Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1904-04-28
VIOLIN IN DANGER
FALLAcloUs TRADITION THAT
INSTRUMENTS OF OLD MAS
TIERS ARE BEST.
Joseph coIIinswood, of ottumwa,
Maker of VioIlns, Declares Tradition
is Threatening Popularity of 'lnstru.
ment for Solo Concert Purposes.

The prevalent and fallacious tradition
that a violin to be good one must be
an Old one is threatening the popular
lty or the violin as solo concert in
strument according to the opinion of
Joseph Collingwood, the Ottumwa vio-
lin maker. In recent article in the
Musical Enterprise, Mr.. Collingwood
makes this statement and backs it up
with arguments that every one who is
acquainted with the facts in the sit
uation must admit to be we'll taken.
MI. Colltnswood as a maker of vio-
Inns has but few equals. No one who
knows good instrument when he sees
and hears it who has ever been allow.
| ed to handle and to draw bow across
the dozen or more superb instruments
which hang in the East Main street
| rooms where the instruments are made
ever came away believing anything else
than that the maker was wizard at
his business. There are instruments in
that case that but for their newness
in appearance, could in the hands of
skillful and constituencies dealers be
palmed off as works of the old masters
and the unsuspecting buyer would
be without question invariably the
gamer for the deception
The beautiful sweet tone which a
few of the old violins possess are a
delight to the ear of the soloist in his
studio or as he plays in the concert
hall, but to the ear of the au-
ditor sitting away off in the
concert hall who has paid his
good hard dollars for admission,
the result is not so satisfying. The
soft sweetness may be- delightful but
vigorous strength and volume of tone
is woefully lacking and for a popular
audience this failing is fatal.
The article referred to was called
forth by a recent recital of famous
violinist at which Mr.. Collingwood was
present as an auditor and is as follows:
Danger Threatening.
Listening to recent recital by
Musin leads the writer to say few
words on the great danger now threat.
eninS the noble art Of violin virtues.
ity.
AS our public meeting places be-
come larger and the players recon-
pense increases, the necessity for fill.
ing large halls grows, and in proper
| w
violin as an efficient solo instrument
becomes more acute. If we then also
take into account that the great mum
Der Of capable, but humble and finan
cially-poor, players will form the pub
lie estimat Of violin playing, and not
the few great and wealthy players, the
danger is still more threatening, be
cause 1t is fact that by far the great
est per cent Of violins used by soloists
are very inefficient.
"The reason for this lies in the fact
that the violinist is ground between
the lower milestone of tradition and
the upper one of the rapacious fiddle.
monger Tradition says "old violins
are best" when by far the most of
them are not, and the fiddle-monger
unblushingly robs the victim-there
Is no other word for it.
"The tradition Of old violins being
best is supported by the fact that ma.
ny old violins sound pleasantest to the
player because they are mellow in
tone and have certain delicate sweet
ness, but these very qualities of tone
are the ones that make the instrument
inefficient for solo concert purposes
they are the opposite to telling and
far-carrying tone. The player may be
enjoying himself, but the audience is
not, and files out feeling it's money
wasted and what is more-its longing
unsatisfied.
i at is not altogether moonshine when
. Kublik says. Mankind yearns FOL
something, it does not know what, and
l satisfy this longing?" What do all the
poets sing concerning unsatisfed love:
"Musin's violin was mellow; this
was it's most prominent characteristic
OF course, its tone was also large, OF
good quality and, in general, such as
would not disgrace such master, but
as far as the audience was concerned
they heard nothing but mellow-toned
violin. Had the hall not possessed un