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Beethoven, Romberg & the Cello Concerto That Didn't Happen

March 13, 2016, 11:48 am
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By Andy Fein and Miranda Crawford

Beethoven wrote a beautiful Concerto for Violin, a wonderful Triple Concerto for Violin, Cello, and Piano, nine great Symphonies, five superb Cello Sonatas, plus a bunch of Concertos for lots of other instruments. But we don't have a Beethoven Cello Concerto. Why?
Bernhard Romberg, the guy that nixed Beethoven's Cello Concerto
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David Tecchler, Cello Maker Extraordinaire and Mercenary (?!)

April 3, 2016, 1:10 pm
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By Andy Fein, Miranda Crawford, and Martha McDermott

David Tecchler is a luthier that has long fascinated me. I first saw his work when I was an apprentice in violin making school. His work is an interesting combination of German/Tyrolean style blended with a few Italian styles. Even though he was born in Salzburg, Austria in 1666, he's generally considered an Italian maker because most of his work was done in Rome. His well loved cellos are often valued in the $1,000,000 (yes, that's one million) and up range. But if he was considered a Tyrolean maker, the vagaries of the market would knock a zero or two off of those values. 

And his cellos are fantastic! Dare I say it? Some of his cellos rival Stradivarius' in terms of sound, carrying power, and refinement of tone. 

Then there's his most famous cello, the 'ex-Roser', generally attributed to the year 1723, and beautifully played for many years by Robert Cohen. A great sounding cello! Look where the scroll should be. There's an elaborately carved head of a bearded man wearing a distinctive hat. Who.Is.That.Guy?

Robert Cohen playing his David Tecchler cello, The ex-Roser

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Watch Out! The Natural Hazards of Stringed Instrument Playing

April 10, 2016, 2:08 pm
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By Andy Fein, Martha McDermott, and Miranda Crawford

Recently, a high school orchestra student had a very unfortunate mishap. A piece of metal from the tailpiece of his violin popped off and hit him in the eye. The accident caused fairly extensive damage to his eye. Hopefully, the damage will not be permanent and his sight will be restored. But it made us realize that not everyone knows that your violin, viola, or cello is not bomb proof. They need maintenance! Maintenance to ensure the best sound and playability, and sometimes just for basic safety.
Avoid this! Change your strings & check your instrument often

I have not seen the actual instrument, so I'm going to speculate that the piece of metal was actually the metal ball from a ball end string.

A fully intact ball end E string

So, here's a list of some things you should regularly do to ensure the health of your instrument. And you!

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A Strad, a Mobster, and a Priest

May 15, 2016, 3:07 pm
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By Andy Fein, Martha McDermott and Miranda Crawford

Recently, I read a news story about a former priest pleading guilty to helping his mobster friend find a supposed Stradivarius hidden inside a wall of a home in Wisconsin. My inner ears perked up! What could be a better story? The Mafia, a supposed Stradivarius hidden inside a wall, a corrupt priest, a few hundred thousand dollars (in cash, of course), a bunch of loose diamonds, FBI raids, and a heartfelt confession. Sounds too good to be true. But it is!
Frank Calalbrese, Sr.

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Stradivarius in his Nineties- Great Violins in His Last Years

July 14, 2016, 4:11 pm
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One of the amazing things about Antonius Stradivarius is the longevity of his working life.

Born in 1644, Stradivarius' earliest instruments date from about 1670, at age 26. By age 26, Stradivarius was already a well trained luthier with finely honed skills. He kept working and making great instruments until he was 93.

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Stradivarius. 10 Fun Facts About His Life & Work

August 11, 2016, 11:32 am
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By Andy Fein, Luthier, Fein Violins, Ltd.




Stradivarius. So much of my life is wrapped around learning what he did, how he did it, and maybe even why he did it. Sometimes when I'm working on an instrument, I feel like I'm having a conversation with Stradivarius. Partly with words and partly with the way I work a piece of wood for a violin. Here are some things you may or may not know about him.

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For Cellists- What You Play On Matters

August 26, 2016, 12:05 pm
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By Andy Fein, Luthier & Owner, Fein Violins, Ltd.

Have you ever attended a concert to hear a great cellist and wondered, "What are they playing on?" No, not the instrument, but the floor, platform, or podium beneath them. What a cellist plays on can make a huge difference in how the cello sounds. It's more than just finding a nice spot to jab your endpin.

Cellist Sol Gobetta on a podium higher than the conductor's
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Pictures of Violins, Violas & Cellos - Where to find Them on The Web

September 25, 2016, 3:51 pm
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Stradivarius, 1737
By Andy Fein, Martha McDermott, and Miranda Crawford

Many of us love looking at all the variations in the shape, color, style, and age of great violins, violas, and cellos. The web is full of great places to see some wonderful instruments. Stradivaris, Amartis, Guarneris, oh my!
The 'Messiah' Stradivarius
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Wood Music Stands- No Need to Be Wired

October 30, 2016, 10:38 am
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By Andy Fein, Fein Violins

We have all experienced the heartbreak of a flimsy wire music stand. You finally have the mindset and the time to practice. You put your Big Book of Etudes on your teeny wire music stand and... Boom! Down goes the music stand and your music. Hopefully, it missed your instrument.

Plus, they're just ugly. Put one in the music room in your home along with your precious instruments and nice furnishings? I. Don't. Think. So.

We came up with a better solution.
              

Introducing-  Our Professional Wood Music Stand with a  beautiful solid wood walnut top and a very reliable black metal height adjusting pole and tilt mechanism. Made especially for Fein Violins by the venerable German music stand manufacturer Konig and Meyer.
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Cellos are Big. They Used to be Bigger.

November 6, 2016, 3:45 pm
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By Andy Fein, Luthier, Fein Violins, Ltd.

If you've ever seen someone struggling down the street or up the stairs with a cello, your first thought might be "Wow! Those are big instruments!" Well, in the very long history of cellos, many of them used to be even bigger.
The 'Lord Aylesford' Stradivarius cello. A BIG cello
The standard body length of a modern cellos is about 750mm (29 1/2"). Before 1700, some monster cellos, even those made by great makers, were 760mm to 800mm (30" to 31.5"). These big cello were also proportionately wider in width. Think about that the next time you need to reach around your cello's upper bouts to play in upper positions!

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Can a Classical Musician Get A Star on Hollywood Blvd? Yes You Can!

February 12, 2017, 11:36 am
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By Andy Fein and Miranda Crawford, Fein Violins

I recently saw a quick social media post that showed a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame with the name of the great violist William Primrose.

Really? A classical musician with their own star. And a violist, no less! I thought the stars were all reserved for glamorous movie stars. Most of them are, but there are stars for some great string players, conductors, and composers. What would the movies be like without great music to go with them?

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What's the Best Sounding Violin?

March 19, 2017, 10:21 am
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By Andy Fein, Violin Maker and Owner, Fein Violins

In our shop, we're often asked "What's the best sounding violin?" Everyone wants the best sound, of course. Every player wants to have great tone, great projection, and fast response. Who wouldn't??? But..... (and there's always a but) I think two words have been left out of that question. The question really should be "What's the best sounding violin FOR ME?" Or, my child, friend, spouse, etc.

Listen to great violinist Rachel Barton Pine discuss the tonal differences between Stradivaris and Guarneri del Gesus.
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What's the Best Sounding Cello?

April 9, 2017, 9:13 am
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By Andy Fein, Violin Maker and Owner, Fein Violins

In our shop, we're often asked "What's the best sounding cello?" Everyone wants the best sound, of course. Every player wants to have great tone, great projection, and fast response. Who wouldn't??? But..... (and there's always a but) I think two words have been left out of that question. The question really should be "What's the best sounding cello FOR ME?" Or, my child, friend, spouse, etc.
The 'King' Amati cello, made circa 1555


(If you read my previous blog post What's the Best Sounding Violin?, much of the following will sound familiar)

The wonderful cellist Myung-wah Chung plays on what I consider to be one of the best (if not THE BEST!) sounding cellos I've ever heard, the 1731 'Braga' Stradivarius cello. I've also had the opportunity to study this cello in depth.


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Glasser Carbon Composite Violin. Review and Comparison

May 7, 2017, 10:08 am
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Joachim, Some Grand-Nieces, and a Seance = The Schumann Violin Concerto

June 13, 2018, 10:04 am
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By Andy Fein, Luthier at Fein Violins,
and Ivana Truong

The Schumann Violin Concerto!!! One of your favorites, right? You see it on an orchestra's upcoming season and you're buying tickets the very next minute, right? Ummmmm? Not so much??? Never heard of the Schumann Violin Concerto or heard it played? You're in the vast majority of the classical music audience. The Schumann Violin Concerto is rarely played. And, so goes the consensus, for good reason.



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'Playing In', 'Breaking In' a New Instrument. Is it a Thing?

June 22, 2018, 9:09 am
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By Andy Fein, Luthier
Fein Violins
and Ivana Truong

Our own Patrizio Stradivari model violin being "played in" with Classical MPR

You often hear a string player talk about how their violin, viola, or cello has really "opened up" in the weeks, months, or years since they first bought it. A statement like that is so common, we assume it's true. But is it? What actually happens when an instrument is "played in"? Does it really "open up"? Is there really a "breaking in" period?
The absolute, categorical, definitive answer to that is---- 
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Women Composers That You Should Hear!

June 29, 2018, 2:02 pm
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By Andy Fein and Ivana Truong


Most of the Western Classical Music world has been dominated for centuries by male composers.
Or, at least we think it has. Many great women composers have lived and died, and many are actively writing beautiful music today. Who are they? Where are they? How come we don't know more about them?  Well, let's start with classical concert programmers. A recent article in The Guardian by Mark Brown pointed out that about 95% of all the classical music on concert programs through 2019 was by male composers. Is it possible that male composers wrote 95% of all the classical music that's worth listening to or performing? Of course not! 




Clara Schumann's Drei Romanzen

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Stradivarius vs. Guarnerius Cellos

July 22, 2018, 3:17 pm
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By Andy Fein, Luthier, Fein Violins
and Ivana Truong


Recently, cellist Pablo Ferrandez had the incredible opportunity to compare two great cellos- the 'Aylesford' Stradivarius cello of 1696 and a Joseph filius Andrea Guarnerius cello made in 1694. As you can tell, this made Pablo Ferrandez very happy. Very, very happy!



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Amati Cellos

July 30, 2018, 1:42 pm
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By Andy Fein, Luthier at Fein Violins and
Ivana Truong
Fig. 1. Andrea Amati (Italian, ca. 1505–1578). Violoncello, "The King" (detail), mid-16th century. National Music Museum, Vermillion, South Dakota, Witten-Rawlins Collection, 1984 (NMM 3351)
'The King' made by Andrea Amati, the oldest surviving cello

image from The Met
In an upcoming blog post, we'll be reviewing a book titled BC Before Cremona which traces the lineages of violin family instruments leading up to the early Cremonese makers in the mid 1500s. But somewhere around the 1520s to 1530s- POOF- violins, violas, and cellos started to be made. Who was the first? There are many names tossed around, but Andrea Amati was certainly an early maker of violin family instruments.

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Craft Beer and the Craft of Composing- Joey Crane, Composer and Beer Guy

August 14, 2018, 11:52 am
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By Andy Fein, luthier at Fein Violins 
and Ivana Truong

In the constantly expanding world of craft beer, it's hard to know what to try, what to avoid, and what is not to your taste. To help guide you, wine has sommeliers, beer has cicerones. A cicerone is a "beer person"  that actually knows what they're talking about. For me (Andy, Ivana's too young to drink), that person is Joey Crane. I first met him at The Ale Jail on St. Clair Ave. in St. Paul. I was perusing the many craft beers and Joey introduced himself as the beer person there. I went away from that first encounter with several beers to try. Now, several years later, I can proclaim without any hint of beer snobbery that "I really like Belgian Ales with secondary in bottle fermentation." And for most cicerones, that's about as far as I'd get to know the person.
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Composer Joey Crane

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