The Violin Maker

07/26/19 • 30 min

In my quest to understand the relationship between trees and music, I seek out Brian Skarstad, an expert violin maker (he scoffs at the term "luthier") who makes violins by hand, employing many of the same techniques that violin makers have been using for hundreds of years. I talk to him about tonewood, how a violin is made and the myriad details that affect a violin’s sound and quality. It’s like opening a portal to a secret world.

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The Earth's Story with Marcia Bjornerud

I talk with Marcia Bjornerud about her recent book, Timefulness: How Thinking Like a Geologist Can Help Save the World. We discuss how to read rocks (“rocks are not nouns but verbs”), the “developmental novel” in which the Earth is the main character, and the geologist’s perspective on climate change.

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The Violist

Part 2 of my inquiry into the connections between wood and music and, by extension, trees and people.

I interview Judy Nelson, violist for the New York Philharmonic, who tells me stories of violas, old and new, teaches me what makes an instrument "speak" and gives me insight into the dynamic relationship between a musician and her fiddle.

For pictures and more info see in-the-weeds.net.