Benoît Marie Rolland (born 12 September 1954 Paris), is a

bow maker A bow maker is a person who builds, repairs, and restores ancient or modern bows for bowed string instruments. These include violins, violas, cellos, double basses, viola d'amore, viola da gamba, etc. The French word for bowmaker (bow maker) is ...

and musician, currently established in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

, Massachusetts. An internationally renowned bow maker, he is a 2012 MacArthur Fellow and a Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres (2017).

Biography

Early years

Rolland was born into a Parisian family of old descent. He received his early musical training at the age of four from his grandmother Germaine Thyssens-Valentin, a renowned concert pianist. During his childhood he frequented her musical salon, where composers such as Olivier Messiaen and other performers gathered. He began to play the violin at age eight and subsequently entered the Versailles conservatory and the

Conservatoire de Paris The Conservatoire de Paris (), also known as the Paris Conservatory, is a college of music and dance founded in 1795. Officially known as the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique et de Danse de Paris (CNSMDP), it is situated in the avenue ...

, graduating at age 16. Among his professors were Alfred Loewenguth and Line Talluel. Aside from violin performance, his perfect pitch led to advancement in his ability to read and write music. He honed his skill for musical composition at the

Schola Cantorum de Paris The Schola Cantorum de Paris is a private conservatory in Paris. It was founded in 1894 by Charles Bordes, Alexandre Guilmant and Vincent d'Indy as a counterbalance to the Paris Conservatoire's emphasis on opera. History La Schola was founded ...

(1980–82) under Pierre Doury. In 1971, foregoing a promising career as a young soloist, he joined the historical bowmaking school of

Mirecourt Mirecourt () is a commune in the Vosges department in Grand Est in northeastern France. Mirecourt is known for lace-making and the manufacture of musical instruments, particularly those of the Violin family. Inhabitants are called Mirecurtiens. ...

as a student of

Bernard Ouchard Bernard Ouchard (15 February 1925, in Mirecourt – 2 June 1979, in Vittel) was a French master bow maker and teacher in the School of Violin and Bowmaking of Mirecourt, France. He is considered by some to have been the last historical French maste ...

. During these four years of intense training he developed the skills that were to make him become the youngest ever

Meilleur Ouvrier de France ''Meilleur Ouvrier de France'' (shortened to MOF) is a competition for craftsmen held in France every four years. The winning candidates receive a medal. Description The title of ''Meilleur Ouvrier de France'' is a unique and prestigious award i ...

"Best Artisan of France", at the age of 25.

First studio

Rolland established his first studio in Paris, 34 rue de Laborde, in 1976. In 1979, he was awarded the distinction of "Best Artisan of France." In 1983, he subsequently received the rare national title of Maitre Archetier d'Art. International awards followed. With the support of Étienne Vatelot, Rolland spearheaded the refinement of French Traditional Bowmaking. This merging of modernity and tradition elevated his craft to higher recognition, and he was soon commissioned to make bows for Lord

Yehudi Menuhin Yehudi or Jehudi (Hebrew: יהודי, endonym for Jew) is a common Hebrew name: * Yehudi Menuhin (1916–1999), violinist and conductor ** Yehudi Menuhin School, a music school in Surrey, England ** Who's Yehoodi?, a catchphrase referring to t ...

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, Christian Ferras, Maurice Gendron, Joseph Suk,

Leonid Kogan Leonid Borisovich Kogan (russian: Леони́д Бори́сович Ко́ган; uk, Леонід Борисович Коган; 14 November 1924 – 17 December 1982) was a preeminent Soviet violinist during the 20th century. Many consider ...

Henryk Szeryng Henryk Szeryng (usually pronounced ''HEN-r-ik SHEH-r-in-g'') (22 September 19183 March 1988) was a Polish violinist. Early years He was born in Warsaw, Poland on 22 September 1918 into a wealthy Jewish family. The surname "Szeryng" is a Poli ...

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, and other leading musicians. At the time, his bows were already played by concertmasters and musicians in major orchestras throughout Europe, Asia, and the United States.

Retreat and new directions

Rolland retreated to the Island of Bréhat in 1982. While there he researched new forms of bows and alternative materials, envisioning new advances in his art, as well as environmental awareness. This novel research on alternative materials for bows derived from his compound knowledge of music, bows and naval carbon/ Kevlar technology. During this prominent stage of Rolland's career, a close dialogue with soloists was developing that would nourish his research on the sound qualities of bows in future years. Rolland then imposed his style, which expressed a profound knowledge of music as well as his understanding of the intrinsic qualities that gave fine French bows their world renown. While he continued creating traditional pernambuco bows, acquiring new clients such as Mstislav Rostropovich and

Ivry Gitlis Ivry Gitlis ( he, עברי גיטליס;‎ 25 August 1922 – 24 December 2020) was an Israeli virtuoso violinist and UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador. He performed with the world's top orchestras, including the London Philharmonic, New York Philh ...

, Rolland broadened his reputation in Japan, where his creations were particularly sought. Since the beginning of his career, Rolland has been devoted to continuing the tradition, yet also committed to opening new avenues for it. Aware that his crafts rested on an endangered wood species, Pernambuco, thus far irreplaceable, between 1981 and 1986 he conceived the later trademarked Spiccato carbon fiber bow.

Innovation and entrepreneurship

Self-taught in science and new technologies, Rolland rationally combined his artistic knowledge and refined intuition. A visionary, he formulated and designed the first synthetic bow of concert quality, a bow still played today on stage by soloists. Rolland moved back to the mainland with his completed prototypes in order to launch the Spiccato bows carbon fiber manufacture in Vannes, Brittany. His revolutionary concept of an inner tension mechanism allows the musician to modify the camber of the bow at will and change its playing qualities even on stage. This was noted as one of the main innovative steps in the history of bow making. Within a few years, with the support of noted soloists (

Jaime Laredo Jaime Laredo (born June 7, 1941) is a violinist and Conducting, conductor. He was the conductor and Music Director of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra, and he began his musical career when he was five years old. Laredo was born in Cochabamba, Boliv ...

, J.-P. Wallez, Heinrich Schiff,

Christian Tetzlaff Christian Tetzlaff (born 29 April 1966) is a German violinist. Biography Tetzlaff was born in Hamburg. His parents were amateur musicians and met in a church choir. He began playing the violin and piano at the age of 6, and made his concert debu ...

) his company attained international acclaim. In 1994, the bow that

Jean-Luc Ponty Jean-Luc Ponty (born 29 September 1942) is a French jazz violinist and composer. Early life Ponty was born into a family of classical musicians in Avranches, France. His father taught violin, his mother taught piano. At sixteen, he was admitt ...

called "the 21st century bow" was awarded Musicora First International Prize. This contributed to a new dynamic of innovation in musical instrument and bow making far beyond the work of Rolland himself: in less than ten years, hundreds of manufactures of carbon bows were appearing around the world. In 2012 Rolland introduced a significant innovation in the design of the bow with the

Galliane A Galliane is a bow frog for stringed instrument bows that sets the hair ribbon at an angle. This kind of frog was first described in ''Scientific American'' in October 2012. It was invented by bow maker Benoit Rolland for violin, viola, cello, an ...

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-frog" ''Triadobatrachus'' is ...

. Galliane frogs give a slight

helicoid The helicoid, also known as helical surface, after the plane and the catenoid, is the third minimal surface to be known. Description It was described by Euler in 1774 and by Jean Baptiste Meusnier in 1776. Its name derives from its similarity ...

al shape to the bow hair, allowing the performer to play with a fuller hair ribbon from frog to tip. In 2016 Rolland evolved the orchestra conducting baton, creating a new shape that transformed the conventional bulb of the baton. The ergonomic design, based on a 3-D imprint of the conductor hand, combines physiology and musical purpose.

Bow as artwork

In 1999–2000 Rolland stepped back from active entrepreneurship in order to create a curriculum for the first bow making school in the United States. Following these intense years, he permanently settled in the United States in 2003, where he made his home and studio, in Boston, Massachusetts. Rolland now concentrates on making wood bows as individual art pieces, and has been commissioned by artists such as

Anne-Sophie Mutter Anne-Sophie Mutter (born 29 June 1963) is a German violinist. She was supported early in her career by Herbert von Karajan. As an advocate of contemporary music, she has had several works composed especially for her, by Sebastian Currier, Henri ...

Yo Yo Ma Yo-Yo Ma ('' Chinese'': 馬友友 ''Ma Yo Yo''; born October 7, 1955) is an American cellist. Born in Paris to Chinese parents and educated in New York City, he was a child prodigy, performing from the age of four and a half. He graduated from ...

, Miriam Fried, Christian Tetzlaff,

Lynn Harrell Lynn Harrell (January 30, 1944 – April 27, 2020) was an American classical cellist. Known for the "penetrating richness" of his sound, Harrell performed internationally as a recitalist, chamber musician, and soloist with major orchestras o ...

Kim Kashkashian Kim Kashkashian (born August 31, 1952) is an American violist. She is recognized as one of the world's top violists. She has spent her career in the US and Europe and collaborated with many major contemporary composers. In 2013 she won a Grammy ...

, and

Julia Fischer Julia Fischer (born 15 June 1983) is a German classical violinist and pianist.Museum of Making Music The Museum of Making Music, is a division of the NAMM Foundation of the National Association of Music Merchants, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization located in Carlsbad, California. The museum opened to the public on March 5, 2000. Its mission ...

, Carlsbad, California, in 2008.

Reputation

Rolland, whom Ron Fletcher (''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'', 2005) called "one of the world's greatest bow makers" and "The Lord of the Strings", has created with his hands about 1,500 wood bows in the first 35 years of his career. These bows are played today around the world as Rolland continues his work. Most of the major soloists of the past three decades, at some point in their career, have acquired a bow, sometimes several, made by Rolland. In his 2018 recording of the J. S. Bach Suites for Cello, Yo Yo Ma used a Rolland bow, in his words a "magic bow". Rolland bows, that Menuhin once deemed "A gift for the violinists", are featured in private collections in Europe, the US and Japan. Rolland participates in foundational programs helping young musicians (

Zino Francescatti René-Charles "Zino" Francescatti (August 9, 1902 – September 17, 1991) was a French virtuoso violinist. Zino Francescatti was born in Marseilles, to a musical family. Both parents were violinists. His father, who also played the cello, had stu ...

competition, the

Peabody Institute The Peabody Institute of The Johns Hopkins University is a private conservatory and preparatory school in Baltimore, Maryland. It was founded in 1857 and opened in 1866 by merchant/financier and philanthropist George Peabody (1795–1869) ...

, Anne-Sophie Mutter Foundation). In 2016 he donated bow #1515 t
Community Music Works
a nonprofit that brings string music to young people in disadvantaged communities. Rolland is a long-time contributor t
"Music for Food"
a Boston initiative to fight hunger in our communities. He is called on as a judge for international bow making competitions, gives lectures in music schools ( Curtis Institute,

Longy School of Music Longy School of Music of Bard College is a private music school in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1915 as the Longy School of Music, it was one of the four independent degree-granting music schools in the Boston region along with the New En ...

, etc.) and he contributes to the magazine ''

The Strad ''The Strad'' is a UK-based monthly classical music magazine about string instrumentsprincipally the violin, viola, cello and double bassfor amateur and professional musicians. Founded in 1889, the magazine provides information, photographs and ...

''. Rolland has trained about 20 apprentices so far, and conceived the curriculum for the first bowmaking school in America. Benoît Rolland is a registered trademark.

Awards and recognitions

*Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres 2017 *MacArthur Fellow 2012-2017 (John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation) *First Prize Patrimonialis, 1996 (Foundation for French Patrimony) *First International Prize Musicora, 1994 *Award ANVAR, 1991 (National Agency for Research) *Master of Art in Bow Making, 1983 (Maitre Archetier d'Art) *Gold medal Best Artisan of France, 1979 (Un des Meilleurs Ouvriers de France)

References

References in publications *In: ''The New York Times''
"Yo-Yo Ma Tries to Bring Us Comfort And Hope"
June 2020 *In: ''Strings'' *
Poetry in Motion: Benoît Rolland on the Making of Bows 1500 and 1515
June 2016" **" s. Mutterrecently purchased two bows from Boston-based maker Benoît Rolland. 'I am a great fan of his bows, as is

.', January 2006" *In: ''

'', July 2005 **" hristian Tetzlaffalternates two bows, a new one by Benoît Rolland of Boston and a

Dominique Peccatte Dominique Peccatte (15 July 1810 – 13 January 1874) was a French luthier and above all a renowned bow maker. He was apprenticed in Mirecourt and later worked with Jean-Baptiste Vuillaume. He is notable for adapting the "hatchet-shaped" ty ...

from about 1840. 'The Bartok Concerto works better with the Rolland. If I played it on the Peccatte I would have to cut down on some of the accents, which I don't wish to do; however, sometimes I play with the Peccatte because it speaks and handles more easily. I don't prefer one to the other; they are simply different.'" *In: ''The Boston Globe'', 9 January 2005 **Michael Zaretsky, viola, soloist and member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra: "Rare, rare craftsmanship," said Zaretsky. "Impeccable, beautiful, resonant and most important, very well balanced. I have been playing the bow all the time, with the orchestra, as a soloist and on my latest recording of Bach. It is truly the work of an artist – and a musician. It's impossible to make a bow that good without a feel for the instrument." *In: ''Impressionen'', Freundeskreis Anne-Sophie Mutter Stiftung, July 2005 **Leonard Elschenbroich, playing a cello by

Matteo Goffriller Matteo Goffriller (1659–1742) was a Venetian luthier, particularly noted for the quality of his cellos. He was active between 1685–1735 and was the founder of the " Venetian School" of luthiers, during a time when Venice was one of the most imp ...

, 1697: "'The bow in my hand seemed like an extension of my arm, Elschenbroich says.' Bernard Greenhouse also was very impressed of Rolland's work." *In: ''The Boston Globe'', 9 January 2005 **Johannes Leuthold, violin maker and expert, Zurich, Switzerland: "What Benoît is doing now – making a bow based on listening to a musician play – is absolutely revolutionary. It's a new step forward in a centuries-old tradition." *In: ''

The Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'', 13 November 2002 **"One of the hottest development to come out of this effort is the carbon-fiber composite bow. And among the pioneers was Mr. Rolland, the traditional French artisan."

External links

Benoît Rolland official websiteBenoît Rolland YouTube ChannelGallianeOrchestra conducting baton by Benoît RollandFacebook page''Strings Magazine'' article, October 2012

''The Strad'' article, October 2012NPR Radio Interview, October 2012
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rolland, Benoit 1954 births Living people Bow makers Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Musicians from Paris French musicians Schola Cantorum de Paris alumni MacArthur Fellows