Ilya Finkelshteyn,    Principal Chang Woo Lee,    Associate Principal Dariusz Skoraczewski,    Assistant Principal Susan Evans Bo Li Seth Low Kristin Ostling Paula Skolnick Childress Esther Mellon Thompson
Seth, Bo, Chang Woo, Paula, Darius, Kristin, Esther, Susan and Ilya

"You could've bought a sports car!"
Kristin, the Cello, and the Audi

That's what I frequently hear when I tell people how much my cello cost. It is an old English cello, made by the great maker, William Forster, Sr., and it is affectionately known as "The RS6." Why? Well, as you can see in the photograph , there's my cello, and next to it is a very nice Audi Quattro- the RS6 model, which happens to carry the exact same price tag.

Fine professional quality stringed instruments are works of art, each one of which is unique. They are painstakingly made by hand to exacting measurements, with care taken to select the best pieces of wood. These elements greatly affect how it will sound and feel to both the player and the audience. They also affect the price of the instrument. The luthier who made it, how old it is, and what condition it is in are all factors.

These days, a brand new cello, fresh from the shop of a maker who knows what he/she is doing, can run $40,000- 50,000. As soon as the instrument starts to age, the value goes up. Old instruments are considered to be antiques, and (particularly Italian ones) can sell for several million dollars. One of Yo-yo Ma's cellos is actually owned by several different investors.

One of the reasons that many players prefer the older instruments is that, like fine wines, they get better with age. The wood settles, and more importantly, the more the instrument been played on, the more it resonates. It is like the break-in period of a car- it runs better after a few thousand miles. The downside is of course, that such instruments cost more money.

So where did that leave me - a symphony musician from Kentucky with no oil tycoons in the family? I had to get a loan. While the BSO does have an instrument loan fund, it unfortunately cannot keep up with the rising prices in the instrument market. Most conventional banks will not loan money for this purpose, but I found one that did - the wonderful Peg Adams at Maryland Bank and Trust in St. Mary's County offered me a business loan, and I had my cello. And a monthly payment equivalent to having bought an Audi!

One question I am often asked (and it is a good one) is this: If you are good enough to play in the BSO, can't you make anything sound good? Did you really need to jump through those hoops? This is how I respond: If you were a professional race driver, would you rather compete in a GM sedan, or a finely tuned, well-handling BMW? If you were the driver's sponsor, what would you prefer him/her to be in? A good driver can do a lot with a Pontiac Grand Prix, but.....you get the point.

In a nutshell, we care enough to give the best quality concerts, and that means that we need to have the best equipment possible. We wouldn't want it any other way!


Kristin Ostling