By Gretta Parkinson
No sources can confirm, but a friend of BYU may have given the School of Music the most valuable instrument students will ever hear or handle.
Ralph Tiebout, a violin maker and Renaissance man in the arts, traveled from Los Angeles as a special speaker to donate his most prized possession to the music students at BYU. He gave his antique violin, which he said is a Stradivarius, and also a fine bow, to the school during a master class on Tuesday.
“There will be any number of experts who will tell you this is not genuine,” Tiebout said. “All I can say is I”m convinced.”
Tiebout and his wife joined the LDS Church about 10 years ago in Los Angeles. He said after some time, he felt spiritually compelled to “give of his treasure,” so he decided to donate the violin that had been in his family for four generations.
Dale Monson, the director of the BYU School of Music, said Tiebout is not interested in any praise or glory.
“His simple desire is to try to serve, and this violin is his simple gift,” Monson said.
Kory Katseanes, a professor of strings and instrumental conducting at BYU, said they plan to get the instrument appraised to discover its worth and authenticity as a Stradivarius. But, Tiebout said he already had it appraised by the reputable Hans Wiesauer, and that was good enough for him.
Tiebout is confident in the violin”s authenticity. He shared some information on Stradivari himself, and even divulged the secret of great violin making.
“Do you want to know what the secret of Stradivarius is?” he asked. “He had a great teacher … and he married a rich widow.”
Tiebout gave the violin to BYU so students would have access to a truly fine instrument.
“I hope that each of you that has a chance to play it will get some of the inspiration that it has given others before,” he said.
As an instrument maker himself, Tiebout is qualified to analyze the structure of his violin. He taught students about the details of violin making and he urged them to write down his definition of a violin, so it can become universal.
“A violin is a system of wooden springs at critical balance,” he said.
After the presentation of the gift, several musicians had the privilege of playing the violin. One of them was Aaron Ashton, a graduate student at BYU, pursuing a degree in violin performance.
“It was fun to play,” Ashton said. “I”ll play [it] as much as I can while I”m here.”
The master class warranted laughter and applause during the presentation, and Tiebout didn”t forget to share his warm feelings for BYU and the LDS Church.
“I wish we had a lot of time,” Tiebout said. “There”s so much more I want to tell you. But most importantly, I love you.”
