Crafting a Symphony in Wood: The Story of Violin Maker Anton Sie

Anton Sie twice successful in achieving his aspirations in music and physics demonstrates that focus and diligent hard work can achieve great goals. But his story also shows the inter-connectedness of humanity: Anton received his musical training in Indonesia from a virtually illiterate Muslim peasant guitarist and a Jewish refugee violinist and his knowledge of physics and acoustics from Chinese Communist scientists. He has demonstrated a critical factor in the superior construction of Stradivarius violins his work authenticated by Western musicians for whom he is very grateful. Anton Sies triumph over poverty and hardship to emerge as a first-class violinmaker is sympathetically told in this latest literary offering by Elizabeth Ostring. Music lovers of every hue will treasure this enthralling story of an extraordinary life while violinists may rejoice that the art of creating great violins did not vanish with the passing of the Italian masters. A truly inspirational tale. --Bernard White FTCL Assistant Professor Sahmyook University Seoul Korea Elizabeth is a gifted writer who captures the rich mixture of Chinese history culture and the science and art of handcrafting violins in the biography of Anton Sie. It is a lively and impressive research account of a beloved and well-respected violin teacher and craftsman. --James Wu PhD MPH MSPH Chief Executive Officer San Yu Health Education/Management Center Taiwan Adventist College A fascinating read that skillfully and sensitively highlights what results when passion talent and hard work are blended with respect and a spirit of generosity across several cultures in an Asian setting. Inspiring informative and highly recommended to anyone interested in the human spirit music and science. --Carolyn Catton Medical Practitioner Elizabeth Ellen Ostring MB ChB MMin PhD married with adult twins is a retired physician who spent many years in Asia. This gave her the opportunity to meet and appreciate people from many cultures including the subject of this biography. She is the author of a variety of academic papers the memoir Just 30 Minutes (2013) and the theology of work Be a Blessing (2016).