Classical Musicians and Their Instruments

Margaret Coltman-Smith

Margaret Coltman-Smith is on the faculty of and performs frequently with the Austin Chamber Music Center and is a member of the Austin Symphony Orchestra, Austin Lyric Opera Orchestra, New Texas Works Orchestra, Orchestra of St. David's, and the Arundel Trio, which recently performed at the VIII Internacional Festival de Ontono in Mexico. She has performed with various ensembles in London and in several chamber music festivals on the East Coast. Coltman-Smith has also collaborated with Puerto Rican singer Lourdes Perez and will be heard on her upcoming CD.

Coltman-Smith's cello was made in France in 1862 by Bernadel, a renowned luthier. It came into her hands via Karl Fruh, described by Coltman-Smith as "a wonderful man and cellist." Upon retiring to Austin in the early 1990s, he loaned the instrument to Coltman-Smith. And when he subsequently donated it to the Austin Chamber Music Center, the center allowed Coltman-Smith to continue playing it. Fruh passed away last year, and Coltman-Smith says, "I feel that I am able to keep his memory alive by playing this cello with its rich heritage.

"I was playing chamber music with a violinist last year and we noticed that our sounds seemed to blend very easily and well -- we then realized that he also was playing a Bernadel, made two years later than my cello. The instruments could very well have been made from the same batch of wood and had the same varnish. It's amazing that these two instruments could wind up being in the same place at the same time.

"When I first obtained it, the cello hadn't been played for a few years, and while the sound was absolutely beautiful, the instrument didn't respond easily or quickly. Over the next few months, it was like watching a flower unfold as the instrument remembered what was being asked of it -- the tone became increasingly rich and responsive. It's as though it has a soul which was slowly woken up."