Performa Padauk Wood Violin Shoulder Rest in 4/4 Size

“Never fight gravity when you play.” Acclaimed violinist Cyrus Forough said this – then spent years developing this shoulder rest. Made of padauk, an African heartwood with exceptional stability and resilience. Padauk is stronger than oak, and also favored by experts for use in musical instruments.

This patented shoulder rest for violins is completely customizable in height (11mm to 25mm) and thickness (2mm to 5mm). It releases tension, unifies both player and instrument, and makes your playing comfortable and natural.

1-Year Limited Warranty
This item comes with Shar Music's^® 1-year warranty covering defects of workmanship or materials. General wear and tear or misuse are not covered. Non-transferable.

30-Day No Hassle Return Policy
If you are not satisfied with this item for any reason, you may return it for a full refund within 30 days of purchase.

If you have any questions about this product's warranty, or to make a return, please contact our Customer Service Department at 800.793.4334 or email us at cc@sharmusic.com

About Cyrus Forough, founder of Cyrus Creations

Noted for the “fiery intensity” and “poetic vision” of his playing, Cyrus Forough's reviews comprise a lexicon of superlatives in more than a dozen languages. Critic Donald Isler lauded his performance of Beethoven Sonata No. 7 in August 2016 as “a very fine performance of a great work,” saying he “played with great flair and stylistic understanding.” Of his July 2015 performance of Debussy’s Violin Sonata, Jim Lowe wrote, “With a warm sound and deft technique, Forough was an expert musician, utilizing skilled articulations and a broad palette of tonal colors, in delivering Debussy’s unique mix of Romanticism and Impressionism.”

Cyrus Forough is a laureate of the Tchaikovsky International Competition, first prizewinner of the Milwaukee Symphony Violin Competition, and finalist in the Munich International Violin Competition. He has performed on radio and television internationally and given command performances for international dignitaries. He and his wife Steinway Artist Carolyn McCracken won the United States Artistic Ambassador Program's National Duo Competition, representing the United States in the Far East and South America. They gave performances in many concert venues including the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires, the National Gallery in Washington, D.C., the Phillips Collection, and the Kennedy Center. Mr. Forough also holds the World Academy of Arts, Literature, and Media Award in recognition of his contributions to classical music and education.

An active performer of contemporary music throughout his career, Mr. Forough gave the Milwaukee Symphony’s premiere of the Shostakovich First Violin Concerto with Paul Polivnick conducting. In 2010, he performed Lutosławski's Chain 2 with the Carnegie Mellon Philharmonic under Ronald Zollman. Mr. Forough recorded Alireza Mashayekhi’s fourth violin concerto in September 2016 with the Ukraine National Symphony, Vladimir Sirenko conducting. Mashayekhi's fourth and fifth violin concertos and his fourth Violin/Piano Sonata are dedicated to Cyrus Forough. He will premiere the sonata along with other Mashayekhi compositions in a November 2017 recital at the ISSUE Project Room in Brooklyn, NY. Other composers who have dedicated works to him are Reza Vali and Alan Fletcher.

Mr. Forough's unique succession of studies, in three major international cultural centers with three of the twentieth century’s legendary violin masters, has made him a prominent representative of the Franco-Belgian school of violin playing. Beginning his studies with his mother, herself a violinist and graduate of the Royal Conservatory of Music in Brussels, he became the youngest student ever to attend that same conservatory when he was admitted at age nine to the class of Arthur Grumiaux. He later studied with David Oistrakh and Josef Gingold.

Mr. Forough's dedication to teaching and his skill at communicating his art have earned him a reputation as a sought-after and effective violin pedagogue. At present he is a Professor of Violin at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh and was a visiting professor at the Eastman School of Music in 2009, 2010, and 2015. He has performed and taught at festivals in over twenty countries, and his students are prizewinners of national and international competitions and members of professional orchestras worldwide. Cyrus Forough performs on the 1718 “Wilmotte” Antonius Stradivarius.