Puglia to Holland by bike: Cremona - a different sort of day.

As musicians, especially string players like Ben, Cremona means one thing - the centre of string instrument making and the home of the great luthiers, Stradivari and the Amati and Guarneri families. The town is still a centre for some of the finest makers in the world and every other shop seems to be a luthier.

Of course our first stop today was at the Museo del Violino. It was very interesting looking at the exhibitions on techniques of construction and the fine collection of instruments, but the absolute highlight of the day was the lunchtime recital. A young Japanese lady was playing the Stradivari violin "Clisbee" of 1669. She chose a programne which she played in chronological order to show off the merits of the instrument. There were five pieces by Bach, Vivaldi, Brahms, Massenet and Bizet/Sarasate. The museum possesses a fine new concert hall with a magnificent accoustic and the experience of hearing this instrument at close quarters was overwhelming. We were both in tears, especially at the sound of the G string and the nuances possible on this quality of instrument. It was strange to think that that violin was made before any of the music played was written. One rather bizarre aspect of this concert is the fact that it is the first time I've seen an armed guard standing within a few metres of a soloist playing in a concert. I suppose that is understandable given the fact that the instrument must have been worth several million euros, and that the whole museum contained an extraordinary number of instruments of similar value.