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.