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Honorary Fellow: Association For Scottish Literary Studies

“If we investigate only by physical and chemical means, we can only get physical and chemical answers.”

Sir Alister Hardy, FRS

In 1981 an interview was arranged by Mike Lloyd of Radio Forth with Kyung Wha Chung, the young Korean soloist, in the afternoon just prior to her solo concert at the Usher Hall during the Edinburgh Festival. She had agreed to give an off-the-cuff reaction to three of John Brown’s violins. For obvious reasons, the planned meeting was limited to ten minutes or so. In the event, Kyung Wha Chung very generously gave John Brown about thirty-minutes of her time in which she played what was later described to me as a “violin-breaker” on John’s instruments. The one she preferred – “dark tone” - made in 1977, produced a very enthusiastic response.

“wonderful sound .. remarkable .. has to be also tried in a concert hall .. very even, and not at all  difficult to play .. colour very, very nice”

This reaction was recorded and later used in Radio Forth’s documentary Secret of the Masters, broadcast June, 1984. In that same Radio Forth documentary Leonard Freidman is heard playing the violin Kyung Wha Chung had preferred, and giving his reaction.

“Very, very good, very big sound .. this is almost a great fiddle .. reminds me of the legendary Guarnerius family instruments”