JAVS Fall 1998

Csaba Erdelyi and his 1991 Joseph Curtin viola.

"In a sense it was a premiere for the Bartok Concerto... andfor my Joseph Curtin viola. "

I n January of 1992, violist Csaba Erdelyi returned to his native Hun gary for a concert to be broadcast live from the Budapest Opera. "It was a double premiere," says Erdelyi. "I spent ten years restoring Bartok's viola concerto from his origi nal manuscript, and this was its debut. It was also the first concerto perfor mance for my Joseph Curtin viola. Both were praised highly." Csaba Erdelyi established his pres ence in the music world with another first. In 1972 he became the only viola player ever to win the prestigious Carl Flesch International Violin Competi tion. He went on to serve as principal of the Philharmonia Orchestra and violist in the Chilingirian Quartet,

Strad Magazine, "you will have to go a long way to hear any ofthis material better played... and Erdelyi draws a wonderfully warm tone from his 1991 Joseph Curtin instrument." A fter 12 years with Curtin & Alf, Joseph Curtin bas opened his own studios, where he des igns and builds concert violins and violas for an international clientele. For further information, including current prices and a free color brochure, please con tact us: 205 North Main Street Ann Arbor, MI 48104 (734) 665-1303 • Fax 665-1 305 violins@jcstudios.com http://www.msen.com/-violins

reaching a wider audience as the solo viola player in the film score Amadeus. "It's a rare treat to own an instrument that has a strong, mature, even, rich tone in all its registers, and the perfect health of a young instrument. It has blended beautifully with Strad and Guarneri violins, as well as Goffriller and Montagnana cellos. I've trusted it in extreme climates from Brazil to Alaska. When I premiered the Bartok, it was just six months old. Yehudi Menuhin, my mentor and frequent con cert partner, tried it and immediately ordered a violin from Joseph ." Erdelyi can be heard on his most re cent recording, Liszt and the Viola, with pianist Ian Hobson [Hungaroton HCD 31724] . Says Tully Potter, writing for

CONCERT VIOLINS & VIOLAS JosEPH CuRTIN STUDIOS