"FISK AT COLORADO SPRINGS" - The Greeley Tribune, Thursday, September 7th, 1899 - TRANSCRIBED
Greeley's World Renowned Violin Maker Visits the Casino, Where Six of His Fiddles were Being Played.
Yesterday had another notable afternoon at the casino, and it was agreed by all who were present that Stark and his merry men are a combination hard to beat. The gems of this program were the Von Weber overture, given with splendid dash, and the lovely andante from Tschaikowsky [1] famous quartet. [2] Though the latter has been played in a number of concerts this summer it always has to be repeated, and it deserves the compliment.
During the performance something was happening on the platform, though few were aware of it. Six new violins were being tried, and judging from the smiles of the orchestra and an old gentleman on the front row, the trial was satisfactory.
The violins are the work of the old gentleman above mentioned. He is an American, lives in Greeley, Colorado, and his name is George W. Fisk. He is an enthusiast in his art, is modest, unassuming and a most interesting talker. He has produced so far about one hundred violins, which are scattered over the whole musical world–Wilhelmj [3] has one, Remenyi had another–how proud the old man was of his violins–Stark plays on one every day. Kneisel [4] and Isaye [5] admire them. They are American made, and what is more to the point, Colorado made, The City of Greeley is proud of George W. Fisk!–Colorado Springs Gazette.
Footnotes
[1] Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840–1893), the Russian composer known for Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, The Sleeping Beauty, and the 1812 Overture. His name is spelled Tschaikowsky in German.
[2] Tchaikovsky’s String Quartet No. 1 in D major, Op. 11 (1871)
[3] August Wilhelmj (1845–1908), a German violinist and teacher, known for arranging Bach’s “Air on the G String.”
[4] Franz Kneisel (1865–1926) was a violinist and teacher born in Bucharest who became a leading figure in American chamber music. He founded the Kneisel Quartet in 1885 and served as concertmaster of the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
[5] Eugène Ysaÿe (1858–1931), the Belgian violinist, composer, and conductor. He was one of the great violin virtuosos of his era and composed the celebrated Six Sonatas for Solo Violin, Op. 27.
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