Uploaded September 2024 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Does an orchestra have ‘a sound’? If the Sydney Symphony has one it is surely closely connected to the 1716 Grancino violin played by our former Concertmaster Donald Hazelwood from 1965 until his retirement in 1998.
That sound was restored in 2019 when a generous donor, Vicki Olsson, purchased the violin from Don and loaned it to the Orchestra, and since then it has been played by Associate Concertmaster Harry Bennetts. Now, in a further extraordinary act of philanthropy, Vicki has gifted the violin to the Sydney Symphony, ensuring that it will remain at the core of our sound forever more. Her only stipulation was that the instrument be renamed the ‘Hazelwood’ Grancino in honour of Don.
Here, Bennetts describes his connection to the instrument and its unique sound, while Don’s daughter Jane – herself a member of the Orchestra since 1995 – shares her memories of the instrument, and describes how Vicki’s gift has enshrined her father’s enormous legacy at the Sydney Symphony.
Does an orchestra have ‘a sound’? If the Sydney Symphony has one it is surely closely connected to the 1716 Grancino violin played by our former Concertmaster Donald Hazelwood from 1965 until his retirement in 1998.
That sound was restored in 2019 when a generous donor, Vicki Olsson, purchased the violin from Don and loaned it to the Orchestra, and since then it has been played by Associate Concertmaster Harry Bennetts. Now, in a further extraordinary act of philanthropy, Vicki has gifted the violin to the Sydney Symphony, ensuring that it will remain at the core of our sound forever more. Her only stipulation was that the instrument be renamed the ‘Hazelwood’ Grancino in honour of Don.
Here, Bennetts describes his connection to the instrument and its unique sound, while Don’s daughter Jane – herself a member of the Orchestra since 1995 – shares her memories of the instrument, and describes how Vicki’s gift has enshrined her father’s enormous legacy at the Sydney Symphony.
