crazy jane

I am used to nutty bidding on Goodwill violins and am always happy to see money go to a good cause. But for a viola? With three days left, this one already has 15 bids. I'll admit it caught my eye--but only out of curiosity, for it has a label with no mention of maker, just place of origin, Montclair, New Jersey. I just wonder, for those more familiar with her instruments, is this the work of Carleen Hutchins? (There. Maybe I can can make a few more $$$ for Goodwill! )

My luthier successfuly solved my viola's wolf note by replacing the heavy ebony tailpiece with lighter rosewood--worth a try, anyway.

"Total Eclipse!" Handel's Samson

I am waiting to see/hear something like this. A+

You might appreciate Albert Markov's System of Violin Playing. There is also a valuable YouTube channel with demonstrations of the system: Markov Method for Smarter Scales

Rhythm is always more important than technique.

He played a Strad from 1709 https://www.gramophone.co.uk/review/bartók-violin-concertos

If you want to improve your sight reading quickly, get a reading quartet together, meet regularly, and bash through as much literature by various composers of different eras and genres as you can. This helped me immensly (and I am dislexic). Just working on solo lit. or "exercises" won't get you there, in my opinion. Good luck.

Thank you for your post—and your presence here! I attended a master class Orion gave some years ago (maybe 20!) in our town, which I enjoyed very much—though I apparently asked an unspeakable question that elicited a sharp rebuke from our violin faculty. But to some extent it connects with your comments on Dounis: Who teaches/advises/ coaches the masters? How do the masters gain an objective perspective on their work? That is an impressive list of students! By the way, you proceded to answer my question quite tolerantly and politely. Thank you.

https://observer.case.edu/cim-students-peacefully-protest-during-first-orchestra-rehersal/ This is troubling, especially in light of CIM's recent past history.

My husband plays on Passiones with a Goldbrokat E

https://s9.imslp.org/files/imglnks/usimg/3/37/IMSLP26801-PMLP59431-Henry_Schradieck_School_of_Violin_Technics_Bk.1.pdf This may look tedious but it really works.

Be aware that "antique" instruments, apart from those in mint condition, can require considerable maintence, especially for young people heading off to that camp in the arid Rockies or that humid one in upstate New York. (Our daughter returned from Meadowmount with every seam open on her 1905 violin--and old cellos seem even more sensitive). And then there's winter--which, as a Minnesotan, you know about ....and summer.... And it seems the bigger the instrument, the more likely it is to suffer physically inflicted damages. My sister beqeathed her cello-playing niece with the "gift" (curse) of her 150 year old cello (not a valuable thing) that arrived from Hawaii as a cello kit and required a year of resoration and many pots of glue. It has always been a money pit. Add to that the cost of travel with a cello. Earlier in its life, that old cello was crushed by baggage handlers when my sister went on tour in Europe. So you either buy a second seat on the plane, or you trust your good fortune and pray a lot. These realities deserve to be considered when making a significant investment in an "antique" instrument.

There is a lot of practical wisdom in this video: Why Andres Diaz traded his multi-million $$$ cello for a $7,000 cello

And they last forever.