Vitar violins Franklin "Ellington" Blair. John Blair was an improvisational jazz violinist who primarily used a Vi-tar violin throughout his career. He released 4 albums of his own, but also played on many others with artists such as Leon Thomas, Richie Havens and Lalo Schifrin. His 2 main Vi-tars were a white 4 string model he named 'Cleopatra' and a black 5 string named 'Nefertiti'. Other known Vi-tar players: Vitar violins The Vi-tar (or Vitar) was a musical instrument produced by the Exinde/Xinde Corporation in the early 1970s. Advertised as a cross between a violin and guitar, it was essentially a fiberglass
String Quintet No. 1 (Brahms) String Quintet No. 1 (Brahms) Johannes Brahms' String Quintet No. 1 in F major, op. 88, was composed in 1882 in the spa town of Bad Ischl, Upper Austria, and published by the firm of Fritz Simrock. It was first performed at a chamber music evening in Frankfurt-on-Main on 29 December 1882. It is a "viola quintet" in that it is scored for string quartet with a second viola. Brahms composed the work in three movements: Brahms described the quintet to his friend Clara Schumann as "one of [his] finest works" and told Simrock, "You have never before had such