Thank you so much, Beth! Indeed my parents lived through big history, though they always think themselves as little potatoes. I see them not just footnotes of history, they make history real.
the world today has lost is bearings and its most basic rules of engagement. could only the world listen to the values imparted by the history of this violin and learn from it.
This is a beautiful story of how inanimate objects can embody us. There is a famous violin story of Jascha Heifetz who greeted admirers after a recital. One of them said, “Mr. Heifetz, your instrument has such a beautiful sound”. He held his violin up to his ear and said, “Really? I don’t hear anything”. It is all in how we bring these objects to life. Recently, my older son inherited the Steinway that my late father had received as a wedding present in 1946. It is the instrument that he played throughout his life, the one I learned to play on, and now the instrument of my son and my grandchildren, sitting in their home. A piano is a structure of wood, metal, and felt, all too often used to support framed pictures rather than to generate music - but people can bring it to life across generations with deep meaning and beauty for a family, as in the tale of the violin.
Fang, what a beautiful story, beautifully told - not just family history but world history. Bravo.
Thank you so much, Beth! Indeed my parents lived through big history, though they always think themselves as little potatoes. I see them not just footnotes of history, they make history real.
the world today has lost is bearings and its most basic rules of engagement. could only the world listen to the values imparted by the history of this violin and learn from it.
Mary Anne
Thank you so much, Mary Anne!
This is a beautiful story of how inanimate objects can embody us. There is a famous violin story of Jascha Heifetz who greeted admirers after a recital. One of them said, “Mr. Heifetz, your instrument has such a beautiful sound”. He held his violin up to his ear and said, “Really? I don’t hear anything”. It is all in how we bring these objects to life. Recently, my older son inherited the Steinway that my late father had received as a wedding present in 1946. It is the instrument that he played throughout his life, the one I learned to play on, and now the instrument of my son and my grandchildren, sitting in their home. A piano is a structure of wood, metal, and felt, all too often used to support framed pictures rather than to generate music - but people can bring it to life across generations with deep meaning and beauty for a family, as in the tale of the violin.
Thank you so much, David! And very well said. I hope I can pass this violin down the family line, and music continues to bring us together.