Old Violins by H R Haweis - page 90, edition Music for Strings 2005.

A Mason Clarke: The Violin and Old Violin Makers.

Fragment from the The Violin and Old Violin Makers by A Mason Clarke.

RUPPERT, of Erfurt, a maker who worked on an extremely original model. He made all his instruments very flat in model, and dispensed with the side linings and corner blocks, and omitted the purfling. The front and back tables were, however, made with due regard to thicknesses, which redeemed them somewhat from the defects above mentioned. The instruments possess a good tone and fine examples are highly priced.

SCHEINLEIN, MATTHIAS FREDERICK, of Langenfeld (1730-1771). Made fine instruments which, in his time, were in great demand. He made them too weak, consequently many of them are now practically spoiled by subsequent repairing.

STAINER, JACOBUS, born at Hall, near Absam, a short distance from Innsbruck, July 14, 1621, died at Absam, 1683. This maker is the most renowned of the German school, concerning whose early career the following account has been handed down. A priest residing in the district of Absam took a fancy to young Jacob, and had him sent to Innsbruck to learn the art of organ building under one Daniel Herz. This calling not suiting the youth's inclinations, his master advised him to learn the art of violin making. Stainer then went to Cremona, and placed himself under Nicolas Amati, who soon recognised the talent of his young pupil, and took great pains in instructing him in the secrets of the art. He then quitted Cremona, and for a short time worked in Venice under Vermercati, who at that time was a maker of some merit. With an accumulation of experience gained in the best schools of the time, Stainer finally returned to Absam and settled there as a maker of violins on his own account. In the year 1645 he married a Margaretha Holzhammer, by whom he had several children. His renown as a violin maker rapidly increased, but for some reason or other he found it difficult to provide for the wants of himself and family, and he was compelled to travel about the country in order to dispose of his instruments. However, in 1658, he was appointed court violin maker to the Archduke Leopold, and in 1669 received the distinction of Maker to the Emperor; but all these advantages and honours contributed but little to raise him from his chronic state of poverty. He now began to experience some bitter reverses. A certain creditor of his, named Solomon Heubnar, with whom he at one time lived (Stainer left him without paying for his board) lodged an information against him charging him with the crime of heresy. He was seized and thrown into prison, and remained there six months, at the expiration of which he found himself utterly ruined and poverty stared him in the face. He was then persecuted by Count Albert Fugger for certain dues which it was customary to levy on court tradesmen. Stainer petitioned the Emperor to waive this claim, but to no purpose, his supplication being ignored, it is thought, in consequence of his previous conviction for the alleged heresy. Stainer then fell into a state of abject misery, neglected his work, and finally died out of mind. It will therefore be seen that this renowned maker worked under most distressing conditions, and it is a marvel that he was able to produce anything worthy of subsequent copying. Stainer's house is still pointed out, and, it is said, the bench to which he was bound when mad.

Another story which has gained currency in some quarters, but in others said to be mythical, recounts that at the latter period of his life he abandoned his calling and became an inmate of a Benedictine monastery. Here, with the assistance of a brother monk, he contrived to get together sufficient materials for the manufacture of sixteen violins of great beauty. These apparently fabulous fiddles are known as the Elector. Stainers from the circumstance that each Elector was supposed to be the recipient of one of these instruments, the remaining going to the Emperor of Germany. For information concerning the instruments made by this unfortunate fiddle maker, the best is that contained in the treatise of Jacob Augustus Otto, maker to the Court of the Archduke of Weimar, translated from the German by Thomas Fardely, of Leeds (1833), and since then by the late Mr. Bishop, of Cheltenham (William Reeves, London).

Otto says: The instruments made by Jacob Stainer differ from the Cremonese both in outward shape and in tone. They are higher modelled, and their proportions of strength are calculated quite: differently. The nearest comparison which can be drawn between a Cremonese and a Stainer is this: a Cremonese has a strong reedy, sonorous tone something similar to that of a clarionet, while a Stainer approaches to that of a flute. The belly is modelled higher than the back. The highest part of the model under the bridge extends exactly one half of the instrument towards the lower broad part and then diminishes towards the end edge. It decreases in a like manner at the upper broad part towards the neck. The breadth of this model is uniformly the same as that of the bridge, from which it diminishes towards the side edge. The edges are very strong and round. The purfling lies somewhat nearer to the edges than in the Cremonese, and is likewise narrower than in the latter (the Cremonese) in which it is very broad. The f holes in Stainer instruments are very beautifully cut, and the upper and under turns are perfectly circular. In length they are somewhat shorter than the Cremonese. The neck is particularly handsome, and the scroll is as round and smooth as if it had been turned. Some few have lions' heads, which are extremely well carved. The sides and the back are made of the finest figured maple and covered with a deep yellow amber varnish. In some the screw (peg) box is varnished dark brown and the belly deep yellow. The above are the most accurate marks by which the genuine Stainer instruments may be distinguished. They are rarely to be found with any labels inside, but in the few which are to be met with of the genuine instruments bearing any inscription, they are simply written, not printed. In the Tyrolese imitations of Stainers they are all printed. In the genuine Cremonese instruments they are likewise invariably printed..

Genuine Stainers with labels have this written inscription:

Jacobus Stainer in Absam prope .nipontum h-fis 165-..