* * Seeing and hearing a virtuoso fiddler in concert

It has been said that there are only two types of music: bad music and good music.  Perhaps in the case of violinist Adam DeGraff, there is a third: exceptional music.

I met Adam a couple of years ago in his home in Lewisburg, West Virginia.  I was interviewing at him for my book, The Spine of the Virginias.  Adam was preparing to leave on an extended tour a pianist in a partnership they called Pianafiddle.  I was never able to properly certify that the transcript notes that I wrote from my conversation with Adam were correct.  Therefore, I didn't feel comfortable in including his chapter in the book.

Nevertheless, I found his story compelling.  Adam was a child prodigy on the violin, learning to play at age 4.  He finished his undergraduate degree at Northwestern University in Chicago, his hometown.  He got a Master's Degree at Rice University.  Before he graduated he won a job as second principal violinist at the Richmond Symphony at age 23, a dozen years ago.  He and his wife lived and worked near Richmond for five seasons.  But he wasn’t happy.  From my transcript:

“Orchestral musicians rank very high on job dissatisfaction scales.  By contrast, chamber musicians are much more satisfied and happier.  At the time I had been courted by some bigger orchestras from some bigger cities to audition and to work for them.” 

Adam learned that job satisfaction dropped as the orchestra became bigger and better.  So he quit, sold his home, and did the Green Acres maneuver, buying a farm in West Virginia. 

When I asked him about living in West Virginia, he said, “I can be really enthusiastic about a lot of things about West Virginia.  It is the most beautiful place I have ever lived.  Geographically, it is ideal for me.  I love the weather, the scenery, and the lush green forests.  It is not too hot.  It is not too cold.  It is not too humid.  Richmond was oppressively hot and humid.  It is not too dry.  The mountains are not too big.  They feel gentle and protective.  The water quality is excellent.  So, on that front I am absolutely thrilled with where we live.  I don't think I could ever move away, simply for those reasons.”

About the music he’s found in this area, he said, “We have been heavily influenced by the type of music we see and hear here.  We are all influenced by everything in our environment.  Before I moved to Virginia I had never played anything but classical.  Once I moved to Virginia I began to play some bluegrass.  I was a hack; I really wasn't very good at it.  I tried to learn some of the old time music.  I used to be a purist with classical but now I am letting the eclectic influences into my playing.  When we play in Pianafiddle we do everything from straight bluegrass to blues and jazz and klezmer and classical and Celtic.  Sometimes we pile all these influences into the same piece.  I'm sure I would never have known the difference between old time and bluegrass had I not moved here.  There are huge differences.

“I’m embracing the new knowledge and skills I am developing here.  This is really good.

“My grandmother needled me repeatedly about giving up the good money and job security of an orchestra, just like any other good Jewish mother.  I finally said to her, ‘Grams, I am making more money than anybody in the Chicago Symphony.’  Not only that but my living expenses in West Virginia are a mere fraction of what they would be in Chicago.  This is a modest house and I can’t even imagine what something like it would cost there.

“If the Vienna Philharmonic called and asked me to play would I go?  Yes.  I would go and play for a few months to see if I liked it.  But I am having fun.  I am really having the time of my life.  I am a very happy man.  We have been following our bliss lately, and everything is working well.”

Adam played a couple of short pieces for me in his studio, but I had never heard him in concert until the other evening when my wife and I went to Roanoke where Adam played at the Jefferson Center with his old friend Russell Fallstad, in a duet they called Dueling Fiddlers.  To hear these two classically trained musicians romp through rock-and-roll, bluegrass, old-time, and Bach was truly extraordinary.  Imagine Led Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven on a 200-year old violin!

I’m no musician myself, but I enjoy live music immensely.  It is flattering to me as a native to Southwest Virginia to know that these exceptional musicians have been captivated by our heritage music.  If you get the chance, please attend a concert.  Learn about Adam and Russell on their website:

http://www.theduelingfiddlers.com/