The relationship between an artist and their instrument is complicated – master/salve, slave/master, firm/weak, demanding/pleading – All of these and more. The relationship is often compared to a jockey and thoroughbred or a driver and fine racing automobile. We are not always sure who is in control. Pushing an instrument to the very limits of its ability and keeping it there is a fine balancing act that only a true professional can master. One cannot take a new instrument out for a test spin and master it the first time out. It takes years to learn the limitations and capabilities of an instrument and become its master.

Gonca’s cello is well over 100 hundred years old. Her cello teacher discovered it in the attic of an ancient home. He acquired it for Gonca. Experts have not been able to determine who made it. The shape matches German designers of that era. So all she knows for sure is that it is well over 100 years old and probably made in Berlin. String instruments are more than just plain wood. They have to be played; else somehow the composition of the wood molecules changes and loses it ability to produce mellow, full sound. Finding an old un-played cello, requires months and years to rehabilitate and bring back to life. It has to be seasoned, which requires hours of continuous play until the wood opens up and the vibrations began to resonate within the wood and the player.

“When I got him, he was a mess, covered with dirt and years and years of grime. I took him to my luthier and he cleaned him over and over very gently to remove the grime but save the finish. Then I began to play him. It was hard - metallic, dead sounds. My cello teacher told me I had to bring him back to life with my playing and special practice everyday for certain amount of time. For months and months, I practiced him loud and louder everyday. He resisted every step.

Then he got used to my firm strokes and we came to know each other. His sound came back gradually. I love his richness and fullness now. He still grows every year. I struggle to keep up and find the new edges of his power. “