JAVS Fall 2005

VSA judge, rwice at the Manchester Cello Competit ion and once in Paris. Many great musicians have point ed our rhar in performance, the rechni cian is in rhe lcfr hand while the artist is in rhc rig ht. "What 1 want, " rhe great violinist Oscar Shumsky once said to me, "is a bow chat gets out of the string and out of my way. Tfl wa nt the bow in the string, I will put it there." The bows of Paul Siefri ed arc considered great because they give great artists the freedom they need ro be both technicians and artists. Much of Sicfri ed's time as a bow maker is spent on restorat ions, a pursui t he considers vira l ro hi s

by the level of craftsmanship among his colleagues. Next to him ar the bench were David Burgess and his bow-making co l league Klaus Grunke. These world-class makers convinced him to enter the Violin Society of America's 1nrcrnarional Competiti on at La Jolla. The resulting three Gold Medals and Certificate of Merit were followed rwo years larer by rhree more Go ld medals and another Cerrifcatc of Merit, and suddenly Sicfricd was a widely recognized art ist with well-established cre dentials. li e was now in demand as borh a maker and an international com petition judge. Over rhc past 25 years, he has served fi ve times as a

While Siefri cd worked on instru ments, his att raction to bows was cvidcnr. After three years in San Francisco, Poulsen introd uced him ro Hans Wcisshaa r, an alum nus of the Wu rli rzer shop in New York and proprietor of the most famous one on the West Coast. While a fine maker and an out standing expert on resto ration , Weisshaar was also a master teacher. Though not himself a bow maker, Weisshaar understood how to challenge someone with ralen t and cui riva rc his arristry. Siefri ed readily accepted the chal lenges, including the opportuni ry ro copy great bows in Weisshaa r's co llection.

When he first joi ned Weisshaar's shop, Sicfried lelt overwhelmed

New CD Release:

ORCHESTRA EXCERPTS FOR VIOLA with Written & Spoken Commentary by YIZHAK SCHOlTEN Viola performance of over fifty solo and LuLti orchestral excerpts from twent y-three symphonic works

"An Important contribution to the viola world. Very useful not only for students but teachers like me to have this as a reference." Charles Piklcr, Principal Violist, Chicago Symphony

"This CD is an absolute must for any violist wishing to enter the orchestral world. It is a completely comprehensive guide to all the tools of the trade, including wonderful performances of a wide variety of excerpts, sage advice on how to practice each one, and thoughtful commentary." Cynthia Phelps, Principal Violist, New York Philharmonic

"This disc is an invaluable tool for young violists who would like to pursue an orchestral career." Conductor David Zinman

"I heartily recommend this extremely helpful and excellent tool for any young violist who Is

"Exemplary playing and sound advice. I dream of hearing an audition like this!" Paul Silverthorne, Principal Violist, London Symphony 01ches1ra

looking for good, thorough advice." Geraldine Wa lthc1; Principal Violist, San Francisco Symphony

Purchase Info: www.sharmusic.com; sharserv@sharmusic.com; ph: 800-248-7427

JOURNAL OF TH E AMERI AN VlO L A SOCIETY_____ 48