In Saturday’s (7/16) Keene Sentinel (New Hampshire), Sarah Trefethen writes, “Don’t be surprised if you see lights burning in Walpole’s 250-year-old Unitarian Church during the wee hours of the morning. It’s probably just Anthony Princiotti, playing his 169-year-old violin. Princiotti, who lives in Walpole, is the conductor of the New Hampshire Philharmonic and the Dartmouth Symphony Orchestra and associate conductor of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra. Even though his main professional activity is leading groups of musicians, in the summer he has more time to spend on his own study of the violin—an instrument he first took up when he was 5 years old. … Princiotti is effusive in his love for classical music, but at the same time he can be a harsh critic of the professional culture of which he is a part. Other musical genres encourage improvisation and variation, but classical music is about accurately reproducing a composer’s intent. This can lead to a mentality that Princiotti compares to training for a track and field event. ‘It’s wonderful but it can also be a little bit crazy-making,’ he said. ‘Instead of looking at it as deep human expression, it becomes about a series of stunts and how well you can do them.’ ”
Posted July 18, 2011
