Rosin the Bow with Joe McHugh

Bernd Müsing is a German who has spent years perfecting a new design for carbon fiber violin bows. I interviewed Bernd at the annual convention of the Violin Society of America in Baltimore back in 2015. His insights into the history and physics of the violin bow,  how it is constructed and used, are extraordinary. He is the founder of Arcus Bows, one of the premier makers of carbon fiber bows in the world today.

This is our 90th episode! and we thought we would try something different. Every five years or so over the course of nearly forty years I have written an original short story inspired by the supernatural mythology and folklore of the violin. I am happy to now announce that we have produced a unique audio collection of ten of these stories that we titled The Phantom Fiddler and Other Notable Tales. Each tales features a different reader(s) and musician(s). And here's the best part: the only way to access and enjoy this collection of stories is to make a donation to the Rosin the Bow project. You decide how much, but realize that we very much need your financial help if we hope to produce more podcast episodes, drawing upon the over fifty in-depth interviews that are already part of our archive, not to mention traveling out to record new interviews with musicians, luthiers, violin shop owners, historians, etc. You can do this by visiting our web site www(dot)rosinthebow(dot)org Then just tap the donate button and let us know that you want us to send you the link where you can stream and/or download the audio collection. It's that simple and I'm sure you'll enjoy the tales. And to give you sample, here is one of those stories. It is titled "Say Old Man, Can You Play the Fiddle?" and was written by Joe McHugh and is read by North Carolina folksinger Joe Newberry, with music by fiddler Darol Anger. As with all our podcast episodes, it is our gift to you! www.rosinthebow.org

After conducting over 150 interviews for the Rosin the Bow project in the United States and in Europe with musicians, violin makers, composers, tone wood experts, string designers, violin shop owners, bow makers, museum curators, and others, I realized I had yet to interview a violin rosin maker. This led me to travel to Kentucky where I sat down with a man of many parts: orchestra teacher in the public schools, a violin restorer, a violin maker, and, yes, a rosin maker. Perhaps you'll learn something from our conversation about the different aspects of rosin making that you didn't know before. I can say, I sure did.

I recorded Mateo Messina when I performed at the St. Patrick's Day celebrations two years ago at the Seattle Center. Mateo, who lives in Southern California, was serving as the grand marshal of the parade and I was drawn to his warmth, knowledge of film music composition, and his continued efforts over the years to raise money for the Children's Hospital in his hometown.

I recorded this conversation with old-time fiddler and violin maker Trevor Stuart in 2015 while attending the National Folk Festival that was held that year in the city of Greensboro, North Carolina. Trevor was performing with his twin brother, Travis Stuart, who plays the banjo. We talked about the role the violin played far back in the mountains in years past for dances, corn shuckings, medicine shows, and even wrestling contests pitting an orangutan against all comers. Sadly, Trevor passed away the next year at the age of 47. This episode of Rosin the Bow is dedicated to his memory.

I met Jonathan at the Wintergrass Music Festival some years ago where he was exhibiting some of his instruments. Mark O'Connor was performing at the festival and was playing one of Jonathan's violins. Mark loved the violin and he made sure I interviewed Jonathan for the Rosin the Bow project. Here is that interview.

This podcast continues my conversation with two remarkable and thoughtful musicians. It also explores how the principles of abstract geometry can inform both the composition and performance of violin music and how different cultures and musical traditions can enrich the experience of music and of life itself.

Purnaprajna Bangere is both a brilliant mathematician and a highly-respected violinist trained in the classical violin music of southern India. David Balakrishnan is a violinist, composer, and member of the Turtle Island String Quartet who lives in the San Francisco Bay Area. In 2017, David spent several months as an artist-in-residence working with Purna in Lawrence, Kansas, home of the University of Kansas. This interview explores their unique musical collaboration that weaves together the classical violin music traditions of southern India with that of Europe and the United States.   

Bashar Matti was born in Iraq during the Iran-Iraq War and endured the troubled times of the Kuwait-Iraq War and subsequent United States invasion of his country. Through it all he clung to his love of the violin and music and was eventually able to come to the United States where he studied violin with Kathryn Lucktenberg at the University of Oregon. 

Amanda Forsyth is a cellist who was born in South Africa and grew up in Canada. Her father was a composer who inspired her to become a musician. She is married to the violinist Pinchas Zukerman and I interviewed her after a concert she performed with her husband and the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra.