Tom had always admired Viennese basses and experimented with Viennese tunings in the late 1970s. When Nick Walker at Ithaca College asked about acquiring one for the school, he jumped at the chance. Our Viennese design is a composite of Thir, Posch, and Stadlmann characteristics. This instrument is of sycamore with a European spruce top.
Ithaca was a magnet in 2012: we delivered not only the bass, but also a harpsichord to Cornell University. The shop had a longstanding connection to Cornell’s music department due to the fortepianos we’d made for faculty member Malcolm Bilson. When funds for a new harpsichord suddenly appeared, we had a French double in progress ready to go. Based on our old Germain original, it was to be a shop rental instrument, but the Cornell association was irresistible.
The big harpsichord news of the year was that Jory Vinikour’s Rameau recording, made at the end of 2011, was nominated for a Best Classical Instrumental Solo GRAMMY! Of the five nominees in the final selection, it was the only “period” entrant. More importantly, it was the first time ever (in 53 years) that the harpsichord had been featured in this category. Jory sent a mass email with the announcement, humbly turning attention from himself to those who had helped make the recording happen.
Another focal point for harpsichordists that summer was an international competition co-sponsored by the Westfield Center (in Ithaca!) and the Smithsonian, held at the University of Maryland. Twenty young players from as far away as Russia, Finland, and Hong Kong spent two weeks attending masterclasses, visiting museums in DC, listening to concerts, practicing, and finally competing. In addition to fifteen instruments used at U. MD, Barbara had to prepare and tune another dozen or so antiques at the Smithsonian.
Opera Lafayette’s annual recording was of the opera they took to Versailles for their international debut. The stage at the Opera Royal surprised them with actual 18th-century sets from a production of the work in which Marie Antoinette herself appeared!
