From the Alwinac: “Soak ’em”: Thomas Edison’s Advice to a Cellist

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[The Alwinac blog is part of the schroeder170 project, honoring the life and musical career of cellist Alwin Schroeder (1855-1928) and exploring the history of cello playing in the US.]


The following anecdote in an item from the Lewisburg (PA) Chronicle (Oct. 15, 1891, p. 3) concerns an Edison engineer who was also a fine cellist. It also mentions railroad executive Henry Villard, who was also an amateur cellist. My question to string players using unwound gut strings: Does Edison’s remedy work?

Edison and the “Fiddlers”
    We were sitting on the piazza of Thomas A. Edison’s boarding house at Ogden, New Jersey, a few evenings since. Dinner was just over, and the great inventor, surrounded by a dozen or more employees, was enjoying a cigar.
    “Bring out your fiddle, Theodore,” said the wizard, settling into a rocking chair and addressing Mr. Leman, a young civil engineer, who, by the way, is a protege of Henry Villard.
    The fiddle proved to be a splendid violoncello, and “Theodore” proved to be the master of it. Schubert, Beethoven, Servais, and a dozen other authors were exploited, but the air was damp and the catgut stretched. Leman looked vexed, tightened and retightened the strings, but the discord came again and again.
    “What’s the matter?” suddenly inquired Edison.
    “These strings stretch in the damp air,” was the reply.
    The big gray head dropped down into its favorite position on the uplifted right hand and rested there a minute…..

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Read on….

Copyright © 2021 by Geoffrey Dean

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[Republished here by permission of the authors from their “Lifestyle Tips for Over 50s,” affiliated with their website “Passionate Retirees,” August 25, 2018.]

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[Originally published on October 29, 2013, not one word different, but more urgent than ever.]

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Much fruit of sense beneath is rarely found.
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Learning from English epigram

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Words are like leaves; and where they most abound,
Much fruit of sense beneath is rarely found.
                            –Alexander Pope
    Here is a sentiment that many of today’s high school students might heartily commend, at least according to Kyle Garza’s overview of the state of teaching English (see “Tuesday Voice: Our amusing age,” October 1). Our educators are the canaries in our cultural coalmine: we ignore them at our peril. Some of today’s students will go on to lead entertainment and media corporations, or programs for the endowment of the arts, or institutes of higher education. Some will be news anchors or reviewers. A few will become Speaker of the House, or President. Any malaise affecting our youth has potentially drastic ramifications for the culture at large.

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