musical instruments Archives

Travails of Travel with a Cello

Airlines can be sticky about these instruments, no matter how rare and valuable (Excerpted with permission from OttawaCitizen.com) Don’t tell Pinchas Zukerman, but Amanda Forsyth has another man in her life. His name is Carlo. He’s Italian, 300 years old, about four feet tall and made of wood. On second thought, Zukerman has probably met this guy. He lives in a special carbon fibre case in the home he shares with Forsyth. Carlo is, after all, a cello and a very expensive one at that, having been made by Carlo Giuseppe Testore in 1699 and being worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. That all makes Forsyth pretty protective of old Carlo, her nickname for her instrument. “He’s my other husband,” she says. “Whenever I go to Italy, I always open [...]

By Blogmaster|2018-11-19T02:36:24-05:00October 14th, 2012|Categories: Cello Travel|Tags: WestJet, air travel, checked baggage, airlines, security, Pinchas, safety, Zukerman, Travel, Boccherini, travel with an instrument, stress, flights, musical instruments, baggage|

Bumping the Cello: An Exchange Between WestJet’s Robert Barron and Paul Katz

Shortly after my "Airline Nightmare" story appeared in the Boston Globe, WestJet representative Robert Barron wrote a letter of explanation to the Globe. It is reprinted here, with my personal reactions injected. – PK Robert Barron - West Jet Customer Service Agent: First of all, I'd like to say to Mr. Katz that I'm sorry he had such an unpleasant experience flying with us. All of us at WestJet are very proud of our company and its caring culture so we take it personally when we hear people are unhappy with us. The second-last thing I would want to do is cause a guest any upset, but the very last thing I want to do is to jeopardize anyone's safety. While many airlines do permit musical instruments to fly in the cabin, [...]

By Blogmaster|2017-10-30T05:20:30-04:00September 1st, 2012|Categories: Cello Travel|Tags: media, purchasing extra seats, FAA passenger bill of rights, news, flying with a cello, stowage, regulations, weight restrictions, safety, WestJet, weight, Travel, restrictions, cello, musicians, size, cellobello, space, transportation, Katz, musical instruments, carry-on, Paul, flying with instruments, passenger rights, air, height restrictions, FAA|

NPR Podcast of Paul Katz Interview: Skies Less-Than Friendly When Packing A Cello

Reprinted from NPR - National Public Radio Paul Katz bought two tickets — one for himself and one for his cello — in the cabin of a flight from Calgary to Los Angeles. But the captain told him his centuries-old cello had to fly as checked baggage. After an agonizing flight, Katz cried when the captain returned his cello, unharmed. Listen to the Podcast on National Public Radio TRANSCRIPT Copyright © 2012 National Public Radio. For personal, noncommercial use only. See Terms of Use. For other uses, prior permission required. NEAL CONAN, HOST: On a flight from Calgary to Los Angeles, cellist Paul Katz did everything right. He bought two tickets: one for him, one for his instrument, just the same as thousands of flights before. When he showed up [...]

By Blogmaster|2021-12-23T10:18:03-05:00August 29th, 2012|Categories: Cello Travel|Tags: flying with cello, bill of rights, FAA, media, carry-on, flying, news, NPR, regulations, stowage, passenger rights, safety, weight restrictions, weight, Travel, WestJet, cello, cello case, extra airline seats, cellobello, space, restrictions, Katz, musical instruments, carry-on baggage, Paul, flying with instruments, size, airlines, baggage, transportation|

Flying with Your Cello? Print the FAA Passenger’s Bill of Rights to Carry With You

WHEN TRAVELING WITH AN INSTRUMENT, BE SURE TO PRINT THE FOLLOWING PASSENGER'S BILL OF RIGHTS AND CARRY IT ONBOARD WITH YOU! DOWNLOAD PDF The United States’ FAA Air Transportation Modernization and Safety Improvement Act - SEC. 403 § 41724, adopted by the US Congress on 6 February 2012: H.R.658 - FAA Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2011 SEC. 403. MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS. (a) In General- Subchapter I of chapter 417 is amended by adding at the end the following: ‘Sec. 41724. Musical instruments ‘(a) In General- ‘(1) SMALL INSTRUMENTS AS CARRY-ON BAGGAGE- An air carrier providing air transportation shall permit a passenger to carry a violin, guitar, or other musical instrument in the aircraft cabin, without charging the passenger a fee in addition to any standard fee that carrier may require for comparable carry-on baggage, [...]

By Blogmaster|2019-05-26T04:28:40-04:00August 29th, 2012|Categories: Cello Travel|Tags: Travel, extra airline seats, weight, Instruments, carry-on baggage, cello, space, size, cellobello, musical instruments, transportation, airlines, flying with instruments, air, FAA, media, flying, news, flying with a cello, stowage, regulations, weight restrictions, safety, WestJet|

WQXR Podcast of Paul Katz Interview: the Pitfalls of Taking Musical Instruments on Planes

Listen: Reprinted from WQXR.org U.S. airlines are more punctual and less likely to lose your bag than at any time in more than two decades, according to a recent Associated Press analysis of Bureau of Transportation data. Fewer than three suitcases per 1,000 passengers were reported lost, damaged or delayed from January through June, a record low. But a recent spate of stories concerning musical instruments on airplanes suggests that the skies aren't always friendly for musicians. Paul Katz, a former member of the Cleveland Quartet, recently experienced a particularly dramatic incident involving his 1669 Andrea Guarneri cello and a flight from Calgary to Los Angeles operated by WestJet, which partners with American and Delta, among other carriers. "I was even pre-boarded. I got the royal treatment,” Katz tells host Naomi [...]

By Blogmaster|2017-10-30T05:21:17-04:00August 28th, 2012|Categories: Cello Travel|Tags: Paul, news, airlines, stowage, traveling with cello, FAA, traveling with instruments, flying, weight restrictions, flying with a cello, WestJet, Travel, checked baggage, weight, Instruments, extra airline seats, cello, musical instruments, restrictions, cellobello, flying with instruments, carry-on baggage, Katz, media, size|

Learning Through Listening — by Yeesun Kim

The other day in my studio class, an excellent question was brought up by one of the students. How do we use the recordings of artists for study purposes? What is the right way and amount to listen to these recordings? How much imitation is acceptable? Can it be somehow detrimental? We had a wonderful discussion where everyone chimed in to share their experiences and thoughts about this question. It is a very important issue to be thinking about, considering how much easier it is to be downloading recordings than attending concerts these days. There are so many ways to collect many different versions of a piece one is interested in. Also, we can listen to it as many times and at any time of the day as we please. [...]

By Yeesun Kim|2022-09-12T14:32:15-04:00June 6th, 2011|Categories: Artistic Vision, Self Discovery|Tags: Sound, recordings, sound production, musical expression, performance, musical instruments, Kim, Production, Teaching, Yeesun, studying, artistry, musical language, Symphony, cello, atmosphere, cellobello, learning, NEC, communication, New England Conservatory, Listening, gestures|