Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Violins, from A to V

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Violins, from A to V

    Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Pennsylvania)
    August 2, 2005 Tuesday REGION EDITION

    VIOLINS;
    FROM A TO V LUTHIER
    ENJOYS LONG STRING OF SUCCESSES

    BYLINE: Marylynne Pitz Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

    BODY:
    As he repairs, restores andcreates violins in his well-appointed
    Downtown shop, Phillip Injeian fine-tunes his sense of humor.

    "This is my tanning bed. She's just taking a nap," he joked as he
    removed a cello that is absorbing ultraviolet light in a large case.

    "Unfortunately, I can't always depend on the sun in Pittsburgh."

    The Armenian-American luthier said the UV rays found in sunlight will
    improve the cello, which he made for Joshua Gindele, a North
    Allegheny High School graduate and member of the Miro String Quartet.

    "Not only does it create a beautiful golden color, but it produces a
    more resonant sound."

    Injeian may not be able to rely on this city's paltry allotment of
    sunshine, but everyone from members of the Emerson Quartet to the
    local oboe player depend upon his craftsmanship.

    This year, the Amati Foundation, a nonprofit created by Texas
    businessman Bill Townsend, asked Injeian and 34 other luthiers to
    make highly accurate copies of famous old instruments. Injeian is
    half way done with the "Sleeping Beauty" cello, a Montagnana model
    made in 1739.

    The Emerson Quartet, America's premier string quartet, has asked
    Injeian to make two violins, a viola and a cello. And, the
    Smithsonian Institution would like to exhibit Injeian's collection of
    20th-century violins made by a group of Pittsburgh luthiers.

    If that isn't enough to keep him busy, Injeian has taken on two
    apprentices from the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony this summer. One,
    Nathan Rihn, was busily scraping away as his mentor led visitors on a
    tour of the shop. The other is Joseph Liu, the symphony's
    concertmaster.

    "They're learning how a violin is created from beginning to end,"
    Injeian said.

    His Penn Avenue business, in the city's Cultural District, is part
    carpentry shop, part chemistry set and part museum. In addition to
    varieties of wood from all over the world, there is a 5-pound bag of
    madder root from California and sharpening stones from

    Arizona that are soaking in water. Even his tools are handmade. His
    apprentices learn how to fashion their own knives and sharpen the
    blades made of Swiss steel.

    Maple from Bosnia is still the best in the world for making stringed
    instruments, Injeian said. He also uses it when restoring
    instruments. Making new wood look old is one of his many tricks. When
    he restored a violin made by a client's grandfather more than 50
    years ago, Injeian said, "I made it look like an old Italian violin."

    Born in New York City, he apprenticed as a teenager with an Armenian
    luthier in Manhattan. In his 20s, he studied in Europe, spending time
    in Italy, France and Germany. He said his past sometimes catches up
    with him.

    "I had a violin come in here that was 30 years old. I made it back in
    France in 1974."

    He first set up shop in New York, building his reputation while
    working on instruments for some of the world's finest musicians. In
    2000, Injeian brought his shop to Pittsburgh.

    He has since become fascinated with a group of luthiers who found
    their way to Pittsburgh in the 1800s, some from as far away as Italy,
    Poland and France. Injeian owns four Pittsburgh violins and displays
    two others. They rest like jewels in a large case in his shop's front
    room.

    The "father" of Pittsburgh violin makers was Gabriel Marc Francois,
    who was born in 1873. He worked as a pharmacist for a time in Boston,
    then began working as a luthier. He made violins in the style of
    Stradivarius, J.B. Guadagnini and Guarneri. Francois attracted
    others, including John Note, who was born in San Giovanni, Italy, and
    ended up in Pittsburgh, making and repairing violins.

    Some of Francois' associates struck out on their own. Benjamin
    Phillips, a third-generation violin maker from Warsaw, Poland,
    immigrated to Pittsburgh in 1902 and worked as a machinist for
    Westinghouse for a time. Between 1908 and 1918, he worked for
    Francois, then established his own shop in 1923, producing about 167
    instruments.

    Harmon M. Snell, a Swiss violin maker born in Moundsville, Ohio, came
    to Pittsburgh in 1901 and worked for Phillips.

    Frederick T. Peffers was born in Meadville, Crawford County, and
    became a professional violinist. He apprenticed with Francois and
    made the first of about 50 violins in 1915.

    Joseph Kaye, a self-taught luthier, was born in Reading, Berks
    County. He was associated with Francois but had his own shop.

    Injeian came across the Pittsburgh school of violin makers when
    clients brought the instruments to him for repair.

    "It was like a revelation to me because I had never seen any of these
    American instruments," he said.

    What sets the Pittsburgh violins apart, Injeian said, is the high
    quality and skillful application of the varnish, better than on
    instruments made at the time in Boston and Philadelphia.

    Injeian showed the collection to fellow members of the American
    Federation of Violin and Bow Makers when they convened here last
    spring. Carol Lynn Ward-Bamford, a music specialist for the Library
    of Congress division, said she would like to exhibit the Pittsburgh
    collection next year at the Smithsonian.

    "We have these American makers who were that good. They have not been
    given their due," said Injeian, who estimates the value of all six
    violins at about $100,000.

    From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
Working...
X