Do you have a permit for that bow?

The vast majority of string-playing symphony orchestra professionals use bows made from a wood called pernambuco which is the heartwood of Brazil's Pau-Brazil tree. In the late 1700s, French bow maker Francois Tourte standardized the violin bow's proportions and materials making pernambuco his wood of choice due to its special characteristics: lightweight, durable, resonant, incredibly stiff yet springy and able to hold a gentle curve across its length.

But today, the Pau-Brazil tree is endangered. In fact, it's so endangered that the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) made moves last month to make pernambuco a banned substance. The result would be a necessity of string players to always carry proper permits and certifications any time they wanted to travel with their bows.

While CITES was successful in classifying pernambuco as a banned substance, musical instrument bows were allowed as an exception thanks to the lobbying efforts of the classical music community. However, this all means one thing for the price of a $pernambuco bow$. Check out the full story from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Now, for something completely different, it seems city officials in Tacoma, Washington are planning to make their city transit center bus stop a bit more pleasant - or rather more UN-pleasant if you're a gang member - by piping classical music over loudspeakers. The full story is here. While their motivations may be a little off (should classical music really be seen as some kind of pest repellant?), perhaps the door will be open for classical music to reach more of the mainstream. With Phoenix opening a group of light-rail stations next year, might Bach and Beethoven find their way into the plan?

Brendan Anderson
Web Administrator