The Red Violin WAS Re: playing outdoors

On Thu, 27 Nov 2003 09:23:25 -0500, The Devil's Interval
<[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:


>
>What a great story! Thanks for sharing it. Last night our family rented a
>DVD of The Red Violin (when the movie first came out my 2 youngest
>daughters, now 9 and 11, were too small to watch it. I was afraid they would
>be too bothered by the death of Kaspar (sp?).) But after watching Josh Bell
>play the Corigliano concerto with the Philly orchestra on Tuesday, we
>decided to rent it and let them see it. I remember now what I didn't like
>about the movie (namely, the absurd, campy elements of the story) but it was
>also funny to note how the violin kept emerging unscathed, in perfect tune,
>even, from graves and beneath floorboards, over a period of centuries. Your
>story, Turloch, seems more remarkable (truth being stranger than fiction.)

If you liked the "Red Violin" story, you (and your kids) might like
the last novel of John Hersey...I believe it is called "Antoinetta".
It is a fictional account of a violin Stradivari made to honor his
second wife (Antoinetta) and it traces the violin's history in much
the same manner as the Red Violin (to the extent that I check to see
if their was any credit given to Hersey...there wasn't).  The novel
was published just before Hersey died which I believe was late 80's
early 90's.  BTW I loaned the book to someone and never got it
back..and can't remember to whom I loaned it.)  Hersey's device was
that the story of each successive possesser of the violin is told with
a different literary device.  Mozart, for example, owned the violin
(fictionally of course) and that is told in the form of his mildly
off-color letters to his sister and father (not too off color though
for early teens.) Stravinsky's era is told in the form of Robert
Craft's interviews with the composer late in his life. Another is a
screen play etc.etc.
This novel didn't gain too much notice as Hersey was rather passe'
when he died and the subject matter was a bit specialized for the
general reader, but for an active violinist, the story was fascinating
and Hersey did meticulous research in writing it.  Another such story
of interest to musicians is "An Equal Music."...a fictionalized
account of a London based string quartet, I don't remember the author.
I'd save this until your girls are old enough to read Danielle Steele
sorts of things...a little too much sex for the average grade
schooler. (Then again, I may be too much of a fuddy duddy to know what
average grade schoolers read these days...my own daughter is 36 :-).

Jon Teske
>
>Karen