Gut Strings

Many things conspire to raise my blood pressure (which is why I take pills): Donald Trump, “environmentalists”, the current British “government” – and music commentators going on about “gut strings”, as if a gut string for a violin, viola or cello gives access to a different sound altogether. In my youth, I used only gut strings (made by the same company that also offered tennis racket strings). Jascha Heifetz used gut strings (D, and A) as, I suspect, did most of the 19^th and early 20^th century violinists. Gut strings can give a warmer sound than metal-covered strings. But not when played senza vibrato, as so often in “baroque” bands. What gut strings do not do, however, is create a different sound world. It depends on the player (viz, Heifetz). Which is why music critics and commentators breathing “gut strings” raise my blood pressure.