It's full-sized. The size that adults play. My kid has grown into an adult-sized violin ... and how fitting, since she's also grown into an mature appetite for guided challenge and an adult-sized work ethic.It's a 2006 Salvatori Callegari, actually Chinese in origin but with an Italian vanity label. She's its first owner, so it'll likely "break in" and grow its sound, due to the beneficial effects of vibrations on the acoustic properties of the wood. It has a very balanced sound, big but not overly bright, and it'll be a fine chamber music instrument (very important to her!) as well as giving a good soloist's sound. She chose a very very nice wooden bow to go with it.
And the case, oh my! Not that there was much selection at the lower end, but a featherlight red-black-and-silver Bam oblong with a combination lock, cushioning air suspension inside, and matching bits and pieces in the pockets? Zowee! This parent in jealous!
It looks beautiful, Erin.
ReplyDeleteWe've just been struggling with finding A a suitable 1/4 size with a good sound. The one we have doesn't ring on E (a higher end, new Chinese model - hand made). And the other one we're trying is pretty but very "mellow" ie. quiet (Czech, older)
What store in Calgary do you go to to select the instrument? We may find ourselves there next month...
oh my, that sure looks a lot like the wood colour of my violin! but mine's a 3/4.
ReplyDeleteHow exciting! I hope she gets many good years out of her instrument and fancy case! Your trip over the mountains sounds like a resounding success. :)
ReplyDeleteRebecca, we bought it from Wilder & Davis in Canmore (not quite Calgary, but almost). It's not really a store. Nigel Boehm, a professional cellist and dealer who does instrument repairs and restoration, runs a workshop out of his home that is, business-wise, a branch of a large Montreal fine instrument dealer. You can find him by googling, I think. His prices aren't great, but the instruments are really awesome -- big selection of lovely fiddles. However, I'm not sure what sort of selection he carries in the smaller fractionals. We mostly buy those from a fellow in Ontario named Bill Ware who specializes in quality fractionals. We got the quarter on which Sophie is now playing the Vivaldi g minor concerto from him back when Erin was 8 and at a similar level. Not a lot of money (maybe $600-700?), but an amazing contemporary Chinese instrument.
ReplyDeleteGood luck in your search!
Thanks, Miranda. Great info. We have been lucky in that we have been able to consult with a fabulous luthier here in town who has been doing sound post adjustments, etc. to see if he can bring out the better sound. Some of it is just letting the instrument ripen. It's one of those situations where it sounded fantastic in the shop... but once we got it home (and took it to Yasuko), something had changed. And nothing had happened to it in the interim (except that I rosined the bow)! I would have given it a 9.5/10 at the shop. By the time I took it out of the case at home, it was certainl down a point. By the time we got it to Yasuko, she felt it was a 7/10. Kim has brought it back up to about a 8 or 8.5.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I'm just too picky (???). I've been meaning to blog about it but I was afraid there would be too many #%&*$ in my post. LOL
..small world! the name sounded so familiar I looked at our season ticket brochure for the UNC series we attend every year and sure enough he will be preforming in Raleigh NC in march of 2008...
ReplyDelete..Tell Erin I am envious of her piece. I have owned the same violin since I graduated to a full, about her age.( I am 50 now) I dearly dearly love it and hope she has the same love affair with hers!
Rebecca Said "The one we have doesn't ring on E"
ReplyDeleteHeh, Get a Viola.
(just a joke!)
LOL, Noah! You sure can find any opening for your viola-promoting.
ReplyDelete