Philia' on Two Violins with Peter Sheppard Skærved & Michael Alec Rose

About

The Library of Congress and violinist Peter Sheppard Skærved invited acclaimed American composer Michael Alec Rose, to write pieces responding to two violins in the collection, by Nicola/Nicolò Amati and Antonio Stradivari. These two violins represent two generations of great Cremonese lutherie and are separated by just under half a century. Like nearly all surviving violins from the 1600s and 1700s, the 1700 "Ward" Stradivari was subject to a number of alterations in the 1800s. The most visible of these was the re-angling of the neck, and a lengthening of the fingerboard. Less immediately apparent was the replacement of the bass-bar inside the instrument and the evolution of different bridge designs. For most of its life, this violin would have been strung with uncovered gut strings. However, from the beginning of the 20th century, these were increasingly changed out for strings wound with metal, which give a brighter, more penetrating sound. Another visible change to the look of the instrument, although less dramatic than the structural alterations to the body of the violin, was the use of a chinrest, attached, as here, to the end of the instrument to enable a firmer grip for the player. The result of all of these changes might be said to the modern violin. Combined with the Tourte-model bow, as used here, this combination of instrument and accoutrements produces the sound most familiar to audiences. The 1654 "Brookings" Amati was also altered, like the Stradivari, in the…

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Library of Congress, in Library of Congress: talks and concerts

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Rights statement at the Library of Congress, as the Library of Congress states it.

Credit

Library of Congress

Language

English

Country

United States

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