It was intermission of a garden concert for a local charity- we\u2019d just finished the Dohnanyi Serenade for String Trio and were milling about the lawn while the punters downed their pinot noir and brie.<\/p>\n
He was easy to pick out even in a crowd. On a very casual afternoon, he was dressed rather smartly- grey trousers and a navy blazer with a tie, everything perfectly ironed and organized. He had a distinguished head of silver hair and gold framed glasses. My first thought was that he looked clever. My second thought was that he looked like he\u2019s served in Margaret Thatcher\u2019s cabinet. No, he didn\u2019t look that old. He looked like he\u2019d just come from a meeting of Margaret Thatcher\u2019s cabinet. Very big and chaotic eyebrows.<\/p>\n
He\u2019s spotted me even before I\u2019d spotted him. He elbowed his way through the crowd and came up to me with something just less than a smile.<\/p>\n
So far during the intermission, everyone I\u2019d talked to had had something nice to say about the music so far, but his opening gambit was a bit different\u2026.<\/p>\n
\u201cCello\u2026.er, cellist, eh? Cellist, eh?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHello! Thanks for coming out this afternoon,\u201d I attempted to respond.<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, er, cellist, cellist.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cLovely afternoon,\u201d I ventured, \u201cwe all appreciate you coming out this afternoon to support the House,\u201d (a care home for autistic adults).<\/p>\n
\u201cYes, ahm\u2026 So, ahm, how much does a cello cost?\u201d<\/p>\n
Now, this is one of my least favorite questions because the next question is almost always \u201cokay, how much did your<\/em> cello cost.\u201d Still, I had to say something, as it was still a good ten minutes until we could get back onstage.<\/p>\n \u201cWell, it depends entirely on the cello. You might find something at an estate sale or an auction for almost nothing, a decent student cello might cost a thousand pounds, but it can go up into the millions.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAh yes, ah yes. Well\u2026 Yes\u2026. Well, how much for a normal cello?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell,\u201d I didn\u2019t know exactly how to respond, \u201cI\u2019m not sure you can really say there is a normal cello. It depends on what it is, when it was made, what kind of condition it\u2019s in and so on.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, we\u2019ve been given one. Given a cello\u2026. I think it\u2019s German, yes maybe German, 18th<\/sup> Century, but it\u2019s been reconditioned. It\u2019s been given to us, but I have no idea what it\u2019s worth. I don\u2019t know anything about it.\u201d<\/p>\n Aha- he has a cello! Okay! \u201cI see. Well, it would be difficult for me to guess the value having not seen it. You should take it to a couple of shops and see what they think it\u2019s worth.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYes, well, I, ah, don\u2019t know anything about it, about cellos. It\u2019s been reconditioned. Completely reconditioned. German, I think\u201d<\/p>\n I was no longer sure where this was going, but I thought maybe he wanted me to guess the value, which I\u2019m completely unqualified to do\u2026. \u201cDo you know if it is from a particular school of makers?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMakers? No, don\u2019t know anything about it. Reconditioned, though. Completely reconditioned.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, that\u2019s a big project- did they have to patch a lot of old cracks?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, they put new strings on it. Brand new strings…\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI see. That\u2019s great. Well, if you want to sell it, I\u2019d get a couple of estimates from luthiers.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cMillions, well, we\u2019ve got to put it on Ebay.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cOf course, but\u00a0 maybe get it appraised first.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt does have new strings.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cFantastic!\u201d Eight more minutes until we get back on stage\u2026.<\/p>\n \u201cYes, on Ebay. Someone played it for us. It\u2019s very loud. I had no idea how loud one is!\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHmm\u2026 I suppose if you\u2019ve only heard one from back in a concert hall, it\u2019s probably surprising to hear how much sound they make up close.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cReally loud. Amazing. Loud! I had no idea.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWell, ahm..\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cYou know, I was quite shocked just how loud they are. Really a lot of noise. I\u2019d always thought of cellos as a nice sort of instrument, but they\u2019re quite loud. Loud. Well, we\u2019ll put it on Ebay.\u201d<\/p>\n And then he was gone….<\/p>\n c. 2007 Kenneth Woods<\/p>\n