City in Sound; William Lewis & Son

This is Jack Angel, with city and sound. These are stories out of Chicago, city of all things, among them merchants of music. If the violin is king of instruments, as they say, then an important part of the Royal Court is right here in town. William Lewis and son, on East Adams Street, has been a dealer in violins since well before the century, a marriage of artistry and commerce that has been finely tuned and profitable. In a program series for science calling, the story of the violin stands in contrast. For the special science of making and repairing the violin is an intricate craft that has changed very little over the centuries, from, say, Stradivarius to Karl Beckeron's son, the latter distinguished American violin makers

on the staff of William Lewis and son. Well, you're Mr. Harry Benson, manager of William Lewis and son, and I understand that, if it's a violin, you have it. That's right. How many do you have around here? Oh, a little over 2 ,000 or more. There for sale. That's right. Well, what kind of a price range would you have? We have violins priced anywhere from $61 .50 up until the thousands. How about the more expensive violins? What would make them expensive? Well, instruments made by the fine Italian makers, like Quinarius, Stradivarius, Amati, Montignanah. You folks have been here for a long time, that I know, about how long has William Lewis and son been in business? Since 1874. That would mean that none of the Lewis's would be around, wouldn't it? That's right. How about the chain of commands since that time?

Well, Mr. William Lewis, the founder of the firm, died in 1902, and his son passed away in 1940. However, Mr. Olson, who became associated with Mr. Lewis in 1899, is now the president of William Lewis and son. And you're the manager. That's right. Well, how did you break into the violin business? I don't suppose it would be polite to call it the fiddle business, would it? Well, we call it the fiddle business business. That's right. How did you break in? Were you a musician? Well, I was studying violin. I think I first should say that I've been here 32 years. And I was studying violin with a customer or a teacher who was a customer of William Lewis and son, and they needed an office boy. That was me, and here I am. Have you more or less kept your interest in the violin alive, personally,

you play? Yes. I take that not professionally, though. That's right. Right. For my own amazement. Fine. All right. I see so many violins and cellos around here and bows and all the accruements of the violin. Where do you get most of these? They're imported from Germany. Why is it that Americans don't make so many violins? Well, there are individual makers, like our Mr. Becker and his son, but it seems that the art is a European art and has remained there. It's been handed down from father to son and so forth. Is there such a thing as the same violin or does each violin have its own characteristics, or like fingerprints? I would say that each violin has its own characteristics. Are most of those made by hand? I would say all of them are. All of them. There's no machine worker. Well, no finishing machine that could finish a violin. The plastic

people haven't able to come up with anything yet. Not yet. I suppose the wood and the ingredients of the violin are very important. Very important. Violin is made out of spruce and maple, and a good varnish must be applied. I see the vault in your office here, Mr. Benson, is that for the valuable violins? Yes. Well, who would come by and buy a violin worth all $15 ,000? Well, there are professional musicians who have violins of that price, and also there are collectors. Well, we'll certainly be interested to take a look around and see some of these instruments. Be very happy to show you. The high and sound of them. Mr.

Zena and Pettish is a repairman here. It's worked for a real amnolous ensemble. How long have you been fixing violins? Oh, I'm fixing very long. It's from 1939. It's still before war. I was at that time in Warsaw. In Poland. You were in Warsaw before the war. That's right. You stand here in the 80s, but you're Korean? Yes, I am Ukrainian. But in Poland, we were at that time in Poland. Later, I was in Germany, and I worked for four years for opera house in Munich. You see? Zena came to 1949 in July to America. I understand you're a very accomplished violinist. Oh, yes, I play violin too. So you sure don't know how to fix it? Yes, that's right. That's right. You necessarily follow. You know how to fix it to make them sound good. I notice you're working on a violin over there. That's the opera surface. What do you call that? That's a stop. That's a stop on a nice Galiano violin.

Galiano. How much would that be worth? Oh, it is about 3 ,000, 3 ,500. You put a couple of patches in there, haven't you? Yes, that's to protect this crack. So we put from inside the patches. Do you call it? Does that affect the tone in any way, Mr. Polish? No, they don't. In some cases, they even help much for sound. Because some fields they are repairing wood was shipped off and therefore they are put in these places. We put these clits to make reinforced slits that you put in there. They are clits, the small ones. Bigger ones, they are patches. Two pieces of wood that you put in there are tiny pieces that you put underneath the support that was cracking. That's right. One thing more, how about this hair dryer over here? What do you do with this? Well, it helps us to, in some

cases, if we wet or we wash some places of the carp or bag, even the ribs, then we dry it with the hairdryer. We found it very useful for our... Well, that's about the only change that we've noted in the craft of vial and making and repair through the years. A hair dryer and a kind of a cook stove for your glue. Sure. That's right. The only difference between this and the hundreds of years ago. Oh, that's right. We have to find and to go with the time. Not only to use that, but to use it at that time and hundreds of years ago. We used not only the hairdryer, but many things too. We had to have to put our work. Thank you very much, Mr. Betty. Welcome. Thank you. Well, Mr. Ernst Lowberg, we've got a little background music here.

You run a man here at William Lewis that makes the bows and repairs them, aren't you? Yes. That's right. I understand that's a completely special operation for making vial -ins themselves. Yes, it is. Somebody makes a vial -ins, somebody else makes the bow. Used with the way it works out. That's true. And the construction of the bow changed very much through the years. Well, no, not too much. It's about to save. I understand that you can make a bow worth a thousand dollars. Now, what makes a bow so costly and expensive? Well, that's the wood and the workmanship has made the construction of the bow. Is the bow really an important factor in getting good tone, good sound out of the violin? It sure is. It's very important. Play a fine violin with a bad bow while you lose the effect. That's right. How about the horse hair? Is that

quite an item to get? It is now. It's getting very scary. The long strands, they probably come out of the horse's tail. That's right. That's right. It's a guess. And it's getting to be less horses too, so it's very hard to get it. Did you treat it at all? No, no. We don't. Probably horses, that's a bad dog. Unplaced. Notice that you repair bows just as your colleagues in the other room repair violins, so that people have a favorite bow or a valuable bow rather than buy a new one. They bring it back and have you fix it for it. That's right. That's right. Are they a fairly sturdy item? Oh, yes. How do you steer? Getting those critical toll ranges that are so tremendously perceptive that perhaps only the violinist himself realizes quite how true a range in pitch he has. I suppose that even the

slightest adjustment of a bow is important. Yes, it's very important. The bow has to be straight and also the hair length. The hair has to be the right length. Sometimes in damp weather the hair stretches and the bow doesn't act the same. All these are factors in playing the violin. That's very important. That's just as important as the violin. Adjustment. How long have you been doing this work? About 33 years. I've been with Billion Lewis. You know it pretty well. I can tell. Well, I should. Carl Becker is one of the foremost violin makers in the world. It's unusual, I suppose, that he should be an American because most violin makers are not Mr. Becker. Is that right? Well, that's right. Most of the men in our profession are foreign and born and born and training. However, I've received my entire training in Chicago here.

Starting in the year 191 and I've been in the business ever since. Both as a maker and as an expert. And you're now assisted by your son. I'm assisted by my son who has been with me for the past 21 years, I believe, or something. Well, you were recently honored at a testimonial dinner, Mr. Becker, for a great achievement in that field and a great distinction. I understand that the topmost violinist in the world come to you. Yes, we see most of the great artists of the world here. Many of them, rather, amongst them, Piotr Gorski, Haifitz, Milstein, Stern, Menuen, and Elman. They usually visit our shop when they in Chicago. They have some of their work and adjusting done here. It's quite a pleasure and honor. I'm sure for us to be able to serve these people. Did it is? Now do they use your instruments?

Well, they don't use our instruments more. Most of these great artists play on the world's finest Italian instruments. Well, Mr. Becker, why are they the world's finest, these old strads and wineries? Why is it that they're better than... Well, you're asking a question that might lead into a very broad discussion. The fact that they are recognized as the world's greatest instruments mean that they have certain qualities of tone, carrying power and beauty, not only beauty of tone, but also beauty and appearance that makes them very, very valuable. Well, now, is this some long -law secret of the ages, you more than anyone else, I think, in this country, should know, can't we make new strata very? Can't we duplicate these things? Well, as a maker of new instruments, I am fully convinced that the modern makers are making as fine instruments that were ever made.

If we were to look at some of the world's greatest instruments that are unused like the Messy, Messiah Stratavari, this instrument has none of the beauty of Stratavari violin that has been used. The varnish is all intact on it. There is no shading or beauty of an instrument that's been played much, handled much. So that today, that instrument would be passed upon by most violin players as a very modern instrument with no connection at all with Stratavari. How many violins can you make a year, Mr. Becker? Well, my son and I make about 14 or 16 instruments a year. We do this by spending our entire summers in Wisconsin. This summer, we spend five months up there making new instruments and restoring very, very valuable old instrument. Could I ask you how much of Becker violin would sell for? New

Becker violin sells for $750. The shellows for $1 ,500. Well, I'll tell you what I'd like to do. I'd like to talk to your son here a moment and find that. I wish you would. Mr. Becker, you're associated here with your dad and how long have you been so? All it's been 21 years since I've been 100 % in the violin business. Well, exactly. How do you make a violin? Well, that's a long story. I'll trim it up soon. Well, first you have to start with proper wood. We get our wood from Europe. The wood is curly maple on the back and ribs and the scroll and the top is of spruce. These woods are traditional, you might say, in the violin

making field. They've been used for hundreds of years and they are chosen both for beauty and for tone. The spruce on the top, for example, is a wood that's very lively and springy for its weight and has a lot to do with tone production. Carl, when you put these together, it goes without saying that you don't nail them in the various parts. Do you have a special kind of glue? Well, yes. We use a hot glue. It's of the highest grade obtainable and as great strength works very nicely. It does a very clean job. We make a great effort in our gluings to make the glue joint very clean in appearance. It's not like furniture where if you take the joint apart, you find gobs of glue in there. The joints are fitted perfectly and the glue soaks completely into the wood. And usually it lasts a lifetime. Oh, yes. The glue

joints on old violins are holding today that glue joints that were made when the violin was made. How about, we've heard a lot about old and new varnish. Some say that the old Italian varnish was superior to your dad just told us that he doesn't think it was. Now, how about glue? Has that improved with time? Should maybe science be given an assist here in developing new type glues? Well, from our standpoint glue is relatively unimportant in the tone of an instrument. The function is simply to hold the instrument together and as long as it holds the instrument by that's all that's necessary. Thank you very much, Carl. The story of the violin merchant is one of

a thousand variations on the theme of Chicago industry and the accounts of its industrial strength. Its product so diversified is to reach into every commercial field, into every home, and into every hour. How better would you measure the greatness of this city than to span the infinite distance between the steel of South Chicago and the violins of East Adams Street and all the shades and variations of commerce between? This is the city of strength. It has been my privilege to bring you glimpses within it for the past few months and it is now my regret to take leave. My special thanks are due Don Anderson of the Illinois Institute of Technology, whose planning and direction of this series has made it possible. This is Jack Angel with George Wilson, an engineer whose recordings here have imprinted city in sound.