Monday, October 1, 2012

A BRUSH WITH FAME

The MacArthur Foundation has just announced its "genius" grants for this year.  One of the winners is Benoit Rolland, a Boston based archetier, or maker of bows for stringed instruments.  My viola bow is a Benoit Rolland bow!  When I bought my Marten Cornelisson viola some years ago, I tried out a number of bows, and the Benoit Rolland bow made me sound markedly better -- a deeper, richer tone.  In my world, that is as good as having a torn, dirty Michael Jordan shirt from his college days [the prized possession of one of my wife's sons.] 

I feel that I have been touched with greatness.

3 comments:

  1. Robert:

    Do you have any thoughts on the death of Barry Commoner and Eric Hobsbawm, both at age 95 and both on the same day?

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  2. I had not heard about either, until your comment. Because of my deep involvement in the campaign against nuclear weapons in the 50's and 60's, Commoner was a more significant figure for me, but Hobsbawm was, I would think, far and away the more important voice on the left.

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