No time for
snobbery
He might have owned an Amati and a Guarneri, but
William Primrose had a lot of respect for contemporary viola
makers. Claudine Bigelow examines his instruments
William Primrose was drawn to the
viola at a very young age. His
father owned several fine instru-
ments, including a c.1600 Brothers
Amati viola which was kept locked
in a cupboard. This must have been
part of its attraction. Willie, as the family
called him, described his naughty moments thus:
'As a youngster, when he [father] wasn't
around, I found a way to open the latch on
the cupboard where the Amati was kept
and played it with considerable satisfac-
tion. I preferred its sound to the sound
of the violin.'
It was with the Amati that
Primrose entered the music
world as a professional violist in
the late 1920s. The Master
Performer Series video record-
ing William Primrose Concert
Selections is a good place to
hear the rich tone associated
with the Brothers Amati
instrument. The Columbia
recordings that
feature the Paganini
Caprices nos.5 and 13
(reissued on CD
by Pearl) are also
stunning examples.
In the 1940s Primrose had the 'MacDonald'
Stradivari on temporary Loan from Gerald Warburg
and used it to record Berlioz's Harold in Italy with
Koussevitsky and the Boston Symphony Orchestra on
the RCA Victor label. In 1945 he added a William
Moennig Jr to the chest of violas he performed on and
by the 1950s he favoured a Hola by Pierre Vidoudez of
Geneva for his European performances. In spite of
these options, publicity and promotion material from
the late 1950s indicates that he was still using the
Amati for solo performances.
Primrose tells the story of selling the Amati in his
autobiography Walk cm the North Side. He always
loved the instrument but described its weakness as
having 'several recalcitrant wolf tones and its being too
small in volume but never in beauty of sound for some
of the halls I was now [sic] performing in.' He finally
sold it in 1951 to Ferenc Molnar, principal violist of the
San Francisco Svmphony Orchestra for over 19 years.
Primrose's personal letters explain the background to
the sale. In 1951 he wrote to his wife, Dorothy, who was
dying of cancer:
I had a most upsetting letter from Bill Moennig this
morning. He almost sold the Amati to Molnar and feels
in a bit of a pickle since I wrote him I wanted to lend it
to Dr Hilton. He quite agrees that after all has been done
for you I could wish the doctor to have it, but feels obli-
gated to Molnar. However, I have told him to demand
the full $3000 [Molnar had offered $2800] and if M. does
The Strad August 2004
 not come through, to send it to Dr Hilton. I have written shoulders more.
to the latter and explained all this, and enclosing Bill's I was careful not
letter. So, if you should see him, tell him how deeply to increase the
sorry I am, but to hold his hopes nonetheless. Don't tell width of the c-
me we could do with the money. Saving your dear life bouts to give
was worth more than any money I am ever likely to freedom in the
have. There will be a few consolations if it is sold and bowing, but I
one is that I shall be able with a clear conscience, to give increased the
Jean [Primrose's sister] a 100 of the proceeds as I am width of the
sure my father would have wished. However, what is lower bout and
to be, will be. raised the height
It is safe to assume from this letter that, had of the ribs, particularly
circumstances been different, he might not have felt [the] lower ones. To
constrained to sell the Amati. Primrose rarely discussed increase the internal air
the personal turmoil he experienced during this time. volume, I used an
It was the peak of his career and it is easy to assume that Amati f with
all was well with him, but it was an era of great personal a wider
pain and Dorothy died later that year. stem. In this
Of the two violas that William Moennig Jr made for way
Primrose, the first, a 41cm (16.125") model which I was able
Primrose described as 'magnificent', was featured in to achieve
The Strad in March 1947. This was designed to a rich, dark
combine the singing qualities of the 'MacDonald' tone in the
Strad with the sweet, dark richness of the Amati. l o w e r
Moennig said: 'I accomplished this by increasing the strings and
width of the upper bouts slightly while sloping the a clear
vibrant tone
in the upper
strings.'
The second Moennig,
made in 1950, was
designed as a larger, 42cm (16.56'') version of the same ABOVE AND OPPOSITE
John Primrose used to
model, in an attempt to increase the projection. keep this Brothers Amati
In 1954 Primrose purchased a 1697 Andrea Guarneri viola locked away in a

that was best able to meet his needs and he performed on it cupboard, but that didn't
stop the young William
for almost 25 years. He loved its mezzo quality because it from playing it
was 'eminently suited for chamber music with Heifetz, for LEFT Primrose tries out
example, because it matches his del Gesu Guarneri violin a tableful of violas at an

so well.' The Heifetz-Primrose recording of Arthur exhibition in Provo, Utah.

'He just picked them up
Benjamin's Romantic Fantasy with RCA Victor could not and played Paganini

express this any better, but Primrose wrote that its Caprices,' says his former
student Dwight Pounds
purchase got him into trouble with Lionel Tertis: 'Tertis
couldn't quite forgive the fact that I had given up using a
contemporary instrument. He believed these the only
instruments worth playing. Still more to his annoyance, I
was using gut instead of metal strings/
In his biography. Primrose tells the following story of its
acquisition:
One day in Cleveland in 19541 received a call from
the late Rembert Wurlitzer in New York, who told me
that the Lord Harrington viola, my present Andrea
Guarneri, which I had known for years by reputation,
had just come on the market. This instrument had long
been in the collection of a wealthy collector in Chile,
and I had been advised that probably it would never be
available. I went to New York posthaste, tried it out in
the special room, and of course it had everything I
could desire. I thought I wouldn't fool around any

ABOVE Primroses Amati more. If the Lord Harrington wouldn't measure up,
viola now belongs to
Roberto Diaz,who I would not bother to look for anything again.
has had it modified to
improve the projection That evening I had a concert in the vicinity of New
York, close to the residence of Mr. Sacconi, who was the
genius - and I use the word advisedly - in Wurlitzer's
violin department. I told Wurlitzer that I was going to
play the Guarneri that evening, maintaining, Tf it
stands up to that test, I won't bargain with you. I'll just
write out the check tomorrow.'
'Are you out of your mind?' he cried. 'To my
knowledge,this instrument has never been owned by
a professional. I don't think it has been played on for
more than a few hours in the last twenty years.'
'All the more reason,' I returned. I played my recital and
was entranced with the Andrea. The next day, I went to
Rembert, he named his price. I wrote the check, and the
Lord Harrington was mine.
In the autumn years of his career Primrose finally felt
it was time to sell the Guarneri and from then on he
only played modern instruments. A favourite was one
made for him in 1978 by Yu Iida. This was an exact
copy of the Guarneri and he used it for the last record-
ing he made - his own transcription of the Bach cello
suites. Homer Clark made an unusually proportioned
instrument for him (featured in The Strad, November
2001) which has the tattoo of Primrose's signature
underneath the varnish.
Where are the instruments today? The most
compelling story is of the Brothers Amati, recently
acquired by Roberto Diaz, principal violist of the
Philadelphia Orchestra. The viola had been sold to a
collector in 1967 and remained unplayed for many
years. Diaz was drawn to the history of the instrument
and its beautiful sound, but he was concerned about its
condition and decided to ask Arthur Toman, a luthier
from the Boston area who died in June, to restore it.
Toman observed many of the standard problems in
an instrument of this age: it had been cut down; there
were cracks on the top of the instrument; and the neck
was completely worn. The biggest problem was the
bass-bar, which Toman felt was too heavy and incor-
rectly positioned, causing the front arching to sink. This
explained why the instrument had projection problems
and hollow, weak elements to the sound. There was
also a puzzling repair down the centre of the back,
where it looked as though someone had glued a piece
of veneer on to the the plate to try and strengthen it.
In many other ways the instrument was given a clean
bill of health. The varnish had been touched up, the
gradations of the front and the back were strong and the
ribs were in great shape. Toman described his restora-
tion approach as 'conservative' - being sensitive to the
Amatis' work but at the same time trying to improve
the projection and playability. He made a new neck
graft with a higher overstand, a higher fingerboard and
a new bass-bar to counter the increased tension at the
bridge. He also replaced the soundpost and bridge, and
Diaz put Spirocore strings on it.
Both player and maker were delighted by the
increase in projection. This makes the viola exceptional,
particularly given its small size, and it suits Diaz's play-
ing perfectly. According to Toman: 'It is powerful. The
more he gave the instrument, the more it gave back...
incredible projection.' Diaz performs on it frequently -
he uses it more than his Camillo Camilli (featured in
The Strad, January 2003) - and has had people come
backstage asking: 'Is that a normal viola?' He played
Primrose transcriptions on the Amati at the
International Viola Congress in Minnesota, to celebrate
the hundredth anniversary of Primrose's birth and will
soon be releasing a disc of the works on the Naxos label.
The other violas have also enjoyed life after
Primrose. The 1945 Moennig is owned by his former
pupil Richard Pamas, formerly principal violist of the
National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, DC. It
was crushed in an accident in 1980 when an orchestral
stage collapsed and the original front was damaged
beyond repair. William Moennig Jr was in tears when
The Strad August 2004
 LEFT the 'Lord Harrington'
Andrea Guarneri viola
that Primrose played one
night and bought from
Wurlitzer's the next day

he saw it but made a new front from the same batch of

wood and the instrument is now 'totally playable'.
Interestingly, Pamas had made a last-minute decision to
play the Moennig rather than the 'Paganini' Stradivari,
which he also owned at the time, otherwise the story
might have ended less fortunately - the Strad's maker not
being available for repair work.
Connie Lorber, a violist in the Chautauqua Symphony
Orchestra, purchased the 1950 Moennig in 1983, after it
had been owned by Carleton Cooley. Cooley was
principal violist in the NBC Symphony under Toscanini,
a position that people mistakenly thought was Primrose's
- although Primrose did sit on the first desk and turn
Cooley's pages.
The Guarneri belonged to one of Primrose's students
for a short period, but has spent most of the last 20 years
with Berlin Philharmonic violist Ulrich Fritze, who still
owns it in his retirement. The Pierre Vidoudez and the Yu
Iida are owned by Brigham Young University and are on
display in the Primrose International Viola Archive in
Provo, Utah.
It is hard to pin down every performance Primrose
made with each of his many instruments and sometimes he had long attachments to the Amati and Guarneri
the information conflicts. Primrose delighted in new and admitted that they gave him inspiration. Whatever
violas and gleefully enjoyed fooling audiences who viola he had in his hands, his sound, technique and
thought they were hearing an old Italian instrument, musicianship exhibited a new level of playing for his
declaring: 'There's more snobbery connected with old time - perhaps for all time.
instruments than anything I know.' That said.