Soundpost Online is an online journal that was published by violinist, teacher, and stringed instrument dealer Stefan Hersh from fall 2000 through spring 2006. Over 90 articles by various authors were published, spanning a wide variety of topics related to stringed instruments including the craft of violin making, how to buy a violin, connoisseurship, book […]
Great Expectations in the String Instrument Trade? A Matter of Margins and Guarantees
SpringConsumers are frequently shocked by gross profit margins that are normal for retailers. A downtown department store buys a pair of socks from an overseas factory for 15% of the eventual full retail sales price. Your local specialty coffee shop pays less than 25% of the retail price for its coffee and the big chains […]
Is a Career as an Orchestral String Player Realistic?
WinterHow hard is it to prevail as a symphonic violinist? What kind of competition does one face and what are the odds of success? What does the job market look like? According to The International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians (ICSOM), 52 orchestras currently pay a living wage. In the 2003-2004 Season, Minimum Salary […]
Anatomy of an Appraisal
WinterConsumers want answers. They want them fast and they want the answers to be clear and simple. The string instrument business, and particularly the authentication and inextricably linked appraisal process are often difficult to understand. Many would-be retail buyers and sellers of fine string instruments find the issues around the appraisal process opaque and frustrating. […]
Enlivening History Stradivari's Genius by Toby Faber
Summer
Toby Faber’s Stradivari’s Genius makes a good read. The book seems destined to entice broader audiences into this normally arcane subject much the way the films The Red Violin and Amadeus do. But where those films make no attempt at or pretense to historical factuality, Stradivari’s Genius is based on considerable research on the part […]
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