В США скончалась 109-летняя скрипачка и мастер, создавшая 73 инструмента

Arkansas musician and fiddle maker Violet Hensley’s age alone is enough to warrant recognition: Born in 1916 near Mount Ida, Hensley died at her home in Yellville on Aug. 7 at the age of 109. But Hensley was much more than merely a centenarian. A performer at Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri, for more than 50 years and a guest on TV shows like “The Beverly Hillbillies,” “Captain Kangaroo” and “Live! With Regis and Kathie Lee,” she also spent much of her life making violins — a skill she learned from her father as a teenager. According to an obituary in The New York Times, Hensley “handcrafted 73 fiddles — she played No. 4, which she made in the 1930s — thus acquiring nicknames like ‘The Whittlin’ Fiddler’ and ‘Stradivarius of the Ozarks.’” Per the Encyclopedia of Arkansas, her instruments were “coveted for their workmanship and clear musical tones” and made from “approximately 100 different types of wood … She favored certain woods for particular pieces of the fiddle, such as wild cherry and maple for the back, sides, and neck; spruce, pine, and buckeye for the top; dogwood for the tail piece; and persimmon for the pegs.” In 2016, when Hensley was 99 years old, she fulfilled a lifelong dream by performing at the Grand Ole Opry, where she played “Angeline the Baker” and “Blacked Eyed Susie” alongside a group of other musicians. It wouldn’t be her last time on the stage, returning for performances in both 2017 and 2018. In 2014, Hensley was named an Arkansas Living Treasure, and in 2018, she was inducted into the National Fiddler Hall of Fame.