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Discovering the Treasures of Tuscany

It is not often that a single trip away can include so many of one's favourite things but this summer, from 16-28 July, a long overdue visit to Tuscany did just that for me when I was invited to take part in the string ensemble course Masterclass of Music Citerna. Over the last three years, Elvira Bekova, violinist with the Bekova Trio (Alfia, cello; Eleonora, piano) has established, with the excellent help of the local Comune, a chamber music course only 45 minutes' drive from Arezzo near Florence in the beautiful Tuscan countryside on the border with Umbria.

The trio who provide chamber music masterclass training has an impeccable pedigree stemming from their time at the Moscow Conservatory of Music, following which each of them has well established solo careers in addition to their outstanding success as an ensemble.

'Masterclass of Music Citerna' was established largely due to the almost chance finding of a wonderful Tuscan farmhouse deep in idyllic countryside near the hilltop village of Citerna, Umbria, by Elvira and her husband Michael Humphreys, combined with a desire to share their wide experience with others. Utilising the excellent resources of the village's main hotel (which includes a huge conference hall) and their own house, the course currently consists of individual and group coaching throughout a two-week period, interspersed with performances by members of the trio and a final concert given by all of the participants themselves in the beautiful local church.

I have to admit that my involvement this year was after quite a long period of gentle encouragement - I haven't attended a chamber course since I was about 15 years old - but eventually, Elvira delivered the final persuasive blow. There was a violin making school a short distance from Citerna that would like me to teach for a few days during the second week of my stay. The fact that Gubbio, the home of this school, just happened to be one of the most outstanding and beautiful hillside towns in that past of Italy was just one of the many unexpected surprises of my visit.

The chamber course was relatively small this year with about 15 participants from as far apart as Albercerque and Oregon (USA), Great Britain and Cyprus. Musicians were grouped more or less according to standard, and with a few changes along the way generally worked on the same chosen pieces. I came prepared to play Haydn's Gypsy Rondo and ended up practising my violin like a mad thing for Mozart's Piano Quartet in G Minor.

It's early days for this very promising course, and with the amount of experience and warm support that the trio offers, I am sure it will develop into an outstanding venue.

During our stay in Citerna, I took the opportunity to visit various villages in the area, not least the incredible Anghiari which was witness to a famous battle on 29th June 1440 between the Florentine and Milanese armies. It was there, on one of those sultry Italian evenings that we bumped, quite by accident, into the Southbank Sinfonia who were staging a production of La Boheme in the village square as part of the Anghiari Festival. To our astonishment, there they were again a day later at nearby Monterchi, yet another eye-smackingly gorgeous hilltop village, this time with an orchestral programme! We were in real danger of sensory overload as the music, breathtaking views, ancient frescoes and striking architecture vied with one another for our attention. And I haven't even mentioned the food yet, or our foray into Chianti country...

On a day off, we drove up to Florence. Wandering through the Accademia Gallery to see Michelangelo's David yet another treat was in store. Almost as if an afterthought, through an inconspicuous doorway lay the small museum wing housing two of the most important and best preserved Stradivari instruments to be seen anywhere, - the 'Medici Quintet' viola and cello dating from 1690, made for the Grand Prince Ferdinando de Medici.

It is hard for someone like me not to marvel at any Strad, but these stopped me in my tracks. The viola is the only Stradivari instrument in existence still with its original neck, fingerboard, tailpiece, bridge and end-pin as made by the master. Even the famously perfect 'Messiah' Strad at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford has a replaced neck by Vuillaume. The cello, though with a later neck, has retained its original large dimensions - only one other of Stradivari's largest cellos exists unaltered. Both instruments just sang out of their respective cases, the rich, dark orange varnish glowing over matching maple backs, despite rather subdued lighting.

Other instruments on view from the grand Ducal collection included the very fine Nicolo Amati cello circa 1650 and another outstanding Stradivari violin from the golden period, dated 1716 - the same year as the 'Messiah'.

Sunday, 23rd July, found me in Gubbio for my three days of teaching at the Scuola Maestri Liutai-Archettai di Gubbio, where I was welcomed by the school's teachers, Winfried Mayer, Marcello Di Sante Cellini and Ildebrando Minelli. The school, founded in 1978 by self-taught violin maker Guerriero Spataffi (who had previously worked in the 'Eco' guitar factory) now offers a full time two-year course.

Fourteen of the school's 30 students had stayed behind (or returned) from their holidays to attend the course which consisted of a kind of daily gathering around the work bench, at which I would talk about or demonstrate repair techniques and they would ask questions. I was able to show, through photos projected on to a screen, more complicated restorations and I am sure that we all learnt a great deal. Something I would rather not have learned concerned the school's premises. Not many years before, an earthquake caused significant structural damage to the imposing old Monastery of St.Pietro housing the workshops. That kept me on my toes.

Returning to Citerna, I continued my involvement on the excellent course and my fevered practising of Mozart was yet again to be heard resounding in the hotel. The culmination of all our endeavours was a splendid concert in the local church attended by many locals together with the mayor and other dignitaries and recorded by local television, followed by a reception on the castle walls.