Do not make the mistake of thinking that because my conclusion is the same as another person's that my reasoning is the same
Not like I could have gotten a ticket if I knew in advance…
By Tatsha Robertson, Globe Staff, 11/3/2003
NEW YORK -- For more than a century, the Cannon, a pristine violin insured for millions and the crown jewel of the Italian city of Genoa, had been kept in a guarded vault, taken out and played by a select few on rare occasions. Once the possession of 19th-century virtuoso Niccolo Paganini and crafted by one of the great violin makers of all time, it had never been touched by anyone who wasn't classically trained.
Tonight, the instrument -- nicknamed for its deep, loud sound -- will be in the hands of Regina Carter, a Detroit-born jazz violinist, who will perform with it in a jazz and classical concert at Lincoln Center. The violin traveled 4,000 miles Friday from Italy to Manhattan under the protective gaze of a caretaker, driven from Kennedy Airport by police escort as though it were a head of state.
How Carter became the first jazz musician and first African-American to play one of the world's most famous violins is a story with many chapters. First, it is a story of a female musician who yearned to explore the perfect acoustic instrument and of a European city that wanted to keep and protect what many believed to be the quintessence of beauty. It is a tale that crosses race, musical styles, and several centuries.
"Everybody thinks this is all glamorous, but it's not when you know what happens behind the scenes," Carter said, "and I know what went on behind the scenes."
Posted by P6 at November 3, 2003 10:08 PM | Trackback URL: http://www.prometheus6.org/mt/mt-tb.cgi/2185