The event honors the late Keith and Linda Mixson, former TCU School of Music faculty members. A special feature of the concert is the appearance of a 1659 Amati violin, brought out of retirement.
Crafted by Niccolo Amati of Cremona in the mid-17th century, the instrument was once part of the collection of George Hart, Jr. who, with his brother Herbert, owned and operated Hart & Son of London, which traded in stringed instruments at the turn of the 20th century. By January 1942 the violin was on American soil, in the hands of a Chicago collector.
The violin was purchased by the late Mrs. Charles D. Reimers, of Fort Worth, Texas for her 16-year-old daughter Linda (the late Mrs. Keith Mixson). The young woman played the violin during her early studies at Mills College, and later at the University of Texas and Texas Christian University, where she earned, respectively, the Bachelor of Music and Master of Music degrees. Following a hand injury, Linda abandoned her performance career and retired the violin for safekeeping, where it remained unplayed for almost 60 years.
Upon her death in 2005, the instrument passed to the present owner who had it restored and returned to concert life. In the spring of 2007 the violin was loaned to the young Austrian violinist Sebastian Gürtler, who as concert soloist, first violinist of Vienna’s Hugo Wolf Quartett, has played the instrument throughout the world.
For more information, go to www.music.tcu.edu or call ext. 7232.