The Many Stories of Bill Fitzpatrick: Dr. Johnson co-signs a loanHow an old violin may be worth less than a new oneIn this video, Prof. Fitzpatrick tells a story about a loan for buying a violin. Released on December 8, 2021 DISCLAIMER: The views and the opinions expressed in this video are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Virtual Sheet Music and its employees. Video TranscriptionAfter a Nashville Symphony rehearsal, Dr. Johnson the conductor asked me to meet him in front of this bank the following week. So the next week we entered and he told a bank officer that I needed a loan for violin and he would co-sign. I was given $3,500, which was quite a lot in 1968. So I had some violins shipped from Moenig’s shop in Philadelphia, and chose an old Venetian violin, mostly because it looked old. It is a decision that I have regretted for many years, as one of the other violins was by an Italian maker, Scarampella, and is worth a fortune today. And the other by the French maker Gand which is highly sought-after and has a market value that’s up there as well. But I just had to have the older violin. It looked so much better! Automatic video-to-text transcription by DaDaScribe.com Comments, Questions, Requests: Jennifer on December 13, 2021 @5:15 am PST
I didn’t realize you played in the Nashville Symphony in the past! I live and work in Nashville as a violin maker now. I think in violin buying, trading etc. it’s easy to have regrets at missed opportunities. You make a good point though that looks aren’t everything!
George Mahida * VSM MEMBER * on December 8, 2021 @12:48 pm PST
Professor Fitzpatrick I Like your stories. This one tells me that you are blessed with amazing teacher/conductor who chose to take financial risk on you. It made me think about how music enhances our spirituality. Thanks for sharing!
Tosh Hayashi * VSM MEMBER * on December 8, 2021 @9:41 am PST
Seems to me that when buying a violin, how it plays and sounds is much more important than its provenance or age...that is, assuming one is a player and not merely a collector. (One other thing: never
buy a violin without having played on it first and having been satisfied that it suits one's requirements.) |
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