Frank Huang is now the owner of the beautifully decorated ‘Caraman-Chimay’ Pierre Simon bow, thanks to a recent sale by Tarisio
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Tarisio has announced the sale of the ‘Caraman-Chimay’ Pierre Simon bow to the concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic, Frank Huang.
’I am honoured to have acquired this extraordinary bow and to continue its illustrious legacy — many thanks to Tarisio for this opportunity,’ said Huang.
Pierre Simon was considered to be the best bow maker of the French violin maker, Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume. Simon made the bow for the Belgian diplomat, businessman and music lover, Prince Caraman de Chimay.
Vuillaume made three matched quartets of instruments in the 1860s, one of which included the ’Caraman de Chimay,’ decorated with the family’s coat of arms. Vuillaume asked Simon to make a quartet of decorated bows to go with the instruments. The quartets were split up in the 20th century but the individual instruments and bows are still being played today.
The ‘Caraman-Chimay’ Pierre Simon bow is mounted in ebony and gold. The Vuillaume-style frog has rounded edges and sits on a convex track in the handle of the stick. The metal elements are engraved with the arms and iconography of the Caraman de Chimay family. On the ferrule is the crest with the Latin motto ’Juvat Pietas,’ literally meaning, ‘piety helps’.
The facets of the button are engraved with a half lily and a rose, elements found in the Caraman-Chimay arms. A bird with crossed, closed wings is engraved on the heel plate above the date 1864. The small heel bears two entwined Cs and the same motif surrounding a crown is engraved on the oversized gold discs inset on each side of the frog.
Frank Huang has held the Charles E. Culpeper chair as concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic since September 2015. He is a former first prize winner of the Walter W. Naumburg Foundation’s Violin Competition and the 2000 Hannover International Violin Competition and also received top prizes in the Premio Paganini International Violin Competition and the Indianapolis International Violin Competition.
Huang is a member of the New York Philharmonic String Quartet and has performed at the Marlboro Music Festival, Ravinia’s Steans Institute, Seattle Chamber Music Festival, and Caramoor. Prior to his role at the New York Philharmonic, he served as concertmaster of the Houston Symphony in 2010 and as first violinist of the Ying Quartet.
Bow photos courtesy Tarisio.
Read: From the archive: the 1865 ‘Caraman de Chimay’ Vuillaume
Read: Why I rotate between seven bows: cellist David Finckel
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