Explore every episode of the podcast 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.

Daniel Rouslin taught violin and music theater at Willamette University for many years. He was teaching there in 1988 when an early 18th century Italian violin was discovered hidden under the floor boards of Waller Hall, the oldest building on the campus of the oldest institution of higher learning west of the Mississippi River. How did violin get there? Who made the violin? What should the school do with such a unique and valuable violin?

Dan tells the story of the remarkable discovery and also shares his own story as a musician and music educator. 

Grammy and MacArthur award winner Rhiannon Giddens grew up in North Carolina near the city of Greensboro, which is where I interviewed her in 2015 while she was performing at the National Folk Festival. A founding member of the Carolina Chocolate Drops, she was trained as an opera singer before her passion for the banjo, fiddle, and folk songs took hold. She has done much to educate the public, as well as fellow musicians, about the contribution African-American musicians have made to the traditional folk music of United States. 

This is part two of my conversation with violinist John Sherba who is a member of the Kronos Quartet. In this podcast he talks about some of the quartet's innovative musical projects as well as talking about his own violins.

John Sherba is a violinist and member of the legendary Kronos Quartet. I interviewed John several months after the Covid 19 pandemic changed everyone's life. Here he talks about his family and his own musical journey.

Tony Ellis' first professional job as a musician was playing banjo for Bill Monroe, considered by many as the father of bluegrass music. Along with being a gifted banjo player and fiddler, Tony also composes some of the sweetest tunes this side of paradise. And if you need your fiddle adjusted or maybe you're in the market for a new instrument, stop by Tony's shop in Circleville, Ohio.

This interview was recorded in 2018 at the Fraley Family Music Festival that is held each year at Carter Caves State Park in the hill country of eastern Kentucky.

This is part two of my conversation with violin maker Marco Imer Piccinotti who lives in the town of San Polo d'Enza in Northern Italy.

Marco Imer Piccinotti is a highly-regarded violin maker living in the town of San Polo d'Enza in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. Paula and I visited Marco at his home where I recorded this interview.

This is part two of my fascinating interview with violinist and music educator Christian Howes. 

Christian Howes is a gifted violinist who grew up in Ohio playing classical music, soloing with the Columbus Symphony at the age of sixteen. But then his life was turned upside down when he was sentenced to served four years in prison. I traveled to Asheville, North Carolina, in 2016 to ask Christ to share his remarkable story with us. This is part one of that conversation.

I recorded this hour-long interview with violin maker Mark Keenan in 2017 when my wife Paula and I traveled to Ireland. Mark's studio is inside the historic Belmont industrial flour mill in Co. Offaly. Mark's grandfather was also a violin maker at the beginning of the twentieth century in Dublin. 

Here is part two on my conversation with old-time musician Jody Stecher that ranges from music theory, what's in tune and what's not in tune when playing different fiddle tunes for instance, to the intricacies of an old ballad about two sisters who fall in love with the same young man with the refrain, "Oh the Dreadful Wind and Rain." Jody also shares his history with different violins he's owned over the years.

Jody Stecher is one of the most highly respected folk musicians in the world today. His knowledge of the genre is encyclopedic and his singing and skill on a variety of traditional string instruments is unrivaled. I interviewed Jody at his home in San Francisco in 2017. This is part one of that conversation.  

While attending the National Folk Festival in Greensboro, North Carolina, in 2015, I had the opportunity to interview fiddler Courtney Granger who was performing at the festival with the Pine Leaf Boys. Sadly, Courtney passed away recently and I wanted to share this interview with others. He was a talented musician and a lovely human being. He will be missed.

Clay Buckner is an old-time and Celtic fiddler living in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. For many years, Clay has been the fiddler for one of my favorite string bands, the Red Clay Ramblers. I recorded this interview at his home after which we spent a pleasant evening playing tunes together.

Michael Certalic is a violinist who lives in Bozeman, Montana, where he heads up the strings program at a local high school. In this podcast, he tells the story of a violin he asked a luthier to make that would contain elements of Montana, a state he dearly loves and that serves as the source of his inspiration as a musician and teacher.

I interviewed James Kelly at the National Folklore Festival in 2015 in Greensboro, North Carolina. Mr. Kelly was born and grew up in Ireland and is now living in the United States. His father was the renowned fiddle and concertina player John Kelly. James talks about growing up in a musical family and how traditional Irish music moved from Ireland to America and back again to Ireland thanks to a series of recordings made in the early years of the twentieth century.

The interviews I conducted with musicians, luthiers, museum curators, tone wood experts and others for the Rosin the Bow project took place before the Covid 19 pandemic upended all our lives. The impact of the pandemic upon the livelihood of working musicians has been devastating and know one knows when conditions with improve for them. Well, I recently heard of innovative project in Vermont that involves the making of a handmade violin and a bow, the streaming in real time on the Internet the making of the violin, and the raffling of violin and bow to raise money for a special fund to help musicians weather these extraordinary times. The project was the brainchild of violin maker Jacob Brillhart but many others stepped up to help make this happen. Here is an interviewed with Jacob and others that tells the story of the project while exploring how those in the violin world can best cope with what is going on. And the raffle is still going on, so listen and buy a ticket or two. You just might get lucky and you'll be helping fellow musicians in the bargain. Just visit:  https://sevenstarsarts.rallyup.com/musicianaid

Penny Brill is an accomplished violist with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra. She has also led an effort to bring the healing power of music to hospitals and other medical organizations in the greater Pittsburgh area. I interviewed Ms. Brill at her home in the fall of 2015. In these troubling times of the corona virus outbreak, Ms. Brill offers valuable insights into ways we can be healthy in our bodies and in our communities.

Hans Johannsson is a violin maker from Iceland. David Fulton is a noted collector of old Italian violins, violas, and cellos. I met and interviewed Hans when he came to David's house in Bellevue, Washington, to examine his collection of rare instruments. It was conversation that covered many subjects related to violin making and the role the arts play in the world today.

Anyone familiar with what is called "old-time" music knows the name Bruce Molsky. As a fiddler, singer, and guitar and banjo player, he has helped keep traditional American folk music alive and well for the better part of fifty years. I interviewed Bruce at the Oly Old-Time Music Festival in Olympia, Washington, in 2016.

Lyris is the former head of marketing for orchestral strings for the D'Addario Musical Strings Company. She is also an accomplished violinist who plays with the popular musical group Indigo Girls. She also has her own rock band named Hung. I interviewed Lyris in 2016 at the Wintergrass Music Festival in Bellevue, Washington.

This is the second part of my conversation with Winifred Horan, fiddler with the Irish musical group Solas, during which she talks about her Jonathan Cooper violin and her decision to return to traditional Irish music after many years of training as a classical violinist.

I interviewed Winifred Horan when she came to perform with the Irish musical group Solas at the Wintergrass Music Festival in Bellevue, Washington, in 2016. This is part one of that conversation in which she talks about her Irish-born parents, her involvement with traditional Irish dancing, and her extensive classical violin training in New York City and Boston.

In part two of my conversation with Gregg Alf, we talk about the day to day life of the violin maker, including the harvesting of tone wood, and what it takes to sell violins in today's world. We also discuss the differences between handmade violins and factory-made violins and Gregg finishes with an unusual story about an antique table and the making of a violin.

In 2015, Paula and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary by visiting the city of Venice. While there, we had the pleasure of meeting and interviewing Gregg Alf, one of the most highly respected violin makers in the world today. Steeped in the history of the violin and possessing remarkable violin making skills, Gregg also brings to his work a spiritual sensibility befitting these mysterious and enchanting instruments.  

Joshua Bell is one of the most respected solo violinists in the world today. He also serves as the music director of the Academy of Saint Martin in the Fields. I interviewed Mr. Bell backstage after he performed a special Mother's Day concert with the Oregon Symphony Orchestra in 2018.

Tom Barr was one of the first people I interviewed for the Rosin the Bow project. He grew up in Grayson County in the mountains of southwestern Virginia where he now makes violins and banjos and runs a music store in the town of Galax with his son Stevie. Tom learned the art of violin making from Albert Hash who taught many violin makers in that part of the Appalachian Mountains. Tom has also worked as a labor union organizer fighting to improve the lives of working people. 

In part 2 of my interview with Mr. Canin, he talks about his career in music including auditioning for the San Francisco Symphony and playing for motion pictures in Hollywood. 

Stuart Canin is one of the most respected violinists in the world today. I interviewed the 91 year old Mr. Canin at his home in Berkeley, California. Having served as concert master for the San Francisco Symphony, the Los Angeles Opera, and numerous film score composers such as John Williams and Randy Newman, Mr. Canin, with a $2 violin, also played his part in world history at the conclusion of World War II. 

Chris Haddox is a fiddler, luthier, and professor of environmental studies and West Virginia University. He is also the owner of a violin made in the mountains of West Virginia the early part of the 20th century by a blind violin maker named Tommy Doolittle. Here Chris tells the story about the fiddle and his own experiences being an old-time fiddler.

In the spring of 2015, Paula and I visited Florence, Italy, to interview a family of violin makers. Paolo Vettori is the patriarch of the family who learned to make violins from his father Dario Vettori. Three of his grown children now also make violins with him in his shop. In this podcast I feature my conversation with Paolo and his son Dario II and daughter Sophia. Spending the day with this lovely lovely family in the beautiful city of Florence was an experience my wife Paula and I will never forget and it is with great pleasure I present this podcast.

In 2016 I visited Greensboro, North Carolina, to interview Russian-born violinist and conductor Dmitry Sitkovetsky and attend a special concert featuring Mr. Sitkovetsky and violinist Pinchas Zukerman and his wife, cellist Amanda Forsyth. He talked about his famous musical parents, his musical training in the former Soviet Union, his Stradivari violin, and what it takes to find beauty and meaning in life.

Noel Burke is one of the world's leading violin bow makers. He is also the younger brother of noted traditional Irish fiddle player Kevin Burke. I visited Noel at his home in County Carlow in Ireland to find out what it takes to become a bow maker and the vital role the bow plays in the making of music.

In part 2 of my interview with Fan Tao, head of research and development for the D'Addario Musical String Company, Fan talks about how his family came to the United States from Taiwan. He also talks about the history of the D'Addario family who came to the United States from Italy at the turn of the 20th century. The interview ends with Fan giving me a tour of the D'Addario factory in Long Island, NY.

Fan Tao is head of research and development for the D'Addario Musical Strings Company based in Farmingdale, New York. He is also past president of the Violin Society of America. I interviewed Fan at the D'Addario factory in June, 2015, to learn as much as I could about the history and technology of strings for the violin family of instruments. Here is part one of that interview.

Joseph Kromholz is a violinist and professor of violin and viola at Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio. I interviewed Mr. Kromholz in the fall of 2015 and we discussed many aspects of playing and teaching the violin, along with the strong connection that exists between the violin and Jewish culture.

Clay Jenkinson is an acclaimed humanities scholar with a deep knowledge about the life and work of Thomas Jefferson, a paragon of the enlightenment whose many interests and passions included playing the violin. Along with offering a unique perspective on this fascinating part of Jefferson's life, Clay weighs in the cultural and political changes taking place in modern society.

In part two of my interview with Irish fiddler Kevin Burke, we explore the relationship between the violin and the electric guitar. He also talks about how he acquired his violin and his bow, the latter a gift from his brother Noel Burke, a renowned violin maker living in Ireland who I later interviewed. He also reflects on the demands made upon the traveling musician, as well as the rewards.

Kevin Burke has been a mainstay of the traditional Irish music scene since the early 1970s. He has performed with groups such as the Bothy Band, Patrick Street, Celtic Music Festival, and Open House. Born and raised in London, Kevin now lives in Portland, Oregon, where I interviewed him in 2017. In part one of this podcast, he talks about his eccentric classical violin teacher and a chance meeting with Arlo Guthrie in the west of Ireland that led to him recording several fiddle tracks on Arlo's album, Last of the Brooklyn Cowboys, in 1972.

In 2015, Paula and I visited Cremona, Italy, the city where the great masters of violin making, Amati, Stradivari, and Guarneri, once lived and worked. Thanks to the establishment of a violin making school in Cremona in the 1930s, a hundred and fifty violin makers now call the city their home. Israeli-born Yael Rosenblum is one of the them. She is also a skilled string player and this, along with being a woman, provides her with unique insights into what it means to be a luthier in the world today.