My Grandfather's Violin
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A friend's comment that she wanted to learn the cello led me to an explanation of all the various musical instruments I have around the house (trumpet, flute, several violins, clarinet, and, most recently, mandolin). The violins came from my grandfather, who played all his life and served in the Ft. Myers Orchestra in his retirement. My grandfather collected violins, so all of his grandchildren were able to have one or more when he passed away.
My grandfather came from a strict, dour, no-nonsense German family in Cumberland, Maryland. He was the black sheep of the family---fun-loving and eccentric. When he went to St. John's College in Annapolis as a young man, his father found out that he was taking violin lessons there. His father was livid that he was pursuing such a light-hearted pursuit and contacted the college to put a stop to it. My grandfather responded by running away from college and living hand-to-mouth in Baltimore until his father tracked him down and sent him back to St. John's. It still makes me laugh that violin lessons were considered (at least by my German great-grandfather) so frivolous---and that my grandfather "ran away" from college.
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A friend's comment that she wanted to learn the cello led me to an explanation of all the various musical instruments I have around the house (trumpet, flute, several violins, clarinet, and, most recently, mandolin). The violins came from my grandfather, who played all his life and served in the Ft. Myers Orchestra in his retirement. My grandfather collected violins, so all of his grandchildren were able to have one or more when he passed away.
My grandfather came from a strict, dour, no-nonsense German family in Cumberland, Maryland. He was the black sheep of the family---fun-loving and eccentric. When he went to St. John's College in Annapolis as a young man, his father found out that he was taking violin lessons there. His father was livid that he was pursuing such a light-hearted pursuit and contacted the college to put a stop to it. My grandfather responded by running away from college and living hand-to-mouth in Baltimore until his father tracked him down and sent him back to St. John's. It still makes me laugh that violin lessons were considered (at least by my German great-grandfather) so frivolous---and that my grandfather "ran away" from college.
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posted by Anonymous at
4:11 PM
2 Comments:
I had no idea your grandfather played so well. I wonder if he would have pursued it so well if his father had been more reasonable.
Wow, that is an interesting insight . . . excellence as a form of rebellion.
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