"The Red Violin" takes its audience on a journey spanning five countries and three centuries. As the violin passes into five principal lives, each tells a story of both hope and greed. Violin maker Nicolo, set aside his best violin as a gift to his unborn child. His wife Anna inquires from her housekeeper and Tarot reader about the child's life. Anna is instructed to choose five cards. As each card in interpreted, we follow the "life" of the violin as it interacts with each person who eventually possesses it. Through the tragedy of Anna and her child's death, we learn the card reading is also for the Red Violin--call it Bussotti's other child. Hope turns to grief as the perfect violin is all that remai

Then, in Shanghai in 1965, the Red Violin makes its presence known in the life of Xiang Pei. Her mother, an accomplished violinist, finds the red Violin in a pawn shop where it has been for many years. Time finds Xiang in the eye of the whirlwind of the Chinese Revolution. As a party official for the denunciation of all things western (including certain musical instruments of the Red variety), she is torn between her love for said instrument of corruption and her duty as an official. She gives the violin to a music teacher upon whose behalf she intervened by saving him from punishment for teaching degrading western music that violates their rules. Sufficiently warned of the consequences, he is allowed to keep western instruments only if he uses them to perform traditional cultural tunes.

ns of everything dear to Nicolo. Painting the violin red, he pours his anger into it. He wanted to leave as his legacy a child of great musical capacity, and through the embodiment of his violin, he did.

The Red Violin embodies our mortality and immortality simultaneous

Some common words found in the essay are:
Red Violin, Chinese Revolution, Russia Victoria's, Nicolo Painting, Xiang Pei, red violin, Violin--call Bussotti's, Pope Feeling, Byrd Seduced, Oxford England, Samuel Jackson, violin red,
Approximate Word count = 717
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)