It’s not what you play, but how you play it. It’s not the story, but how you tell it. On Thursday, at 6 p.m., San Diego Symphony Concertmaster Jeff Thayer will tell a story featuring a Stradivarius violin produced in 1708 at Hiilani Ecohouse in Honokaa as a fundraiser for the Hawaii Performing Arts Festival. He will be accompanied by pianist Cary Lewis.
Violin maker, Antonio Stradivarius, lived in Verona, Italy, in the late 1600s and early 1700s, and is regarded as one of the best violin makers in history. The instrument Thayer will play was made in 1708 and named after the family to which it belonged for over 100 years.
“It’s not so much this violin as it is the maker,” said Thayer. “All of the instruments made by Stradivarius are deemed or considered to be some of the best instruments ever made. There is a lot of mystery surrounding them, but nobody argues about the craftsmanship of these instruments.”
The violin Thayer will play during the performance is one of approximately 400 Stradivarius violins, violas and cellos in existence today.
“Stradivarius instruments and craftsmanship are as good as it gets,” he said. “There’s a mystery around the instruments and people are constantly trying to figure out their secret. The wood they used in the late 1600s and early 1700s isn’t available anymore, and just like a fine wine, it’s consistently believed that the age of the wood, over 300 years old, contributes to the sound quality these violins produce. The sound quality, the purity of tone, all these things go into making them exquisite pieces of art. I mean it’s really in the same category as a piece of fine art like a Renoir or a Picasso.”
Genette Freeman, executive director of the Hawaii Performing Arts Festival, is also fascinated with the Stradivarius.
“This instrument is 309 years old,” she said. “When you think of the many different artists who have played it, the times they lived in, and where they lived, we can’t know its stories, but we can still bear witness to its extraordinary sound.”
Most Stradivarius instruments are named after an owner in its history or a previous violinist who played it. The piece Thayer will play is named the “Bagshawe” Stradivarius, after its first owners, a noble English family, who perhaps because of social strife in 1600s England, migrated to Italy in the early 1700s where they purchased the violin.
Thayer isn’t concerned about the effect of Hawaii’s humidity on the violin.
“It could change a little bit of its behavior but I’m not terribly worried about it. I have had it in Hawaii before, and to be honest, being in humidity is better for it than being in a dry environment,” he said.
The “Bagshawe” Stradivarius is currently owned by a couple in San Diego who are patrons of the arts and purchased the instrument for Thayer’s use.
“I am simply the person who at this point in its history, I am the lucky one who gets to use it,” Thayer said.
Tickets are $70 and include pupu and wine. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit hawaiiperformingartsfestival.org.
