Sometimes some curious and unexpected situations do occur. What happened at Pieve S. Giacomo on December 10th 2011 was really interesting too! As a matter of fact, we had the honour and the chance to play a cello made in 1992 by Master Primo Pistoni, thanks to the contribution of the talented musician Fausto Solci from Cremona. It was a particularly heartfelt event, as Pistoni has made only 15 cellos during his 35-year-old activity. One of his cellos was awarded first prize at IV edition of Cremona International Violinmakink Competition in 1995. For the occasion, we went back to the village church, as we wanted to feel LIVE sensations (one of the future activities of houseofviolin.com will in fact focus on concerts). The instrument played is a personal interpretation of the 1710 Stradivari model called “ex Piatti”. The ribs, the back and the scroll are in maple wood from the Balkans, the front is in spruce from the Dolomites, while the spirit varnish also contains essential oils. Maestro Solci warmed up the cello for a long time by means of scales and arpeggios: in fact, the low temperature inside the church required an accurate preparatory stage. Very likely, in 1992 the instrument already had a very good harmonious structure; nowadays, after 20 years' intensive use, the sound quality has reached an extraordinary level: easy use, expression, power, balance between the strings and riches of harmonic progressions are all exceptional; the timber is dark in the low note area and clear in the high note one. On top of that, maestro Solci's ability has exalted the sound features of the instrument. In our opinion, this cello deserves 5 stars. http://www.houseofviolin.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=237