Guarneri del Gesù... perfection!!!

OK, so after 48+ hours of what I can only describe as withdrawal symptoms, I went and played a 1734 Guarneri del Gesù that once belonged to Daniel Guillet of the Beaux Arts Trio... the closest thing to perfection I am likely to experience in my lifetime. Don't get me wrong, I felt like I'd tasted heaven with the Strad earlier this week. But this violin was... everything you could wish for and then some. No wonder it has a price tag of $4 million. I played Ravel, Tchaikovsky, Schoenberg, Mozart, Beethoven, Korngold, Barber, Brahms, Bach (lots of Bach)... even Gilles Apap's Mozart 3 cadenza, and this violin just lapped everything up. I looked at my watch and 90 minutes had passed. I was in disbelief. I also tried a 1732 Strad that gave me an appreciation of the Golden Period Strads and a couple of Bergonzis (one of which reminded me of the Long model Strad I played earlier). I also played Christophe Landon's brand new copy of the dreamy del Gesù--raw but full of exciting potential. So, in the interests of full disclosure: 1) I was allowed to take photos (which I will upload soon) and 2) when i started playing the Guarneri I had to stop every few seconds because I could not stop saying "OH my GOD." Today is a day to be glad I practise every day. And my new ambition (pending lottery draws)? To play every Strad and Guarneri in existence.

Note for my friends and students: you know how you go through life giving yourself grades? An A for this, a B+ for that. Well, this violin was perfection. It was an A++ experience all round. I feel privileged that my lifetime coincided with this violin's, and hope that you all get to feel something like this somehow, someday.