JAVS Fall 2006

University ofTexas, selecred 1ecchler model violas by French luthier Frank Ravat in . Through rhe kindness of av id mu ician and ACMP board member arts Dr. Ma rk Furrh ofChapel H ill , Nord1 arolina, Ragg had access to Or. Furm's Ravari n viola.This provided the inspi ration for the commission of a 16 3/4" Tecchler, which imme diately joined me quarter. T he Miro Quartet was d1e beneficia1y of an entire quarrer of R..wa tin inst ruments, commissioned for their use hy Dr. Furth. T he viola model selected by John Largess was again a Tecchler model that, like other Ravatin instruments, offers a refi ned and powerful sound. Hearing four Ravatin insrrumenrs play Beethoven was qu ite an expe rience not easily forgotten and cer tainly inspired debare about the virtues of a homogeneous sound from a quartet. Hiroshi Tizuh, a two rime VSA ,old medal winner, works in Narbed1 , PA. His violas, particularly what he refers to as hi.s "viola d'amore" model, are in d1e hands ofmany prominent vio lists. Before he retired to laund1 a sec ond career as an artist and painter, Emanuel Vardi , the only violist ro record all 24 Paganini Caprices, was connected wim d1e sound of his lizuka as is Professor Jeffrey Irvine at rhe Cleveland Tnscirure of Music. In L995, Ti zuka made his 17" viola fo r a cl ient who ul timately found it somewhar large. T he instrument was returned to the maker for resale. Who should be in rhe shop bu t Guarneri violist Michael Tree, who adopted it with open arms and pu t away his

off shoulders. Zygmun rowicz designed a viola around the Mantegazza concepts, particularly the arching bur shortened rhe body length and the string length and created a more sloped shoul der, all of which increased the user fr iendly a peer of rhe instrument. The viola joined the quarter in 2003 and now shares playing rime with the great Italian instrument. World class mal

great l talian viola by Venetian maker Domenico Busan. What better spot fo r a make r to have placed an instrument than in the uarneri Q uartet! Violin maker Geoffrey Ov ington, best known fo r his violas, wo rks in Shu han, NY and is the only maker known ro this author who also served as the Mayo r of his town. vi ngton violas can be found in some very prestigious places. T hree viola are in the Vienna Philharmonic. O ne of Ovingron's violas is in rhe hands of Franz Schesslof of the Joachim Koerchet uartet based in Mu ni ch. Made in 1982, the ins trument is insp ired by the Gasparo da alo fo rmerly owned by Louis Kievman. and measures 15 I I I 16". Li ke rhe original, the sound is both compact and sweet. Violi n Maki ng School of America in 1980. Followi ng a number of years of employment ar Jacques Franc;:a is Violins in New York, he established his shop in Brooklyn where he has made instruments fo r many famou cl ients incl uding fsaac Stern , Joshua 13ell , and Walter Trampler. Instruments by Zygmuntowicz have been in the world renowned Emerson Qua rtet for many yea rs. Violinists Phil erzer and Eugene Drucker played hi s instruments along with cel list David Finkel. Fo r a rime the hold our was violist Larry Durron, who was qui te happy wid1 a great Italian viola from rhe Mantegazza fmily. T hat viola was 17" and had a long string length with squared Sam Zygmunrowicz, a V A old Medalist, graduated from the

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