Early Music Interview Series Part IX – Thomas Schiegnitz
The following is a guest post from Double Bass Blog contributor Phillip W. Serna. Check out Phillip’s recitals and interviews on his Contrabass Conversations page, and visit him online at http://www.phillipwserna.com/. Enjoy!
Contrabass Conversations and the Double Bass Blog are continues is series on early bass performers. It will highlight many different perspectives on early bass/ violone performance. Our next guest is luthier Thomas Schiegnitz. We hope that you will enjoy these interviews and glean a good deal of information from our esteemed guests.
About Thomas Schiegnitz:
Thomas Schiegnitz is an instrument builder and restorer at the Musical Instruments Museaum Berlin. Thomas Schiegnitz trained at the Geigenbauschule in Mittenwald (1978-1981), worked in violin building in Germany and abroad and has been a restorator with the Musikinstrumenten-Museum Berlin since 1992. He is a builder and restorer of period instruments including cellos, double basses & Viennese Basses.
You can visit Thomas Schiegnitz’s website at http://www.geigenbau-schiegnitz.de/.
Viennese bass, Johann Josef Stadlmann, Vienna, about 1750
When and how did you become interested in early music, and how has it shaped your life musically?
In about 1980 ( being ca.24 years while studying at the “Geigenbauschule” in Mittenwald) looking for a facsimile for a Boccerini-Quintett at the Munich Bibliothek, which we played then, still on modern instruments, but impressed by the praxis of baroque-music performance by dutch groups ( Koopman, Kuijken family etc.)
Great chat with Robert Meyer and Jack Budrow last week
We hope that you all enjoyed the second half of our interview with double bass luthier Barrie Kolstein this past weekend. If you missed it, you can check it out on Barrie’s Contrabass Conversations page. You can download the episode, play it while you’re surfing online (click ‘play in popup’ and keep browsing online while you listen), or subscribe for free to the podcast (click here if you use iTunes and here for e-mail and other subscription methods).
We have also chatted with luthier Chris Threlkeld-Wiegand for the podcast earlier in March. Chris makes beautiful basses and extensions and does repair work from his shop in Iowa City. Check Chris out online at www.heartlandsbs.com. We also did an episode with Chicago-based luthier and retailer Steve Reinfranck for the podcast. Steve and I discussed the Chinese instrument market, Steve’s organization of a Gary Karr benefit concert a few years ago, and his private teaching studio.
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I also interviewed double bassist Robert Meyer for Contrabass Conversations last week. Robert has had a long and illustrious career on the double bass, working for over 50 years in most of the major orchestras in London (including the London Symphony, London Philharmonic, and BBC Symphony), as Principal Bass of the Vancouver Symphony, and has taught at the Universities of British Columbia and Victoria. He has also worked under conductors such as Furtwangler, de Sabata, von Karajan, Klemperer, Giulini, Bruno Walter, Koussevitsky, Stokowski, Rhozdesdensvky, Stravinsky, and Khatchaturian, and he was close friends with Benjamin Britten, having actually premiered several of Britten’s chamber operas. When Britten wrote works like Albert Herring, he had Robert in mind as his double bass musical model!
We’ll be releasing this interview in the next couple of weeks. It was a real pleasure to chat with Robert! Robert also maintains a blog called Musical Reminiscences that is filled with great stories from his career, advice for double bassists, and much more. Check it out–it’s a great read and full of fascinating material.
Robert has also recorded several videos relating stories, experiences, and observations. You can find many of them on YouTube (here’s a good page of them) or on his blog. In the following video, Robert discusses what separates the truly great conductors (and he’s worked with a lot of them!) from the rest of the herd:
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Co-host John Grillo and I also did a great interview with Michigan State University bass professor Jack Budrow last Friday. Jack has been a significant presence of the double bass scene for decades, having taught at Interlochen for the past 30 years, at Michigan State for the last 12 years, and having been Principal Bass of the North Carolina Symphony and a former member of the Houston Symphony and Santa Fe Opera Orchestra. Jack is a warm, funny, and articulate individual, and his love of the bass and of teaching shines through in everything he says. Folks will really enjoy this interview with Jack! We’ll release the first part of this interview on April 5, so stay tuned for it.
These conversations with double bass teachers, performers, and luthiers are an invaluable way to learn more about the instrument and our business, and they are a great way to get to know these influential figures better. Students and teachers out there will really enjoy hearing Jack’s thoughts and perspectives on music education, double bass teaching methods, setup and maintenance issues, methods of holding the instrument, surviving long rehearsals and performances, and much more.
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We’ll also be releasing the first episode of Eclectic Bass his week. This new offering from Contrabass Conversations highlights music from double bassists worldwide, and will prove to be a nice 20-30 minute complement to our interview episodes. We’ve got a huge wealth of double bass music in the Contrabass Conversations archives, and this new show provides a great way to highlight the vibrant contributions from the double bass community. This first episode will feature music from Frederick Charlton, Lila Horovitz, and Bill Koehler, and we’ll be releasing it mid-week, so stay tuned, and be sure to subscribe to the podcast (click here if you use iTunes and here for e-mail and other subscription methods) so that you don’t miss this new feature!
CBC 72: Barrie Kolstein interview 2
We’re wrapping up our chat with Barrie Kolstein this week on the Contrabass Conversations show. We began this interview on episode 70 of the program, and in it we discussed Barrie’s father Samuel Kolstein and how he got into the bow making business, the progression into the bass making business, and the development of the Kolstein line of products (including rosin, stings, and cases) that bassists worldwide use today.
Barrie discusses Kolstein rosin, challenges facing modern double bass retailers and luthiers, advice on buying a double bass, and how the business has changed in the past few decades. Visit the Kolstein shop online at www.kolstein.com, and check out our co-host John online at www.classicalmusicnews.tv. Enjoy!
CBC 70: Barrie Kolstein interview
This week, we’re featuring Barrie Kolstein on the Contrabass Conversations show. Barrie discusses his father Samuel Kolstein and how he got into the bow making business, the progression into the bass making business, and the development of the Kolstein line of products (including rosin, stings, and cases) that bassists worldwide use today.
Barrie is a perceptive and extremely knowledgeable figure in the double bass community, and it was a real pleasure to do this interview. John, Barrie, and I actually chatted for a couple of hours, and it is all excellent content, so I’ll be breaking this interview into two hour-long segments, and you’ll be hearing the first half today. Visit the Kolstein shop online at www.kolstein.com, and check out our co-host John online at www.classicalmusicnews.tv. Enjoy!
Barrie Kolstein featured on Contrabass Conversations this weekend
We’re featuring Barrie Kolstein on Contrabass Conversations this week. One of the most prominent and influential figures in the double bass community, Barrie was a real treat to interview, and co-host John Grillo and I really had a blast chatting with him. In this interview, Barrie discusses his father Samuel Kolstein and how he got into the bow making business, the progression into the bass making business, and the development of the Kolstein line of products (including rosin, stings, and cases) that bassists worldwide use today.
Barrie is a perceptive and extremely knowledgeable figure in the double bass community, and it was a real pleasure to do this interview. John, Barrie, and I actually chatted for a couple of hours, and it is all excellent content, so I’ll be breaking this interview into two hour-long segments, and you’ll be hearing the first half today. Visit the Kolstein shop online at www.kolstein.com, and check out our co-host John online at www.classicalmusicnews.tv.
CBC 69: Chris Threlkeld-Wiegand interview
We’re chatting with double bass luthier and Heartland String Bass Shop owner Chris Threlkeld-Wiegand today on the Contrabass Conversations podcast. Chris formerly worked at Robertson and Sons Violins before starting his own shop, and he makes extensions and does repair work in addition to crafting his own unique instruments.
It was a real pleasure to sit down and chat with Chris. I own a low B extension on my Jakstadt bass that Chris crafted, and it is a really excellent piece of hardware. I’ve also enjoyed playing on his various double basses, and I’ll be excited to see how he continues to push the boundaries of instrument making and come up with new and innovative ways of crafting double basses.
We’re also featuring a track from University of Iowa bass professor Volkan Orhon performed on one of Chris’ instruments. Check out the photos below for samples of Chris’ work. More photos, plus detailed information about the Heartland String Bass Shop and contact information for Chris can be found at www.heartlandsbs.com. Enjoy!
Just wrapped an interview with Barrie Kolstein
John Grillo of classicalmusicnews.tv (and our regular co-host on the Contrabass Conversations podcast network) and I interviewed Barrie Kolstein of Kolstein Music, Inc. and Kolstein & Son, Ltd. Barrie is a legend in the double bass community, running the prestigious Kolstein shop on Long Island for the past several decades after taking over the reins from his father Samuel Kolstein.
This was an absolutely wonderful interview. Barrie takes us back in time to the early 20th century with stories of Barrie’s father Samuel, Fred Zimmermann, and the vibrant post-World War II New York City double bass scene in this interview. He also covers the various iterations of the Kolstein shop, from its early mid-town Manhattan location to its relocation to Long Island and eventual home in the community of Baldwin, New York.
We also discuss Barrie’s own instruments, the double bass market and consequences of the continuing rise in price of older instruments, plus many of the Kolstein line of products, from the flight case to Kolstein rosin production and much more. We will be releasing this interview the weekend of March 14th, so stay tuned!
Learn more about the Kolstein shop at www.kolstein.com.
Chris Threlkeld-Wiegand on Contrabass Conversations this weekend
We will be releasing an interview with Heartland String Bass Shop owner and luthier Chris Threlkeld-Wiegand this weekend on the Contrabass Conversations podcast network. Chris worked for several years at the Robertson and Sons Violin Shop in Albuquerque, New Mexico prior to opening his own operation. Chris makes absolutely wonderful basses that, in addition to sounding great, are real works of art. I’ve been a fan of his for years–my low B extension was made by Chris, and it is a beautiful and flawlessly crafted piece of equipment.
We’ll be including several photos of basses by Chris in the episode show notes and featuring a clip of double bassist (and Bad Boyz of Bass member) Volkan Orhon performing on one of Chris’ basses. Come to think of it, Anthony Stoops, our guest on episode 67 will also be performing on one of Chris’ basses during their upcoming performance in Indianapolis…and I’m interviewing this group this weekend to boot! See how small this bass world of ours really is?
In the meantime, check out this scroll by Chris, and stay tuned for his interview this weekend!
Chicago School of Violin Making luthiers building copy of Chicago Symphony bassist Dan Armstrong’s bass
Aaron J. Brown and his colleagues at the Chicago School of Violin Making have begun an exciting new bass construction project that we’ll be documenting here at doublebassblog.org.
Aaron is working on producing a copy of Chicago Symphony bassist Dan Armstrong’s 1731 Camillo Camilli double bass. Here’s a shot of Dan at the Chicago School of Violin Making (CSVM) with this wonderful bass. You can watch a video of Dan performing with the award-winning Jason Seed Elixir Ensemble here:
Dan outlines some of the specific characteristics of this bass for the CSVM team:
Aaron mentions that the tuning machines on Dan’s Camilli are the same ones on Aaron’s own 1901 Hawkes Panormo.
The CSVM takes measurements of Dan’s bass in preparation for the replication process:
Here are some shots from the actual bass-building project. Aaron is getting the CSVM "Camillo Camilli" (they’re calling it Hoss in the shop) maple plate ready for joining in the following photos:
Andy Brittle (another bassist and CSVM classmate) assists Aaron on the bass-building project. The maple they are using is Big Leaf Maple from somewhere is the United States Pacific Northwest.
Chris Threlkeld-Weigand of the Heartland String Bass Shop in Iowa City will be helping the team with any problems during the project. I’m a real fan of Chris’ work, having put together two videos about Chris’ basses recently (one shows a bass he’s made, and one features my comments about his most recent instrument).
Here’s a photo of Chris playing on his most recent bass, which was designed to fit in a coach seat on an airplane.
Stay tuned for more updates on this project in the near future!
CBC 54: Steve Reinfranck luthier chat
This week we bring you a conversation with Chicagoland double bass luthier, teacher, and performer Steve Reinfranck. Steve runs SMR Double Basses in Evanston, Illinois, writes regularly for Bass World (the publication of the International Society of Bassists), and operates a double bass teaching studio.
We also listen to a track from the Redd Holt Unlimited Quartet featuring Steve on bass, plus listener feedback, news and notes, a very fun holiday track from Jonathan Coulton, and much more. Enjoy!
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