il violino di vino

Once, long ago in a former life, I played the violin... for 17 years. I stopped after college and my violin hasn't seen the light of day in years. Last night we went to a wine tasting set up by the NHSO. My former teacher is their principal 2nd violinist and masterminded the idea of matching the timbres of 6 violins with the tannins of 6 wines (in an uncanny coincidence, check out this nytimes article published today). This tasting was set in the intimate second floor ballroom of Union League Cafe. The whites were paired with Strad provenance violins, the Guarneri with reds. My favorite sound came from a Vuillaume. I imagine my preference would have differed if I got to play them!

The new concertmistress Ani Kavafian played the same opening of the bars of the Bruch violin concerto on all 6 instruments. This was the last concerto I studied with my college teacher Janet Lyman Hill. She passed away after I graduated, but she was one of my favorite professors at Smith. I'll never forget the day she let me play her Amati. That kind of generosity was the signature of her style.