Masters of Tonewood - by Jeffrey Greene (Hardcover)

About the Book

"Masters of Tonewood focuses on many of the traditional centers of stringed instrument making, highlights the forests associated with them, and foregrounds the expertise and experiences of foresters, tonewood millers, luthiers, and musicians, offering readers an account of the relationship between music, forestry, and handcrafts"--

Book Synopsis

The wood used by master craftsmen to create many of the world's legendary stringed instruments--violins and cellos, mandolins and guitars--comes from seven near-mythic European forests. In his latest book, Jeffrey Greene takes the reader into those woodlands and into luthiers' workshops to show us how the world's finest instruments not only contribute to great musical art but are prized works of art in themselves.

Masters of Tonewood describes the "hidden life" of stringed instruments, beginning with the unique wood, expertly chosen and sometimes cured for decades, that gives them voices that rivet audiences. Greene takes us to forests in Italy, France, Switzerland, Austria, Romania, Poland, and the Czech Republic. We are introduced to the acoustical and aesthetic properties of the spruce that Stradivari treasured, and the mystery of why just one in a thousand maple trees contains decorative figuring worthy of the highest-quality instruments. Greene visits the greatest traditional centers of this craft, from Spain to the United States. He recounts the ideas and experiences of tonewood millers, luthiers, and musicians and discusses their concerns about environmental issues associated with a tradition dependent on ancient woodlands in a modern world.

Review Quotes

[I]f you are an instrument "nerd," who likes to "geek-out" about your instrument, I recommend reading this book because it will help take you to a whole new level.

-- "Bluegrass Unlimited"

[T]his concise book offers a pleasing deep dive into an intriguing niche topic. A good choice for connoisseurs who appreciate musical instruments the way others do fine wine.

-- "Kirkus"

It is an odd feeling to read a book and feel like Antonio Salieri in Amadeus: to displace one note would be diminishment. I am a fiddle player, and like many people who fell in love with these magical boxes, I spent some time working in luthier shops. Greene's book offers a very engaging way to enter that world while also providing a unique environmental history on how humans engage with trees. All of this is by way of saying, this wonderful book had me at 'tonewood.'

--Philip Levy, four-time Florida State Champion Old Time Fiddler, University of South Florida

Jeffrey Greene must be a picker and not just a master luthier because his beautifully told tale Masters Of Tonewood rings both loud and true.

--Ketch Secor, founding member, Grammy Award-winning Old Crow Medicine Show

Jeffrey Greene takes the reader on a fascinating journey through the forests of Europe and with every page richly uncovers the mysteries held within the tonewood of the finest stringed instruments ever made.

--Jeffrey Ziegler, award-winning cellist and member of the Kronos Quartet, The New School

About the Author

Jeffrey Greene is the author of French Spirits: A House, a Village, and a Love Affair with Burgundy and In Pursuit of Wild Edibles: A Forager's Tour (Virginia). A widely published poet, he is the recipient of the Samuel French Morse Poetry Prize and the Randall Jarrell Award in Poetry. He is professor emeritus at the American University of Paris.