Violinist Stefan Jackiw’s bow breaks mid-performance

Watch the moment when violinist Stefan Jackiw’s bow breaks in the middle of a concerto!

Jackiw was performing the UK premiere of Reinhold Glière’s Violin Concerto with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Kirill Karabits. A third of the way through the concerto, during a a busy broken-octave passage, the the violinist’s bow spontaneously comes apart at the tip,

’The striking thing was there was nothing particularly percussive or aggressive about the passage,’ Jackiw told The Times. ’It was just a freak accident.’

Jackiw plays a 19th-century Parisian bow, made by François Nicolas Voirin, worth $30,000. ’I’ve had a string break, but never had a bow break,’ he said. ’Most violinists in a lifetime of playing won’t have a bow snap.’

Within seconds of the incident, Jackiw swapped bows with the leader of the orchestra and resumed playing. Of the borrowed bow, he said, ’[it] was an excellent bow but it’s like you’ve borrowed someone else’s shoes and then you try running a race.’

Jackiw will now prioritise repairing the broken bow, which he has owned for 20 years.

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