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

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

and musician, currently established in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, 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 Germaine Thyssens-Valentin (27 July 1902 – 7 July 1987) was a Dutch-born classical pianist of Franco-Dutch parentage, noted for her performances of French music. She studied under Gabriel Fauré at the Paris Conservatoire, and in the 1950s, afte ...

, a renowned concert pianist. During his childhood he frequented her musical salon, where composers such as

Olivier Messiaen Olivier Eugène Prosper Charles Messiaen (, ; ; 10 December 1908 – 27 April 1992) was a French composer, organist, and ornithology, ornithologist. One of the major composers of the 20th-century classical music, 20th century, he was also an ou ...

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 (), or 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 Jean Ja ...

, 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 ( being ) 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 The Schola ...

(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 Communes of France, commune in the Vosges (French department), Vosges Departments of France, department in Grand Est in northeastern France. Mirecourt is known for lace-making and the manufacture of musical instruments, particula ...

as a student of Bernard Ouchard. 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'' (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 in France, a ...

"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 Menuhin, Baron Menuhin (22 April 191612 March 1999), was an American-born British violinist and conductor who spent most of his performing career in Britain. He is widely considered one of the greatest violinists of the 20th century. ...

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, Maurice Gendron, Joseph Suk,

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

Stéphane Grappelli Stéphane Grappelli (; 26 January 1908 – 1 December 1997) was a French jazz violinist. He is best known as a founder of the Quintette du Hot Club de France with guitarist Django Reinhardt in 1934. It was one of the first all-string jazz bands. ...

, 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 Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich (27 March 192727 April 2007) was a Russian Cello, cellist and conducting, conductor. In addition to his interpretations and technique, he was well known for both inspiring and commissioning new works, which enl ...

and Ivry Gitlis, 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 an American violinist and Conducting, conductor. He was the conductor and music director of the Vermont Symphony Orchestra, and began his musical career when he was five years old. Laredo was born in Cochabamb ...

, Ivry Gitlis, J.-P. Wallez, Heinrich Schiff,

Christian Tetzlaff Christian Tetzlaff (born 29 April 1966) is a German violinist who has performed internationally, with a focus on chamber music. Biography Tetzlaff was born in Hamburg. His parents were amateur musicians and met in a church choir. He began playi ...

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

Jean-Luc Ponty Jean-Luc Ponty (born 29 September 1942) is a French jazz and jazz fusion violinist and composer. He is considered a pioneer of jazz-rock, particularly for his use of the electric violin starting in the 1970s. He rose to prominence for his colla ...

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

frog A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order (biology), order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough ski ...

. Galliane frogs give a slight

helicoid The helicoid, also known as helical surface, is a smooth Surface (differential geometry), surface embedded in three-dimensional space. It is the surface traced by an infinite line that is simultaneously being rotated and lifted along its Rotation ...

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. Born and raised in Rheinfelden, Baden-Württemberg, Mutter started playing the violin at age five and continued studies in Germany and Switzerland. She was supported early in her car ...

, Yo Yo Ma, Miriam Fried, Christian Tetzlaff, Lynn Harrell,

Kim Kashkashian Kim Kashkashian (born August 31, 1952) is an American violist. She has spent her career in the U.S. and Europe and collaborated with many major contemporary composers. In 2013 she won a Grammy Award for Best Classical Instrumental Solo. She i ...

, and Julia Fischer. This new phase of his career reflects an understanding of the bow making process as unifying fine artisanship and musical knowledge. It was noted as a Contemporary Art form by the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston and presented in 2005 in a program of its Contemporary Art Department. Rolland invests much time in historical and scientific research, writes about bow making and gives public lectures. His bows were featured in an exhibition, ''The Violin in America: Old World Tradition, New World Sound,'' at the

Museum of Making Music The Museum of Making Music, is a signature program of the National Association of Music Merchants' NAMM Foundation, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization located in Carlsbad, California. The museum opened to the public on March 5, 2000. Its miss ...

, Carlsbad, California, in 2008.

Reputation

Rolland, whom Ron Fletcher (''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...

'', 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 competition, the

Peabody Institute The Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University is a Private university, private music and dance music school, conservatory and College-preparatory school, preparatory school in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1857, it became affiliat ...

, 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 The Curtis Institute of Music is a private conservatory in Philadelphia. It offers a performance diploma, a Bachelor of Music, Master of Music in opera, and a Professional Studies Certificate in opera. All students attend on a full scholarshi ...

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

, etc.) and he contributes to the magazine '' The Strad''. 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 Lynn Harrell.', January 2006" *In: '' The Strad'', July 2005 **" hristian Tetzlaffalternates two bows, a new one by Benoît Rolland of Boston and a Dominique Peccatte 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 The Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an American orchestra based in Boston. It is the second-oldest of the five major American symphony orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five (orchestras), Big Five". Founded by Henry Lee Higginson in ...

: "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, 1697: "'The bow in my hand seemed like an extension of my arm, Elschenbroich says.'

Bernard Greenhouse Bernard Greenhouse (January 3, 1916 – May 13, 2011) was an American cellist and one of the founding members of the Beaux Arts Trio. Life and career Greenhouse was born in Newark, New Jersey and began playing the cello at the age of eight. He ...

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'' (''WSJ''), also referred to simply as the ''Journal,'' is an American newspaper based in New York City. The newspaper provides extensive coverage of news, especially business and finance. It operates on a subscriptio ...

'', 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