The perils of loving music. Rachel Podger recently shared a fascinating tale of having to conceal her passion for the baroque violin as if it were some kind of secret forbidden love affair. [www.violinist.com/blog/laurie/20155/16763/]

Apparently, Batoque Violin posed a monstrous threat to the hallowed, gilded integrity of our musical culture. Goodness, it was as if she was hiding a fondness for adding ketchup to a Michelin-starred meal.

But, not everyone was so lucky. I’ve got a friend who was once a maestro of the viol, a musician who created arguably the first russian group of Early music that toured around the world. But, in a twist more shocking than a surprise key change, he was booted from the conservatoire. Perhaps his love for the viol was too radical, too avant-garde, for the tender guardians of the official classical music tradition? I have no idea.

And then there’s me. I too received a cautionary whisper in my ear that my burgeoning interest in baroque music could be a prelude to a disaster. ‘Beware the baroque!’ they said, as if I was dealing with a fire-breathing dragon and not a genre of music.

But wait, weren’t they right!? Nobody ever dig deep into the true, dark sources and the real reason for my fascination with ‘da Spalla’. As someone said, “the truth is never that good or that bad.” We are spalla players, and it’s the mindset, not instrument. We cannot be stopped.

To be on the safe side, what would be the next thing you would scrutinise with loads of scepticism or should it be simply banned just to be on the safer side? After all, we also need to defend the integrity of the official Baroque music movement, so nothing new can ever come to life?

Your opinion matter! #shorts #violinist #viola #ambasciatoreancienttraditionsalive #violoncellodaspalla #baroquemusicfestival #baroquemusic

If you're drawn to the forbidden too, learn more:
BookOnViolinMaking.com/
BookOnDaSpalla.com/
BadiarovViolins.com/