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RULES OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT: A Member of the Federations shall expose without fear,
incompetent or corrupt, dishonest or unethical conduct
on the part of members of the profession.
(Principles
of Professional Conduct no. 6a.) AFVBM
Code of Ethics
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RIN:150 BIRDS OF A FEATHER RACKETEER TOGETHER
Lying and deception are
commonplace in today's world. The deceptions have come in many forms and
they have crept into nearly all aspects of modern day life --- the violin
business included. What do "Ponzi Schemes", "Tulip Mania" and falling stock
market prices have to do with the violin business? Read on to discover the
"rain makers" of the Stradivarius market.
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RIN:155 WHO IS
NIKOLAJ NANSCHEF?
The Strad magazine,
in their May 1992 issue, on page 396, started an article with the statement:
How wrong you can be… “Rare master violin at the Vienna Dorotheum, announced
the Viennese auction house. They printed a special flier with their
catalogue, picturing the instrument in garnish Technicolor.
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| RIN:131 CHICAGO'S VIOLIN MAFFIA
Letter to the Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan regarding the shady business
practices, common among most of those who deal in violins. |
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RIN:024 HAS THE VIOLIN BUSINESS BECOME A CRIMINAL RACKET AND A SNARE?
Here the starting point is the 1981 "Kanda" scandal -- named for Mr. Yuko
Kanda, a prominent Japanese MUSICIAN/Dealer. The scandal
involved misrepresentations made to purchasers of violins, certificate forgery, insurance fraud, and bribery of teachers. Indeed, among Mr. Kanda's accomplices was Prof. Yoshio
Unno, a violinist of
international fame and member of a prestigious teaching faculty. The participants in Kanda
were truly prominent. It thus drew world attention to ethical-legal abuses which are
regrettably common -- but, in this case, so extensive that its investigation involved not
only Japanese police, but also the F.B.I. and Interpol. (Yoshio Unno, Yuko Kanda, Kataro Nakumara, Geida University,
etc.)
Re: DECEPTION, BRIBERY, FORGERY, IGNORANCE, FRAUD |
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RIN:039 - MUSIC CENTER OF THE NORTH SHORE: Abuse of Students
Surfaces
A commentary on two letters -- neither acknowledged in writing by the recipient, both
addressed to the Music Center of the North Shore (Winnetka, Illinois).
The letters are printed in full. Together with the commentary, they reveal a major scandal. While
students and their parents have been kept ignorant, Music Center faculty members have
abused them -- financially -- by operating as covert
"commission" salesmen for various violin dealers. (Dr. Frank Little, Roland & Almita Vamos, Kenneth Warren & Son, A-440,
Kagan & Gaines, Augustino J. Napoli, Kenneth Stein, Thompson & Seman, etc.)
Re: KICKBACKS, DECEPTION, SWINDLE, SCAM |
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RIN:023
- KENNETH WARREN & SON: An Example of Pretense and Pretension
A follow-up to April 1984's Focus Report, this essay returns to the split between MUSICIAN/Dealers and VIOLINMAKER/Dealers. The firm named in our title shows how confused things can get.
Both Warrens -- Sr.
and Jr. -- are honored dealers and elected members of the prestigious International Society of Violin and Bow Makers, though neither is a professional violin/bow maker. Their spurious self portrait
drives us to look at business and international guild practices. So this article asks a
question with disturbing implications: "How
could such musician-dealers promote themselves as violin makers without the complicity of leading,
influential members of the International Society?" (International Society of Violin and Bow Makers, ISVBM, Henri Werro, W. E. Hill
& Sons etc.)
Re: DECEPTION by PRETENSION |
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RIN:030 - THE ART OF GUNTHER REUTER: Ennobling a Proud Tradition
In narrative form, this essay illuminates the accomplishments of a great, modern Master Violin Maker. It describes
and explains the major stages in Gunther
Reuter's formal education and career. There is special
remark of one particularly stunning triumph: his receipt of two Gold Medals for tone and four Certificates
of Workmanship, at the Fifth International Competition and
Exhibition convened by the Violin Society of America in 1982. As an
addendum, this publication provides a full tabulation of Gunther Reuter SIGNATURE Instruments
-- 1963 through spring, 1988; Opus 101 through 366. (William Moennig, August Wenzinger, Fine Arts Quartet, Violin
Society of America, VSA, etc.)
Re: THE MASTER MAKER
Gunther
Reuter Instrument listing by Opus Number
Violins
| Violas
| Cellos
| ALL
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RIN:026 FINALLY FOUND: The ' Secret' of Stradivarius
The re-articulation and expansion of the critique set out in an earlier effort,
my letter to the Editor of the Chicago Tribune (above, 1984 May). "Has Science Unlocked the Age-Old Secret of Violin Making?" The answer to this question may be surprising to you. (Dr. Joseph Nagyvary, Prof. Jack Frei, Carleen M. Hutchins, etc.)
Re: DECEPTION through "SCIENCE" |
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RIN:016 CARL BECKER & WM. LEWIS & SON: Chicago's Mortician and
Mortuary?
This article is a response to a question from readers, regarding the E.N.D. process (Enhanced Natural Decay) as practiced at William Lewis and Sons, of Chicago, Illinois. Originally, this article, entitled "News
Focus," was part of FINALLY FOUND: The "Secret" of Stradivarius. It uses
the question-and-answer format to cast new light on the standing controversies: the common
malpractice of re-graduation,
the chasm separating VIOLINMAKER/Dealers versus MUSICIAN/Dealers and the impact of these matters on stringed instruments and
musicians who play them. (Lyon & Healy,
Lewis & Son, Kagan & Gaines, Kenneth Warren & Son, XXXXX, Carl Becker &
Son, etc.)
Re: DECEPTION by MALPRACTICE |
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RIN:041 - THE E.N.D. PROCESS: The Final Solution, Chicago Style
How valuable stringed instruments are being vandalized -- their value gutted -- by re-graduating their tops,
backs, and sides. This process goes on in
most high-profile violin selling operations, while an
instrument's owner is kept ignorant. The article contrasts (1) original graduation patterns to (2) the patterns produced by re-graduation; for each of these, technical and artistic issues are considered. A
final section (3) discusses differing mores which lead either to destroying original graduations or, under
the guidance of a true ethical code, conserving them. (Recco Luppino, American
Society of Appraisers, AFVBM, Chicago's Violin Repair Shops, etc.)
Re: DECEPTION by MALPRACTICE |
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RIN:036
THE VIOLIN'S MISSING LINK: Rödig's Research, Neglected? Or Suppressed?
This piece reprints and discusses a letter to the Editor of The Strad.
The letter systematically debunks the pseudo-scientific claim that Stradivarius and other
early masters practiced a "lost art," a mysterious craft unknown to today's
violin makers. (Carleen Hutchins, Catgut
Society, Scientific American, von Helmholtz, Savart, Violin Society of America, etc.)
Re: DECEPTION through PSEUDO SCIENCE |
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RIN:093
EPILOGUE: Some Additional Observation
On a sunny day during July 1988, Dr. Julius Marcus,
Professor of Physics and Astronomy at Northwestern University (Evanston, Illinois),
reviewed the letter you may have just read (RIN:036). "After a life long career in
physics," he said to me, "it is a
rare day when I learn something truly new. Today I will remember as such a day!"
We invite you to do likewise. (Carleen
Hutchins, Dr. Joseph Nagyvary, Stephen Jay Gold, etc.)
Re: DECEPTION through PSEUDO SCIENCE |
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RIN:025 FRANK MILLER: A Commemoration
This brief biography is paying tribute to the late Frank
Miller. Frank
Miller -- long-time principal of the Chicago Symphony as well
as one of the supreme musicians of the twentieth century -- championed the work of modern
master makers. He bought and performed on new instruments: two of them, Gunther Reuter celli.
( Arturo Toscanini, John von Rhein, Eugene Ormandi,
Fritz Reiner, George Solti, etc.)
Re: GENTLEMAN and MAESTRO |
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RIN:062 GUNTHER REUTER: A Portrait
A brief biography paying tribute to Gunther
Reuter. As a winner in the International Competition and
Exhibition at Salt Lake City, Utah, 1982, Gunther
Reuter is the recipient of four Certificates of Workmanship
and two Gold Medals for tone. For Reuter is among the modern world's most prolific and pre-eminent makers of
stringed instruments. (Geigenbauschule,
Andreas Fürst, Mathias Klotz, Johann Karner, Leo Aschauer, Anton Dietl, Rudolf Lang,
Ottomar Hausmann, etc.)
Re: THE MASTER MAKER |
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RIN:037 THE VIOLIN HOAX: Its Psychological Dimension
A detailed account of how deceptive
merchandising techniques -- modeled on the con man's
schemes, but enhanced by dynamic psychology which disguised mythology as
"science" -- overwhelmed the master violin maker's craft. Corruption, in many forms, drove out craftsmanship. Greed-driven marketing usurped the place of honorable making. The article
describes the history of vandalism, bribery,
and deception -- the violin business' triune
concept of fraud. ("Yellow Kid" Weil, Lyon & Healy, J. C.
Freeman, Chicago Fiddle Scam, Sigmund Freud, G. Le Bon, Wilhelm Reich, Der Spiegel,
Dorothy DeLay, Mike Royko, etc.)
Re: VANDALISM, BRIBERY, DECEPTION, FRAUD |
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RIN:027 THE CHICAGO SHORT CUT: Creative Merchandising of Sound
Through Bribery - I Part one of a two-part essay, this piece again revisits
issues discussed in earlier Focus Reports. But it ties them into
the Chicago violin MAFFIA, a network of
dealers and procurers who share and rely upon three "methods" --
(1)
deception
(2)
vandalism (3) commercial bribery-extortion -- to
fleece buyers of stringed instruments. The modus operandi and "code
of silence" or omerta -- a far-reaching analysis. (Kanda & Co., Yoshio Unno, Chicago Fiddle Scam, I.R.S.,
Northwestern University, Roosevelt University, etc.)
Re: VANDALISM, BRIBERY, DECEPTION, FRAUD |
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RIN:028 THE CHICAGO SHORT CUT: Creative
Merchandising of Sound Through Bribery - I I
The MAFFIA's reliance upon commercial
bribery, among the three
methods which together, characterize Creative Merchandising.
The essay provides information re: categories
of instruments, the components assessed in appraising master-made instruments, and the
critical role of VIOLIN MAKER/Dealer in the expert appraisal and prudent purchase of a
violin. ( Glossary of Terms, etc.)
Re: BRIBERY, DECEPTION, FRAUD |
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RIN:096 The Faculty Advisor: A Prostituting Educator? This News Focus names some of Chicagoland's notorious string faculties or "dens of ill repute." It reprints a letter addressed to the School of Music of Northwestern
University. (Karl Fruh, Roosevelt
University, Northwestern University, University of Wisconsin, Fine Arts Quartet, etc.)
Re: BRIBERY, DECEPTION, FRAUD |
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RIN:029 ADDRESS TO A CLOSED SOCIETY: An open letter .
The society in question is the American
String Teachers Association (A.S.T.A.). And the letter
itself reveals parallels between America's larger educational scene (as described in Allan Bloom's 1987 The
Closing of the American Mind) and the smaller world of string teaching. The
casual relativism and disregard of professional ethical codes within these worlds is examined.
While the corrosive consequences -- for string students as well as their teachers -- are clarified. (COYOTE, Kimball Harriman, Federal Judge John T. Noonan, Jr.,
AFVBM, Allan Bloom, etc.)
Re: ACCESSORY TO DECEPTION, IGNORANCE |
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RIN:019 THE EMBALMER AS VIOLIN "RESTORER" / GENUS:
LUTHERIUS VANDALIUS. Central to this report is a letter to STRINGS,
regarding Roger A. Stearns' article, "Restoration
Workshop at Oberlin," (1992's Jan.-Feb). It is asking Vahakn Nigogosian the
question: "What pernicious desire
possesses you to butcher fine violin?" With accompanying analysis,
they call attention to the way in which "tonal enhancement,"
"thinning" that is, re-graduation -- produces a temporary increase in a violin's resonance. But while such resonance makes the instrument
more marketable, it often weakens its structure mortally. It is on the road to death. Many
such instruments soon become unplayable-even self-destruct. Yet violin dealers'
gentlemanly conspiracy of silence -- and of greed -- keeps the practice both hidden and healthy. ( Vahakn Nigogosian,
Violin Society of America, Oberlin College, AFVBM)
Re: DECEPTION through PSEUDO SCIENCE and MALPRACTICE |
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RIN:038 Malpractice: Scourge of the Profession How
rare violins are secretly vandalized to make them more marketable. Such newly-damaged instruments are foisted upon
the unsuspecting customer as "tonally
adjusted." But tonal adjustment -- technically,
regraduation -- is irreversible; it changes the graduation pattern which the original creator gave to a violin's
top, back, and sides. It destroys forever a violin's essential integrity. It
is really malpractice. Commenting on this issue of
vandalism are The Hills and Charles Beare of London, England. (Strad, Helen
Wallace, Roman Teller, AFVBM, Recco Luppino FASA FSVA, American Society of Appraisers,
Valuation, AIC, Fuchs' Valuation of Stringed Instruments. etc.)
Re: DECEPTION by MALPRACTICE |
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RIN:048 VIOLIN MYTHOLOGY: A Psychoanalytical Goldmine
The "secret" of
Stradivarius' sound, as well as the esteem accorded to
antique or old instruments by the general public, is largely
based on myths rather than on verifiable facts. "Violin
Mythology," looks at the economic
role of popular delusion -- why they are so difficult to
alter. The article contrasts several MYTHS versus FACTS. (Forbes, Reader's Digest,
Gladstone, etc.)
Re: DECEPTION through MYTHOLOGY |
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| E-02 Chicago Tribune Article re: Secrets of
Stradivarius As indicated by the above heading, this issue is devoted
to reprinting my May 3 letter to the Editor of the Chicago Tribune. This
letter critiques Joseph Leper's published research, as popularized by a previous month's Tribune
feature. The critique argues that the "research" of Leper and others claims to solve an odd
set of problems: the "secrets" of
Stradivarius, the "Mystery" of old violins, the mythical claim that violins improve and mature as the
age. But a little attention to basic physics and mechanics
shows that the alleged problems are bogus. It follows that their "solutions"
are equally so. |
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 E-12 Wholesale Antique and Art Swindle Under the
headings of Vandalism, Commercial Bribery, and Deception, this piece details shop and business practices which
are common among many prominent violin dealers. |
E-01 Rating Makers
& Dealers
Addresses the justified skepticism regarding the ethics and conduct of those who sell
violins. This piece stresses a basic but little-understood distinction. It drives home the
sharp difference between (1) MUSICIAN/Dealers,
who usually know nothing about the craft of making an instrument, and (2) VIOLINMAKER/Dealers, whose guild-based integrity and artistic mastery make them
authentic experts. Yet it is these very traits which make VIOLINMAKER/Dealers trustworthy
guides in anyone's search for either repair services or a reliable stringed instrument. |
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