New Ulm weekly review., 1881-05-04
Ole BULBS yiolins.

Ole BULBS Yiolins.
That brave old Gaspar di salo, the
brown one, the color of a Toby, is on
the table. Ole Bull has been impro-
vising on it, and the walls of library
room in historical house in Cambridge
have not yet ceased reverberating. The
Benvenuto Cellini has been taken out
of it's case. inclined my ear to it, and
am satisfied that it is responsive, for
some of the notes played on the other
violin it has sympathized with, and it
sends out magica4y it's music in a spon-
taneous way. We talk violins. 1 re-
call to Ole Bull how long ago it was
when he made me think, as lad, how
beautiful thing was a violin. tell
him how first saw him fondle the dis
membered portions OF his instrument
at Mickle's in Market Street, Philadel-
phia, and though thirty-tive years have
passed away since then, he remembers
disaster which befell his Gaspar di
Salo at about that time, though he has
forgotten me.
II was twenty-four years old-it was
in 1934-when I first heard that Gaspar
di Salo in Venice" Ole Bull tells me.
6 1t belonged to Amtmann Zoller.
tried it, and fell in love with it at once.
l had an Amati then that thought q
great deal of, and told musician, a
friend ofmine, how much finer I thoug ght
the Gaspar di Salo was than my Amati.
Then why did you not offer to buy it
of him?' asked the musician. Be
cause" I replied, 1 should hate to de-
prive him of it, But do you want it?'
sOf course 1 do chen I will
speak to him. DO it, then, care
fully l said. Next morning Zoller
came to me in towering passion.
why did you not say to me yourself
hat you wanted the violin?-why did
you send a go-betwcen?' I pacifed
him all could. and invited him to
breakfast with me next day. He had a
good breakfast. When it was over he
said to me, Il have a good-for-nothing
son, who is a 'cello-player. Now am
seventy years of age. can't play any
more. If there is anybody who ought
to have the violin, it is you, Ole Bull.
Give me what l paid for (which is
two hundred louis dor L have not
that much money,'.I replied that is,
about me-but will bring it to-day
did so, and carried it to him all in gold.
l remember some of the gold was a lit
tie worn, and he objected to taking Ger
tain pieces. When the violin was mine,
l felt like mother who has found lost
child. Now, as the violin was mine,
ifc r,0n111So, ,.sfS1o
fountain of sound, but the gushing of
the water was a little clogged. made
up my mind that the violin had to be
opened. The bar was very strangely
placed, and knew it was too thick.
went to Florence, and when gave it to
a workman, and he saw it, he just cried.
i was born in Salo,' said the man, and
if anybody will take good care of that
violin, am the man. He opened that
violin, and found it very thick in the
wood enough air in it. Some
work was then done on it, and it was
brought up to its present condition. 1t
has never been touched since''
"And the history of the Gaspar di
Salo violin with the Benvenuto Cellini
ornamentations?'
''Well, in 1889 l gave sixteen con-
certs at Vienna. and then Rhehazek
was the great violin collector. saw at
his house this violin for the, first time.
| just went wild over it. will you sell
it?' I asked. Yes was the reply
for one-quarter of all Vienna Now
Rhehazek was really as poor as church
mouse. Though he had no end of mon
ey put out in the most valuable instru-
ments, he never sold any of them un-
less when forced by hunger. l invited
Rhehazek to my concerts. wanted
to buy the violin so much that l made
him some tempting offers. One day he
said to me, See here, Ole Bull, if I
do sell the violin, you shall. have the
preference, at 4,O00 ducats.' Agreed
| cried, though I knew it was big
sum.
''That violin came stro!ling, or pay
ing rather, through my brain for some
years. It was in 1841. was in Leip-
sic, giving concerts: List was there,
and so also was Mendelssohn. One
day we were all dining together. We
were having a splendid time. During
the dinner came an immense letter
with a seal-an official document. Said
Mendelssohn, Use no ceremony; open
your letter. what an awful seal!'
cried Liszt with your permission,
said I, and l opened the letter. It was
from Rhehazek's son. for the collector
was dead. His father had said that
the violin should be offered to me at
the price he had mentioned. I told
List and Mendelssohn about the price.
You man from Norway, you are
crazy said LiszJ. 'Unheard of ex-
travagance, which only fiddler is ca
pable Of exclaimed Mendelssohn.
Have you ever played on it? Have you
ever tried it?' they both inquired. sNev.
er,' answered, for it cannot be played
on at all just now
II never was happier than when ]
felt sure that the prize was mine. Orig
inally the bridge was of lockwood.
with two fishes carved on it-that was
the zodiacal sign of my birthday, Feb.
ruary-which was good sign. Oh, the
good times that violin and have had
AS to it's history, Rhehazek told me
that in 1909, when Innspruck was taken
by the French, the soldiers sacked the
town. This violin had been placed in
the Innspruck Museum by Cardinal
Aldobrandi at the close of the sixteenth
century. A French soldier looted it,
and sold it to Rhehazek for trifle.
This is the same violin that played on,
when first came to the United States,
in the Park Theater. That was on
Internationally, 1843. l went to the
Astor House, and made a joke; I am
quite capable of doing such things. II
was the day when John Bull went out
and Ole Bull came in. L remembe.
that at the very first concert one of my
strings broke, and had to work out
my piece on the three strings, and il
was supposed did it on purpose. p
Barnet Philips, IN Rarper's Magazine.
The number of Indians in America,
exclusiva IF Alaska ia Oh 938 all III