(Published in The Strad, July 2006)
Three overseas experts brought sparkle to the second Australian Violin Makers' Conference, each sharing their wisdom with a keen audience.
A very successful advertising campaign in postwar Australia promoted a slogan that has now become a household phrase: "When you're on a good thing... stick to it!" Apparently the organisers of the second Australian Violin Makers' Conference agree with this sentiment because they decided to stick to the format that proved so successful for them three years ago.
The conference was again held in Guildford, a small, friendly town in rural Victoria, over four days in March. And once again more than 40 violin makers from Australia, New Zealand and further afield arrived for a schedule packed with lectures, workshops, concerts and music making. The only obvious variation this time was an increase in the number of overseas guests from two to three. Hieronymus Koestler and Frank Ravatin attended the previous conference: this year's guests were Noel Burke, Eric Blot and Christopher Germain.
Noel Burke arrived at the conference having just picked up a new flute from Mike Grinter, one of the world's leading wooden flute makers who just happens to live a few kilometres from Guildford. Burke had ordered the flute two years previously and was lucky enough to find himself being flown to Australia just in time to collect it. There was some initial concern that Burke might prefer to spend his time talking about the merits of his new acquisition rather than bow making, but the organisers managed to confiscate the flute for the duration of his talks and he quickly turned his attention to the job at hand.
Burke, who worked in Paris with Stéphane Thomachot and is now based in Ireland, began with an illustrated summary of the French style of bow making. He explained that the methods of the old masters were shaped by the need for efficiency and speed, their hands becoming so well trained they could work almost automatically. The result was an ability to turn out around a hundred bows a year using just the most basic range of hand tools. Burke still follows the same methods that have been handed down through the generations, although he admitted that his output was not quite up to their measure.
However, the next day it became apparent that he had acquired 'French' hands as he proceeded to demonstrate the cambering of a new bow while responding to a stream of questions from the audience. In fact it probably wouldn't have surprised anyone if he'd managed to camber a bow and play the flute at the same time. He even showed remarkable composure when, early in the demonstration, one devious member of the audience broke a small piece of wood he had smuggled in, producing an alarming cracking sound very similar to a bow head coming off (nice one Chris Germain!).
Eric Blot might well be considered the Sherlock Holmes of 19th- and 20th-century Italian violin making. His researches and subsequent publications are now considered to be one of the foremost authorities in this area. He began by taking us on a journey through the dusty Italian archives, describing his painstaking searches and some of the problems he encountered along the way. It quickly became apparent that the qualities essential in violin making, patience and perseverance, are just as important for the genealogical researcher, and somehow Eric manages to combine this time-consuming activity with a successful career as a violin maker.
Over the next few days Blot gave lectures on two specific areas of his studies: the violin makers of the Turin school to the death of G.B. Guadagnini; and a commentary on the 2002 exhibition devoted to the Scarampella family. Both talks were accompanied by slide shows demonstrating the same fine photographic work that we have come to expect from his publications. The stylistic relationships within the various violin making families and from teacher to pupil became obvious when the images were juxtaposed, allowing Blot to highlight the important features.
The organisers must have given Chris Germain a very simple brief: "Tackle the big issues." His talks covered the areas of varnishing, retouching and sound optimisation through set-up - enough scope there for an entire conference in itself. However, for someone who is now the director of the violin workshops at Oberlin College and president of the AFVBM (American Federation of Vioin and Bow Makers) it didn't seem too big a job.
In case anyone had to leave early, Germain began his first talk by giving out the secret of Cremonese varnish: "Basically a mixture of cooked resin and a drying oil." Of course it turns out that this is just the tip of the iceberg - techniques are more important than mere recipes, and factors such as surface preparation, primers, grounds and application methods can make a world of difference. He listed the desirable varnish qualities and some general principles to keep in mind, before taking us, step by step, through the whole process that he uses on his own instruments. Perhaps the most disheartening part for participants was his repeated assertion that, despite 25 years of experience and an obvious profound knowledge of the subject, he still had "more questions than answers". But he certainly had enough answers to keep the audience well satisfied... and no one left early.
The following day, Germain described the process of sound optimisation as a delicate three-way relationship between a maker, a player and the instrument. He also pointed out that it was a "zero-sum game" - changes made to improve the sound in one area will inevitably diminish it somewhere else. To illustrate the variety of possible approaches, he outlined the individual methods of two people who have been influential to his thinking - Vahakn Nigogosian and Zenon Petesh. However, he stressed that it was important for each of us to develop a personal methodology that would result in a trademark sound in our own adjustments.
The conference wasn't all about overseas speakers - there was also input from a number of local makers, one of whom was Simon Brown, an instrument maker and repairer from Sydney who specialises in Baroque instruments. Although his lecture was ostensibly about Baroque set-up he began with a paradoxical statement that he remembered hearing early in his career: "The Baroque violin doesn't exist... and if it does, it was invented in the 1970s." In other words, there is no actual historical instrument of that name - the term covers a continuum of small developmental changes. He spoke about servicing the needs of players rather than following any theoretical considerations, and explained that this can often require a certain amount of compromise. In fact, it might not always be in the musician's best interests to make an instrument 'too authentic'.
Brown's partner is Anna McDonald, one of Australia's (and formerly London's) leading Baroque players, and this close collaboration has certainly given him a very good understanding of the issues. He also discussed some of the historical sources he has drawn upon, but cautioned that it is important to make sure that an example is actually representative of those in general use at the time, rather than just being one atypical case (for instance, he pointed out that some instruments in museums might have survived intact simply because they weren't played very much).
Just in case anyone felt they weren't getting their money's worth with this solid nine hours a day of mental stimulation, the organisers also threw in two evening concerts - the first a Melbourne-based quintet, Cosmo Cosmolino, which combines strings and piano accordion in an invigorating blend of tango, gypsy music and songs. The second night saw the Flinders Quartet join up with guest cellist Janis Laurs from Adelaide to perform the Schubert String Quintet in C major. And if that wasn't enough, there was also a music session in the pub, when Noel Burke was finally given the chance to show off his new purchase.
Overall the meeting provided Australian makers with a smorgasbord of valuable ideas and information - the early announcement that there would be no transcripts this time meant that most people finished up with a tired hand and a full notebook. One tip that had all pens working overtime was Chris Germain's quick way of assessing the density of tonewood by carefully lowering each piece lengthways into a bucket of water. By marking the water level on the wood at the floating point (it only works if the piece is evenly shaped), the ratio of wet to dry can be calculated and will give a rough indication of the quality of the timber. For Germain, a figure of 0.35 and under is very good, and he rejects anything above 0.40. This only applies to the belly wood though - as he explained: "Back is for show and front is for go."
Some time was also set aside for discussing the prospect of another conference or the formation of an Australian violin makers' association but no decisions were forthcoming. One thing was clear, though - the organisers of the first two conferences (Alex and Marina Grant, and Rainer Beilharz) have done more than their fair share and it is now time for others to step in. There certainly seems to be no problem in finding first-class makers and restorers willing to enjoy a paid visit to Australia - and the overseas guests have so far expressed unanimous delight in their experiences 'down under'. So the question now facing Australian violin and bow makers is really quite simple: "You're on a good thing... can you stick to it?"