We try to attend as many queries as our meagre resources allow, but
every so often a few come in where we just don't know where to start.
Hence this
Rosenberg FAQ page.
We hope that in the interests of musical scholarship, someone out
there might be able to help with new information on the topics presented by our
readers, or even to ask a question themselves.
A great many of the questions we do receive are already addressed in the
book
the pink violin
and its companion volume
Violin Music in the Age of Shopping
. A selection of chapters from these books can be accessed via the
Rosenberg Archive
home page
.
Questions may, as usual, be posted by clicking on the
link, likewise if you can help with any of the queries below. Responses will be posted as soon as possible after they are
received.
Chief Curator
The Rosenberg FAQs.
The Rosenberg FAQ Page
Introduction
W
e here at the
Rosenberg Archive,
and our dedicated team at the
Rosenberg Museum
often receive requests for information about the life and achievements
of the great Australian composer and violinist,
Johannes Rosenberg
(
not to mention a lot of stuff that comes in about violins -ed
).
Rosenberg Archive
Melbourne
click
here
for previous FAQs.
Subject: rosenberg enquiry
Date: Fri, 30 Apr 2004 19:10:08 EDT
From: marky_austin
To: Rosenberg Archive
Mr Rosenberg
Enschuldegung mein deutsh ist sehr schlect.
I met your daughter Dr Rosenberg at the Ankor Wat pub, in Siam
Reap Cambodia. We had a cracking night and when I walked her
home at the end of the night, I didn't ask for her email.
Doh!
Could you please give her my email address, so that I can find
out how her travels are going.
Danke scholn
Mark
Subject: Rosenberg enquiry
Date: Sat, 1 May 2004 19:52:06 EDT
From: Boris Von Weingarten
To: Rosenberg Archive
Mr. Austin
We here who work for the Rosenberg Foundation do not normally
address letters of such a personal and sensitive nature.
However in this case, we assume you are refering to Dr. Judy
Rosenberg, the sister of the late musicologist and violinist Dr.
Johannes Rosenberg. (I draw your attention to letters elsewhere
in this FAQ.)
It seems that Judy has recently been seen (in a rather sad
state) on the West Coast of the US by the composer Dr. Alan
Strange. If what you say is true and you did indeed spend a
'cracking evening' with this 70 year old larikin in Cambodia, I
suggest you communicate with others who are trying to track her
down (there are some legal matters pending). We have no contact
address for Judy.
If you wish to study the music of this remarkable woman,
I would recommend two books that are still available via the
Melbourne office - 'The Pink Violin' and 'Violin Music in The Age of
Shopping'. Both compendiums offer letters and other references
concerning Judy Rosenberg.
I hope you find this helpful.
yours sincerely,
Boris Von Weingarten
(for Jon Rose who is away in central Australia at present
researching his new Fibonacci Fence designs).
Subject: Paganini
Date: Mon, 3 May 2004 19:00:33 EDT
From: Violinchef9 (Adam C. Lewis from louisville, Ky, usa)
To: Rosenberg Archive
to whom it may concern:
I was in recent contact with Boris Van Weingarten about the
use of pie pan resonators in violin (folk fiddle ) use and he
said that there was indeed a set (?) of pie pan fiddles there
in the museum and something about one was in need of
repairing.
I am playing around with the pie pan violin (fiddle ?) just for
the hell of it and already have one (badly) built model. Mr.
Boris Van Weingarten said I may be able to help with the
reconstruction on this fallen violin pie pan monster at your
collection.
I will be building and trying different constructs throught the
next year and when I finally get a good resonating modle (as
good as I can get ) i will send you the information on its
construct. This will come with notes, sketches, and all the rest
of the crap I can think of. If you would like I can send you a
copy of the final model when it comes to being complete so
you can see and hear it.
all violove,
Adam C. Lewis
( editor's note )
. We are always eager to hear about new experiments with violin
technologies. Please keep our readers informed through this site.
Subject: Rosenberg FAQ - i have a question
Date: Sat, 24 Jul 2004 12:24:41 -0500
From: "Manuel Velarde"
To: Rosenberg Archive
Hi , i'm very interested in jan kriml , when i was little i used to
play in a 3/4 violin , wich was unique and very rare, it was a gift,
well , i've been triyng to find out the history of his maker.
thank you so much, hopefully morwen
Subject: Rosenberg FAQ - i have a question
Date: Wed, 27 Oct 2004 16:51:45 -0400
From: "Shelley E. Jones"
To: Rosenberg Archive
I guess we need a Kriml page.
I too own a Jan Kriml violin and play it regularly (amateur). I
recently found a Kriml catalog from the 1960's on Ebay and
bought it. Kriml violins and other string instruments were
imported by Targ & Dinner company of Chicago. Our local string
repair guy says most likely they were imported from Germany,
mass produced, but pretty good quality, say $2000 for insurance
purposes. Better than most made today.
Shelley Jones
Subject: Rosenberg Archive site
Date: Wed, 27 Oct 2004 07:52:14 -0700
From: Barbara Christy
To: Rosenberg Archive
Dear Sir,
I was shocked out of my shoes when I read that Julian Altman
had stolen a Strad! I had grown up knowing Julian as a dear
friend of my family. He visited our home often and was a close
friend to my mother (I believe their friendship was truly
platonic, knowing my mother). He was invariable kind to my
sister and I, and I cannot understand how he could be the
nefarious ne'er-do-well he has been portrayed as in the
various articles I have found on the internet this morning.
(For some reason, I thought of Julian while searching for
certain other violinists, and decided to look him up.)
To read that he was a womanizer and a gambler and a
MOLESTER of his wife's granddaughter has stunned me! The
Julian I knew was a kind, sweet and gentle man with great
dignity. He treated us little girls and my mother and grandmother
with the utmost respect and affection. We then lived in
Washington, DC. I'm not sure when Julian entered our lives, but it
was after WWII, I think. He and my mother were able to travel
freely to Mexico, and they returned with huaraches and Mexican
felt jackets for my sister and me. He remained our dear friend for
many years, at least until I was 20 or so (I was 20 in 1953). I
remember dining then in a nice restaurant where he was playing
his violin. I thought he played beautifully. I didn't know I was
hearing a Stradavarius!
Imagine how I felt when I read in the paper that my dear friend
had stolen his wonderful violin, and that it was a famous Strad!
Of course this wasn't learned until his death, and I read the story
in conjunction with his death notice. Oh, my! And today when I
searched his name in Google, I came up with the most
horrendous descriptions of his character, which were totally
unbelievable to me! What I read today just doesn't match the
wonderful man I knew, who was such a dear to two little girls
and a loyal friend to my mother.
Sincerely,
Barbara Christy (age 71)
Subject: Rosenberg Archive site
Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2005 13:38:17 -0500
From: Peter Aikat
To: Rosenberg Archive
This is the funniest web site on internet, especially for a beginner in
violin.
I understand the Greeks play the violin upside down, they played in the
Olympics. Canadians? Well they play with it.
Peter Aikat
Ottawa
Canada
Subject: e-bay offer
Date: Wed, 12 Jan 2005 13:38:17 -0500
From: auctioneer
To: Rosenberg Archive
your readers might be interested in this - j.
Listed in category: Musical Instruments-String-Violin
4/4 Size Violin (I'm selling it to teach you a lesson, Mother!)
Item number: 3777713160
Current bid: US $5.51
Time left: 6 days 7 hours 7-day listing
History: 3 bids (US $1.00 starting bid)
High bidder: mschway ( 27)
Item location: Dover, Delaware United States
Description
I did not want another violin. I sold my first one. But, Mother thinks
I want to be a violinist. No, Mother.
I did not want a violin for Christmas (I wanted an Intense Inferno
bowling ball by Brunswick so I could practice for the PBA), but
there is a violin in my closet. A brand new, Fengling FV-010 violin.
It is sitting there in its heavy duty canvas case just waiting to be
played. But these fingers aren't for playing the violin, Mother!
They, my fingers, are for BOWLING!
I want to smash it. I want to smash it against the walls, take the
pieces and put them in a box, wrap it up and give it to mother next
Christmas. But, because of her heart, I just can't do that. That is
why I am selling it. For YOU to smash. I am tired of all the mothers
out there telling us we can't be bowlers.
Please, buy this cursed violin and smash it for me. Take a picture
and email it to me as well. I promise not to show mother.
Product description:
VIOLIN Features hand carved fully graduated solid spruce violin
top, maple back, sides, neck, and scroll - Real inlaid purfling on
both the violin top and back Tuning pegs are ebonized for trouble-
free tuning. Fingerboard is also ebonized for solid playability and
intonation control. The select wood protects the fingerboard from
denting by the fingernail. Dents on the fingerboard make it very
difficult to play the violin in tune. Comes with black tailpiece with 4
fine tuners - fine tuners make tuning easy. Fitted with steel strings.
BOW comes with genuine unbleached mongolian horsehair.
Includes 1 rosin cake.
CASE A heavy duty canvas covers a genuine wood shell case for
long wear and durability . Backpack design allows for over the
shoulder carrying - Ultralight case makes carrying violin to lessons,
school or orchestra practice no problem.
Shipping, payment details and return policy
US $29.99 Standard Flat Rate Shipping Service United States
Only Will ship to United States, Canada.
Shipping insurance Not offered
Seller's payment instructions
Will ship when payment is received.
Payment methods accepted - Personal check
Ready to bid? help
Violin (I'm selling it to teach you a lesson, Mother!)
Current bid: US $5.51
Your maximum bid:
eBay automatically bids on your behalf up to your maximum bid.
Learn about bidding.
What else can you do?
Subject: Rosenberg info
Date: Fri, 11 Feb 2005 01:49:43 EST
From: debbie
To: Rosenberg Archive
Asking again about Jan Kriml violins. I work at a local thrift store and
we had one donated today, just wondering if it has any worth or if it's
just a student instrument?
thanks, debbie
Subject: Rosenberg FAQ - i have a question
Date: Tue, 1 Mar 2005 12:18:47 EST
From: SCirclebee
To: Rosenberg Archive
I AM BIDDING ON AN OLD KRIML VIOLIN, CASE ,BOW .
WHATS ITS VALUE, ????GOOD TO FAIR CONDICTION ,
Subject: Rosenberg FAQ - i have a question
Date: Wed, 2 Mar 2005 10:12:43 EST
From: SCirclebee
To: Rosenberg Archive
I TOO NEED INFO ON KRIML VIOLIN, HAS CASE , BOW, GOOD
TO GREAT COND. FACTORY YEARS , VALUE , ETC.
SCIRCLEBEE@WMCONNECT.COM
Subject: THRIFT STORE KRIML FIDDLE
Date: Sun, 6 Mar 2005 11:00:41 EST
From: SCirclebee
To: Rosenberg Archive
LETTER ON YOUR SITE, MY FRIEND GOT IT ON A BID , HE WANTED
IT MORE THAN I. GOT IT , BOW W/ PEARL INLAY, CASE [MADE IN
CHECKOLSOLVOKIA ] FOR $190. I JUST CANT FIND ANYTHING
ABOUT THE KRIML COMPANY .
SCIRCLEBEE@WMCONNECT.COM
Subject: Rosenberg info
Date: Fri, 13 Mar 2005 01:49:43 EST
From: concerned visitor
To: Rosenberg Archive
Sirs!
Was Johannes Rosenberg a terrorist? Did he redesign the violin, im-
buing aerodynamic properties, then provide a means of propulsion,
pack the instrument with explosives and send it flying toward the
Western Hemisphere?
These "preposterous" questions are less so after my discoveries at
the Rosenberg Museum earlier this year.
In archive box A-3/CO-1945, which was left on the front counter, I
discovered a photograph (reproduced in fig.1 below) labelled
"Crucifix Violin ca. 1945". And smelled a rat straight away.
Notice how the "crossbeam" of this violin resembles the wings of an
aeroplane - and notice how the specific wing shape resembles that
of the Japanese "Kamikaze" fighter-bomber of WWII.
It is already well known Rosenberg served in the Imperial Air
Force as a kamikaze pilot at the end of that war.
Violin.jpg)
|
The connection is clear and the instrument is now doing wind tunnel tests. (see also Rosenberg's grandfather Julian Rosenberg's Aeronautics and Music of 1931 - ed.) When I confronted Dr. Knecht of the Museum with these questions, he replied that the aerodynamic properties of the "crucifix" violin were well-known. "The intention was to set the instrument off over the heads of the audience, at the end of the cadenza for a Violin Concerto that was never completed." Perhaps your readers will smell a rat, too, for what self-respecting artist would resort to a gimmick like that? yours in scholarship concerned
Subject: Rosenberg Archive site Date: Fri, 13 May 2005 22:40:01 EDT From: HUDGINSPW To: Rosenberg Archive i would like to know if there is a web site that tells you the value of old fiddles/violins. we have a fiddle that is over 150 years old and would like to identify who made it and how much it is worth. please contact me asap.
Subject: Rosenberg Archive site Date: Sun, 15 May 2005 2:40:01 EDT From: harper To: Rosenberg Archive I want buy old violon. How much you sell?
Subject: Rosenberg Archive site Date: 13/01/2006 4:54 AM From: Sheila England To: Rosenberg Archive I would like to know how I can get some information/ value of a violin that has Jan Kriml-made in Germany- BKN on the label inside. I can't find the date, but we know that it's over 100 years old. It's in great shape.
Subject: Rosenberg FAQ Date: 15/07/2007 From: carol hemphill To: Rosenberg Archive My violin's label reads, "Joseph Kriner, Geigenmacher in Mittenwald en de Ifer 1840. Can you tell me what it's approximate value might be? The back is a single piece, there is no seam down the middle. The varnish appears to have been toasted or burned. The sound is bright and resonant, and the instrument is in very good condition.
Subject: Rosenberg FAQ Date: 22/12/2007 From: Loveyasharon@aol.com To: Rosenberg Archive i just read your article regarding Julian Altman on the internet. I am his niece the daughter of his brother Elmer, I was wondering if he ever spoke about his brother to you or if you ever met him. sharon
Subject: Rosenberg FAQ Date: 26/05/2008 10:45 AM From: W. G. Weinstein To: Rosenberg Archive Dear Sir, it is a strange but not suprising turn of fate that Julian Altman was the first case that I came across in my practice where the violinist was stolen and not in fact the violin. It could be that the violinist was suffering from a stroke similar to that that confounded and destroyed the career of Aaron Ethelberg but I suspect, after some examination of the subject, that the violin contained suspect quantities of a Chinese herbal remedy that I am not able for professional reasons to disclose. He was also prone to hyperventilation - as I am. That dear Julian went missing is beyond doubt. That there is a violin - without question. I knew his niece intimately but not the uncle. sincerely, W.G. Weinstein
Subject: Rosenberg FAQ Date: 10/11/2008 From: gokhan ustaoglu To: Rosenberg Archive Hello..all I had send a message for to get information about a leftie violin for my son five years ago when I come back ,surprisingly...the mether is still violin... vary good..continue please..regards all.
Subject: Rosenberg FAQ Date: 21/10/2009 From: Alistair Midmornington To: Rosenberg Archive Dear Sirs, I wish to draw to your readers' attention this remarkable ROMAN VIOLIN (pictured). A most incredible discovery as it turns out, for it seems to confirm that the Romans invented the modern violin well before the Birth of Christ (BoC). It is amazing is it not that the Romans should have invented the violin and become so taken by it that they quite literally put it on a pedestal. The pictured example has been authenticated as dating from 20 BC (Before Christ) and is reputed to be the actual one that Nero played while Rome burned. It was however found in the Acropolis. Of course we are all wondering what a Roman violin was doing in the Acropolis and this will no doubt be the subject of further musicological study pending government assistance. Suffice for the moment for your readers to be informed of this quite momentous discovery. yours etc
in the Acropolis in 20BC. |
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