Happy Ending! A Violinist's Dream Comes True

I Couldn't Throw It Out, Season 3, Episode 37
Happy ending: A violinist's dream comes true

Michael Small:
On this episode of I Couldn't Throw It Out, we're going to share something that almost everybody likes. It's a story with a happy ending. And we're going to talk about a special object that I just could not use. And it was a waste. It was a Swedish Death Cleaning tragedy. And then that precious object ended up with someone who truly loves it and uses it unbelievably well. To find out how that happened, keep listening.

[Song excerpt begins]

I couldn't throw it out
I had to scream and shout
Before I turned to dust I've got to throw it out

[Song excerpt ends]

Michael Small:
Hello and welcome to I Couldn't Throw It Out, the podcast where we share the treasures we've saved forever and try to throw them out. Today we're going to do something we've never done before. To use a metaphor from the music world, this episode is a coda. And in case you have not been studying musical notation lately, I have an expert here to help with that. It's my friend, the young musical virtuoso, Amelia Bailey. Welcome Amelia.

Amelia Bailey:
Hello, thanks for having me.

Michael Small:
So glad you're here because one of the things you could start by doing is explain for those who don't know, what is a coda?

Amelia Bailey:
Boy, putting me on the spot. Well, in the simplest terms, the coda in a piece of music is your conclusion. Coda equals end. I think in Italian it means tail. So like there are a lot of dog coda analogies. You've probably met a dog named Coda. I certainly have.

Michael Small:
Yes, it's perfect because this then is a tale with a tail. You set me up for that.

Amelia Bailey:
Nice. I really did.

Michael Small:
So in this coda, Amelia, you and I are going to reveal what happened to something I inherited from my father. And I'm not talking about good hearing, bad eyesight, or a tendency to lecture the people I love. Amelia, please tell the people what I inherited from my father.

Amelia Bailey:
Drum roll please. An amazing violin.

Michael Small:
Exactly. And some of you may remember that we did a podcast episode about that treasure. But since we recorded, something very wonderful has happened. And that's why we're here today. But before we can get to the happy ending, we need to review a few key points. First of all, there have been many violins in my family, but the important one for this story is the violin my father got late in life from his older sister. She was an excellent musician and a music professor at Emerson College in Boston. So he believed that the violin she gave him was the greatest gift he had ever received. And it's fair to say that my father had an obsession with the violin. During his last years in a nursing home, which was on Cape Cod, he also started freestyling. Every time he'd pick up a violin, he'd play a piece that he created.It started with the Masterpiece Theater theme and then sort of slid into a Jewish prayer melody. And I captured it on video when he was a young 96 year old. Here's a little excerpt.

[Musical excerpt starts]

David Robert Small playing the violin at age 96

[Music excerpt ends]

Michael Small:
Okay, Amelia, how was that for a 96 year old?

Amelia Bailey:
I was watching his technique. You can tell when someone knows how to play and their body is fighting them, but it's like they're determined to make it happen and I can tell that he knew how to play.

Michael Small:
He'd be so happy to hear you say that. I used to tell him, you play as well at age 96 as any virtuoso would play at age 96.

Amelia Bailey:
That's probably true, yeah.

Michael Small:
He seemed to like hearing that, but he'd always laugh and he'd say, "Don't lie to me." But when he died, we found that he had written a codicil to his will. He wrote that his greatest wish was for this treasured violin, the one he got from his sister, would remain in our family so that one of his descendants could play it and make beautiful music. Now, lucky for me that was not a legal document. It was also not a lucid document because anyone could look at the members of our family and realize that none of us, including me, would ever play that violin beautifully. So I went against my father's wishes. I decided to sell his treasured violin and I took it for an appraisal. Now Amelia, you know the place I took the violin because you worked there and it's a really special place. Can you tell us a little bit about it and the main people there?

Amelia Bailey:
Yeah, very special place indeed. You brought it into David Segal Violins or David Segal, depending on, you know, how proper we're being here. It is a little shop in New York City, pretty much steps away from Juilliard, Lincoln Center, all of the, you know, the classical music hub of Manhattan. It's just like dripping with character. There are carpets on the floor that are very loved and there's a whole wall of portraits of people that own instruments made by the Segal family. And then of course, it's also loaded to the brim with instruments. The workshop is through the other door. You kind of have to tread lightly back there because there are literally violas hanging all over the ceiling. There are cellos hanging down here. There are violins hanging up. Like it's an amazing spot. it's like anywhere you look, there's just...  instruments, supplies. You can tell that there's so much history there. And then to the left of the front desk space as you walk in is the showroom. That space has the perfect acoustics. All the wood gives you the most honest sound that is coming out of your own piece of wood that you're playing on. You know, like there's something about the interaction with all the wood, and that room also has a bunch of violins hanging.

Michael Small:
And while I was there, people were coming in and making beautiful music, like great musicians go there.

Amelia Bailey:
Because our shop is so like cozy, the people try out instruments are right there. That's one of the most, I think, loving things about that shop. Like you could come in for strings and depending on the day, could see a famous or semi-famous person standing in the showroom, just, you know, tearing up Sibelius or whatever, because they either had an appointment to try instruments or just popped by to try something, you you never know what you're going to find in there. A composer walked in who lives in New York. He came in for his son to try new cellos. And I just had to, you just, you have to treat them as, as any customer. Actually there's a, there's a famous TikToker that I watch. I didn't know that they played violin and I walked into the shop and I did a double take and I had to like school my face and kind of just be like, "Oh, hi, like, nice to meet you." But I was like,"Do you play violin?" And then all of a sudden it's like, yeah, I guess I just never... they don't make that a big deal about it in their social media presence. And so, yeah, that was kind of cool. So I definitely run into some pretty neat faces there.

Michael Small:
And when I was there, there was a Stradivarius being worked on in the shop. That's pretty amazing.

Amelia Bailey:
Yeah, there is one on consignment in the shop that lives in the vault and it gets seen pretty regularly because there are people all over the world that are kind of constantly looking for Strads and wanting them if the price is right. And so I've had the privilege of playing on that instrument multiple times. And also I should say the structure of the shop is such that David's working in the workshop, Diane's managing the front desk and then there's a third assistant. And I was one of three or four assistants that were on staff there and we would rotate. Basically, when you're trying to sell an instrument, you want it to be at its peak. And in order for it to be at its peak, it takes a lot of tweaking and trying different strings and trying different everything. Everything about it could be different. And so I'm a violinist. There was a cellist that worked there and another violinist.  And so it wasn't uncommon for David to be working on something and then hand it to one of us and say, "Can you play this?" and listen and then take it back. So I remember doing that with the Strad a couple of times and it's really interesting to hear how an instrument of that caliber responds to different, you know, minor little adjustments.

Michael Small:
Wow, you've played a Stradivarius, that's amazing. Well, I am just gonna go out on a limb and say this is one of the finest stringed instrument workshops in the world. You know, that's what I'm gonna say. So they looked at the violin that I brought in and they told me two things that I wasn't expecting. The first thing they said was that it actually wasn't one violin. They said it was parts from three violins that had been put together. And some of those parts dated back to the 1700s. And here's what else they told me. The violin, as I brought it to them, was worthless. It had been broken and put together wrong. So it didn't sound great. And it might sound great if they fixed it, but there was no guarantee and it would be expensive. Yes. So this was a challenge. I came home and talked it over with my wife, Cindy, and we thought about it for weeks. But in the end, we decided that we should honor my dad and his treasure. So I brought the violin back to David Segal and asked him to fix it. And this process was not fast, partly because they had a few other priorities like that Stradivarius.

Amelia Bailey:
Never-ending priority.

Michael Small:
Eventually they called and told me the violin was ready. And Amelia, that's where you come into the story. Do you remember what happened when I came into the shop?

Amelia Bailey:
When you came in, that would have been the first time that we met. I just remember right off the bat, I could just feel the passion flowing out of you for this specific instrument. You were so excited to see it, and it looked beautiful. I think that was the first time that I had really looked at it. It had kind of crossed my path being at the shop, but it wasn't, you we have so many instruments there. Unless I, like, play on one and I'm really thinking about it, it doesn't necessarily register on my radar. It's a striking instrument. Like everyone that saw it for the first time was like, "Wow, that's really cool." Like, what is that? You know? And there's kind of no good answer for that question. Other than that, it's a unique instrument. It's just pretty. You know, you just, look at something and you're like, that's cool. That has character that, you know, it did not come off of a factory line. When was the last time that you had heard it played?

Michael Small:
Probably when my father played it.

Amelia Bailey:
Right, because when you dropped it off, it wasn't really in playing condition, right?

Michael Small:
Well, he played it anyway. That's the funny part. They said it was worthless and it was unplayable and he had been playing it for whatever, 25 years. I never thought it sounded good when he played it. It sounded very timid.

Amelia Bailey:
If the seams are open or if there are cracks, which yours had, that can just suck the life out of an instrument. Do you remember your reaction to first seeing it in its new state?

Michael Small:
I was blown away by how beautiful it was, yeah. I mean, I didn't expect that it would be such a huge transformation, which it was. And it seemed like a precious violin.

Amelia Bailey:
All of a sudden it was like, whoa.

Michael Small:
Yeah.

Amelia Bailey:
And then, of course, I guess it was Diane who said that you would play it for me.

Michael Small:
Yeah.

Amelia Bailey:
Diane probably said her classic line of, well, would you like to hear it? You said, heck yeah.

Michael Small:
And I remember I asked you if you could play the Mendelssohn.

Amelia Bailey:
And I think my answer was, "Well, I haven't touched that piece since I was about 14, so I don't think you want me to play Mendelssohn.

Michael Small:
And that kind of told me something right there because when I was 14 I could barely play Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. So you played Sibelius, right?

Amelia Bailey:
I think I played Sibelius, yeah. That's my go-to concerto for auditions and everything, so it's usually in my back pocket. I was kind of nervous to play that instrument because I could already tell how strong of a connection you had to it. And it was like all of it was riding on what it sounded like under my command. after all of this, like, these months of anticipation to get it repaired and everything, I was like, "Okay, don't screw it up." And also the other thing I'll add from a technical standpoint is that instruments are, like, they ebb and flow and they relax and they settle. And if you do anything to it, even moving the bridge or changing the strings or any little tweaks, it kind of like sends the whole system into a flurry and it has to resettle to that adjustment. And so something as major as a huge restoration meant that the state it was in, I don't think it had been played since it came back.

Michael Small:
Do you remember if you liked how it sounded?

Amelia Bailey:
Yeah. So in a state of newness, which it was, it's going to sound way different than once it's relaxed. But even in that new state, I could tell that there was something special there. Had you decided to sell it at that point?

Michael Small:
No.

Amelia Bailey:
That's what I thought. You wanted to hear it in its fresh state before deciding. So I kind of didn't let myself think anything else of it besides, this is a cool instrument. Myself as a player, when I come across an instrument that I'm impressed by and that I really enjoy playing, if it's not on the market or for sale, I try to not like it. I try to not like fall in love with it, if that makes sense. Because it's like, this is someone else's instrument. I'm just presenting it to them.

Michael Small:
Let's just say I initially brought it in to sell it, but once I heard you play it, that changed everything.

Amelia Bailey:
Alright, fair, but from my perspective, I thought it wasn't available. You were picking up a family heirloom and I was showing you how it sounded now.

Michael Small:
Such a healthy attitude. If you applied that to romantic relationships too, probably had a good, you know, you had a good run where you weren't like stealing people's partners and stuff like that.

Amelia Bailey:
Yeah, if only the world could learn that mentality. We'd have a lot fewer issues.

Michael Small:
It was such a surprise. sounded so beautiful. I don't know if you remember this, but I started crying.

Amelia Bailey:
I think I do remember that,

Michael Small:
That's what I do when I'm very very happy.

Amelia Bailey:

I figured.

Michael Small:
Well, you changed all my plans because I at that moment decided I wasn't necessarily gonna sell it and then I asked you for something else, some other follow-up.


Amelia Bailey:
I don't remember how you asked, but at some point, did you ask if I teach?

Michael Small:
Yes.

Amelia Bailey:
Okay. And you said, "Yeah, do you teach violin lessons?" And my answer is probably what it usually is, which is I can. And I do, I don't consider myself a teacher because I had a couple of students in the city of various ages, but I've never kind of had like a studio. And so I have somewhat of a, of an imposter syndrome when it comes to teaching.

Michael Small:
It might be normal for someone else to ask that question, but for me, this was really odd because as you now know, I took lessons for 10 years as a kid and I hated every minute of it. And then as an adult, I met an amazing violinist named Craig Judelman and I studied with him for five years as an adult just because he was so amazing. And I had a fantastic time. I loved spending time with him and learning from him, but I never liked the way I sounded. But when I heard that refurbished violin, I thought maybe I could sound good too if I played this violin.

Amelia Bailey:
It's not that crazy.

Michael Small:
Now we get to testing your level of honesty and you're balancing it with your tact. Can you talk about what happened at my lesson?

Amelia Bailey:
Yes. And it's not as bad as you're expecting, I'm sure. I have to say, Michael, this is not a criticism, but you really sold yourself short. You really sold yourself short. My expectations, you set them low and I was willing to work with that. And that meant that I was very pleasantly surprised when you started playing and I was like, he can play. Like you made it sound like you didn't know which fingers to put down, like you didn't know how to hold the bow. And you started playing and I was like, there's a foundation.

Michael Small:
I got so much out of one lesson. You mentioned something about more weight in my bow arm. I went home and I followed through on that and it was a game changer. I played for Cindy and she couldn't believe it. She said in one day I sounded completely different and better.

Amelia Bailey:
Wow. I'm flattered.

Michael Small:
From one lesson with you. But even though I was better, I still was not making a wonderful sound and to give proof of this, I have now a little example of me playing the swan and I'm going to share it with you.

[Music excerpt begins]

Michael Small playing The Swan by Saint-Saens on the violin

[Music excerpt ends]

Michael Small:
Okay, so...

Amelia Bailey:
You laugh, but it's recognizable. I mean, plenty of amateur players, it's not recognizable.

Michael Small:
But that is not worth the cost of repairing that violin. In fact, I think anybody who loves music would have paid me to stop. And that's why I cut it short. But I didn't have to get paid actually. I did it on my own. I stopped practicing. I couldn't get myself to pick up that beautiful violin and make more sounds like that. So the violin went back in the closet and Amelia, is it okay for a violin to sit in the closet without being played?

Amelia Bailey:
No.

Michael Small:
I think it's kind of like a car. You have to drive it.

Amelia Bailey:
Not just any car, it's like having a like 65, you know, Bronco. know, like something that takes a lot of maintenance and love.

Michael Small:
So I made up my mind, I took the violin back to David Segal and Diane and asked them to sell it on commission. Now here's something you may not know Amelia. When I took the violin back to Diane, I told her what an amazing violin teacher you are. And I told her about a discussion that you and I had after my lesson when we were walking up towards 125th Street. You told me that at the time you were finding it difficult with auditions and getting a permanent spot in an orchestra. And you were very frustrated. And I was very upset about that, because I had heard you play. And I remembered asking Diane, how could someone with such huge talent not be in an orchestra? And she told me it's incredibly difficult to get a spot. And she had faith that you were going to get recognized. And we had a whole heart to heart discussion about it. That was the main thing we discussed when I brought back that violin. So anyway, I didn't talk to Diane again for months and I know it takes a long time to sell a violin, you know, 'cause it's not just like an antique car. It's also like a custom made suit.

Amelia Bailey:
True.

Michael Small:
You have to find the right person who fits it and they were looking for the right person. So I just forgot about it, to be honest. Months went by, then Diane then sends me this cryptic email. The body of the email has only a YouTube link. Went to my spam folder, of course. She had to call me to tell me to search it out and watch the video. And when I clicked that link, there you were, Amelia. And you were center stage in a symphony hall in Colorado in front of the National Repertory Orchestra with your violin. And you were wearing a gown and you looked like a virtuoso. And you started to play and you played two extremely difficult pieces. And it was absolutely amazing. I was so happy. 'Cause, you know, my dad was in love with the violinist, Hilary Hahn. He loved her. He was obsessed with her. If he had seen this, he would have had a new love. You were just incredible. So I ran upstairs and I said, "Cindy, I heard from Diane and the best thing has happened." And she said, "Did we sell the violin?" And I said, no, I said, "No, this is even better. Look at this, Amelia is a soloist with an orchestra. Watch this." And when we watched it. Of course, it's me, so I started to bawl again. It's what I do when you play the violin. Cindy got choked up too, even though she's more controlled than I am. I want to share some of your performance right now. This is about one minute I'm going to play of a very difficult piece called Tzigane. It was written by the French composer Maurice Ravel in 1924. And I hope I don't cry again when I hear it. So here it goes.

[Musical excerpt starts]

Amelia Bailey playing Tzigane by Ravel

[Musical excerpt ends]

Michael Small:
So how does a human being do that? The complexity of it. And this is just one of the many pieces you know. I mean, where does this come from? I don't even get it. After I heard it, I called Diane to tell her how happy I was to see you perform like this. And go ahead, Amelia, what did she tell me?

Amelia Bailey:
Diane told you that it's your instrument that I was playing on. Ta-da!

Michael Small:
I had no idea. We watched the whole thing. We had no idea. She tricked us. She didn't tell us. I didn't have a clue. It was a shock. I actually started hyperventilating. I got dizzy and I had to sit down because you've got to remember, you've got to think of my father. You've got to think that his dream...

Amelia Bailey:
Yeah.

Michael Small:
That's all he wanted. I couldn't do it for him, but you did.

Amelia Bailey:
Happy to be of service.

Michael Small:
Diane got so much fun out of it that she recorded my response and we didn't get all of it. She didn't get my initial reaction, which was really over the top. Here's a little part of it.

[Phone call excerpt begins]

Michael Small:
My God, it's so amazing. And then I heard the notes she's playing and the violin looks so beautiful. I thought, "What kind of violin is she playing?" I literally thought, "Well her violin... she's got a really good violin."  This is just the best everything. I don't know how to thank you enough.

Diane Mellon:
It's all good, Michael. Like I said, it was all meant to be.


[Phone call excerpt ends]
Michael Small:
So I can say that my dad David Small really is in heaven now. It's true you're not quite a family member, but his wish came true and his precious violin is now played by a young virtuoso.

Amelia Bailey:
And I'm really honored to be able to be part of that story because it's very common to get a new instrument or even play on an instrument for a while and know nothing about his backstory, know nothing about who owns it. And it just feels so full circle that not only had I met you the previous year and given you a lesson and gotten to play on the instrument for the first time in its new state, it makes me so happy. Do you want me to tell you kind of the story of how it came into my hands.

Michael Small:
Yes!

Amelia Bailey:
For the previous four months, I had been playing on another mystery instrument owned by the seller's father. He also had a very strong connection to it. The only problem was it was, we can say overpriced, but I was in love with this instrument. Diane basically just let me play on it for as long as I wanted. We were trying to figure out ways to make it happen financially, blah, blah, blah. And then... two days before I was gonna drive out to Colorado, she called me and said, "Another instrument came in and I really think you should see before you leave. Really think you should see it, hint, hint." And I thought about it and I was like, I know Diane knows me and I know that she wants the best for me. If she thinks I need to see this instrument, I need to see this instrument. So I amended my plans. I think she told me that it was your instrument. It wasn't totally a mystery, but she said, "It's Michael's instrument. He finally brought it in. And I know the timing is a little tight, but like you should come see it." And that was the other ironic part is I know that you had been on the fence about it for so long. And then for the fates to align. If you had decided two days later to bring it in, it would have been too late. But the fact that you decided to bring it in on that day meant that I was able to drive up there and I think I was the first person to take it out. I didn't necessarily remember everything about it because like I said, I was trying not to think of it as something on the market at the time. I was just trying to think of it as an instrument. And it had settled a bit despite being in the closet, but it had settled.

Michael Small:
I was forcing myself to take it out every two weeks and play it.

Amelia Bailey:
Okay. So yeah, that helped. Long story short, when I played it, it was kind of a no brainer. And of course, driving to Colorado, I practiced a little bit in my hotel room, but it wasn't like I had any kind of real time. So I showed up to NRO basically having not played in like three days with a brand new instrument. And we sat down at 9.30 in the first rehearsal to play Berlioz Symphony Fantastique, Mendelssohn, Midsummer Night's Dream Scherzo, which is a huge excerpt, Tchaikovsky, Rococo variations. I remember taking out the instrument and everyone who saw it was curious about it and thought it sounded great. And the rest is history. I played on it all summer. Your instrument's gonna play with Yo-Yo Ma this week, actually tonight with the Fairfax Symphony outside of DC. I'm excited.

Michael Small:
I'm feeling a little bit of all this talk of missing the violin a little bit. Is there a chance that I might get a chance to like take a look at it?

Amelia Bailey:
Would like to see her?

Michael Small:
Yes. Whoa, it's so beautiful.

Amelia Bailey:
Isn't it?

Michael Small:
Those beautiful pegs.

Amelia Bailey:
These Turkish boxwood pegs are irreplaceable. So you best believe I will never be changing those unless one breaks. Same with the tailpiece, these old fittings. You can't get them anymore. It's really gorgeous. I feel like I have a once in a lifetime piece of art here. Like there are certain instruments that you'll come across as a musician where it's like they stick in your mind. If for some weird reason it had left my possession or if you decided you wanted to keep it and you took it back, I would have thought about it for the rest of my life. Just from a craftsman perspective, obviously, you know that it's not, the top and the back don't match, but to me they do. The top is, as you can see, amazing and you can see all of the repaired cracks and all of the love and history that's gone into it. The back is one of my favorite things ever because it has cross flame, which is really unique on an instrument there. You can see the checkerboard. And it's a one piece back. Most violins are two pieces of wood and they have a seam down the back. So the fact that this is one piece and it has a cross flame, like I just, I just want to like hold it and never let it go. We're working on trying to figure out what it might be. I'm working with Diane's people in New York to try to figure out some more history about it.

Michael Small:
How do they do that?

Amelia Bailey:
There are a few different ways. One is a process called dendrochronology. There are only a couple experts who do it in the world. You look at the ring pattern of the wood to determine where the wood was grown, how old it was. Some of it is probably from the early 1700s and they can identify like the year that the tree was cut. It's so cool. But there's no way to tell when it was pieced together. And usually that happens because like someone will have a really good instrument and it'll get irreparably damaged. Maybe the top is still in good shape or maybe something fell on it and the back is still in good shape. And then they'll piece together. But you can't tell unless someone writes on the inside, like restoration done by Hill Workshop 1857, which we've seen. I have an endoscopic camera. I looked all over the inside of this and couldn't find any writing. But you can also see like all of the little repairs that were done and someone only goes to the trouble of doing those if an instrument sounds good. That's like a little tipoff that in the past, at some point someone cared about this and knew that it sounded good enough to put in the trouble to repair it just like you did last year.

Michael Small:
And what's coming up next for you? You are playing with the Albany New York Symphony.

Amelia Bailey:
I'm a contracted member of the Albany Symphony. And then in the meantime, I've been auditioning mainly as my full-time job, but I do a lot of like contracted gig work. I've subbed with the Jacksonville Symphony, Williamsburg, Richmond Symphony. That's kind of the life of a freelancer. It's just driving and traveling.

Michael Small:
I know it's going to be a happy next step to this happy story.

Amelia Bailey:
So you know, you'll be the first or second person that I email when I win a big job.

Michael Small:
Thank you. You know how I'm going to react.

Amelia Bailey:
I know.  I know.

Michael Small:
I just want to say that if anyone out there wants to give themselves a treat, you can hear Amelia's entire performance on our website at throwitoutpodcast.com. You can also listen to the earlier episode about the violin and the twisted tale of violins and violence that involved two family members smashing violins out of anger and frustration. That's a story you don't want to miss. It must be genetic. You can hear all of that too at throwitoutpodcast.com. And since this whole episode is a little different, we are not going to end with our podcast theme song as we always do. This time we're going to end with the final notes of Amelia's solo concert and the well-deserved standing ovation that followed it. Thank you, Amelia. I want to give you an ovation too for giving all of us such a happy ending to the violin tale.

Amelia Bailey:
Thank you so much, Michael. It was meant to be, as Diane said.

Michael Small:
Here we go. Bye Amelia.

Amelia Bailey:
Bye!