LIVING TRADITIONS—Stradivari in the Cumberlands: A Requiem

 In this episode we travel to Westel, Tennessee, home to fiddle maker Jean Horner. For more than seventy years, Horner built instruments that traveled across the country—Carnegie Hall to California, the Grand Ole Opry to the Smithsonian. 

Two factors shaped Horner’s fiddles. The first was his deep roots in the Cumberland Plateau. The second? His fascination with great Italian violin makers of the 17th and 18th centuries. 

Jean died this past January at age 91, an acknowledged master of his craft. Reporter Lisa Coffman interviewed him at his workshop in 2023. Recently, she attended his memorial service in Westel, and brings us this story of how he came to be known as the Stradivari of the Cumberlands. All fiddle tunes in this piece are played on Jean Horner fiddles.