Instruments & Makers

Antique & Contemporary Instruments

Antique Instruments

Our antique instrument selection includes instruments from the great Italian violin makers, including Guadagnini and Gagliano, as well as many other prominent European makers. Out of respect for the instrument owners, we do not provide a full list of all instruments in our shop online. If you are looking for an instrument in any price range, even a Stradivarius, please contact us.

Contemporary Instruments by

besson
Yann Besson
Violin Maker (France)

Yann Besson, a French national, born in 1976, started his apprenticeship as a violin and viola maker at the French National Violin Making School of Mirecourt in 1991. After graduating in 1996 with a rarely given distinction, Yann has worked in a number of workshops across the world. Following training with renowned companies in France and Hong Kong he chose to settle at a leading London workshop, Frederick Phelps ltd, where he restored fine violins, violas and cellos for 7 years.

Whilst working at Phelps, Yann never lost his enthusiasm for studying the classic school of violin making. This prompted him to develop his own personal style of making and eventually led to him setting up his own full-time violin and viola making business in 2002. His instruments are now played by international artists.

Yann Besson’s Website

Ciciliati
Alessandro Ciciliati
Violin Maker (Italy)

Alessandro Ciciliati was born in Ferrara, Italy in 1959. In 1977, he had the privilege to meet the famous violin-maker Ivano Coratti with whom he studied the various techniques of classical violin-making. Between the 1984 and 1994 he participated in the national and international violin-making competitions and receiving considerable praise from all involved. For his instruments, only tone wood between 15 and 25 years of age is chosen. The extreme attention to style details and the strong personal acoustic characteristics, are all factors that contribute to make his instruments hugely sought after, not only by collectors but also by soloists and conductors.Thanks to the constant quality of his products, A. Ciciliati is enjoying huge success in America and Japan. He has now become one of the most prized violin-makers in the world.

Alessandro Ciciliati’s Website

Fletcher
Ron Fletcher
Violin Maker (USA)

Ron Fletcher was raised by a family of carpenters on the cold western slope of the Colorado Rocky Mountains. He attended the University of Colorado, Boulder as a downhill ski racer but soon quit racing to study art. His paintings were seen by visiting artist/lecturers from New York, who then set him up with representation with the Sharpe Gallery, who helped move him to the East Village in the early 1980’s. He found several violins in a Massachusetts dump a couple of years later, which he enjoyed repairing. Starting around 1990, under the generous tutelage of Mr. Carlos Arcieri, he learned all aspects of restoration and making. He has had his own workshop in New York for around 18 years, originally located in Tribeca and now in Yonkers among the trees.

Ron Fletcher’s Website

Michael Stürzenhofecker
Violin Maker (Switzerland)

Michael started his apprenticeship as a violinmaker at the age of 19 at the Violinmaking school in Mittenwald. Two years in Hieronymus Köstler’s workshop in Stuttgart followed the school and gave him insight into repair and restoration. His interest in bow making took him to Cremona where he was trained and received a degree in the bow making classes of Emilio Slaviero and Giovanni Lucchi. The following year, he opened his own workshop near Florence. For seven years he specialized in making new instruments, in particular copies of historical instruments. In the following years he took part in various international competitions, in which every instrument submitted was awarded a prize. He is a founding member of “Klanggestalten”, a German partnership of about 20 instrument and bow makers.

Michael Stürzenhofecker’s Website

Claire Chaubard
Violin Maker (France)

Born in 1976 in Montauban (France), Claire Chaubard completed her scholarly and musical studies at the Conservatory of Music in Montauban (violin, piano). In 1996, she decided to become a violin maker. After a successful entrance examination, she started her apprenticeship at the Mittenwald State School of Violin Making in Germany in 1997 and obtained her diploma as violin maker in 2000. In the following years, Claire Chaubard gained experience in the field of violin making, working together with renowned master craftsmen around the world. After working in Australia, France and Germany, she obtained the Master Craftsman Diploma of Violin Making issued by the Bavarian Chamber of Handicrafts. In 2005, she started her own business and became self-employed in Landsberg near Munich (Germany), where she repairs and restores fine string instruments. She also builds new violins, violas, cellos of the finest quality and sound.

Claire Chaubart’s Website

Julia van der Waerden
Violin Maker (Switzerland)

Julia van der Waerden is a violin maker with a focus on restoration and new violin-making. About her work she says:

‘Restoration fascinates me because with every instrument one has to face new challenges.[…] I am very happy to work on an old instrument, which has survived hundreds of years and discover its story, and learn how it was created. I try to meet the standards of the original workmanship by saving original material wherever possible, and at the same time adapting it to be optimally played by musicians in the future. My restoration work is balanced with the making of new violins.   In this domain, the style, technique and instrument model are all my own choice.  Classical masters inspire me and the constant study of their work is very helpful. However, I also have my own style, which is influenced by other art forms and the time I live in. In this way, I give the instrument its own character, so it will both challenge and encourage a musician.

Julia van der Waerden’s Website

Duncan Emck
Violin Maker (Netherlands)

Duncan Emck started playing the violin at the age of 7 and later studied with Prof. J. Hoffmann at the ‚Freiburger Musikhochschule‘ in Freiburg, Germany. In 1997, after being involved as a professional violinist in a number of chamber orchestras and chamber music ensembles, he eventually decided to become a violin maker and got enrolled at the program of Maestro Renato Scrollavezza`s School of Violin Making in Parma, Italy. After his training he moved to New York, in order to work for Christophe Landon’s Rare Violins for 6 years, repairing, restoring and making instruments. This was followed by 4 years of work as a bow maker for Salchow & Sons, New York.

Karpaty
Mikael Sandor Karpaty
Violin Maker (Sweden)

Mikael Karpaty is a full-time Violinmaker specialising in detailed reproductions of classical Italian instruments. He started his carer with Master Violinmaker Jan Larsson. After his diploma, Karpaty was sponsored by the Royal Swedish Academy of Music to continue his training in Cremona Italy. Karpaty has since been working at different places around the globe, giving him opportunities to access a large variety of models of the best known italian instruments.

Karpaty instruments are not only renowned for their power of sound and tonal depth but they also express an individuality of style and aesthetic beauty.

Mikael Karpaty’s Website

Ian McWilliams
Ian McWilliams
Violin Maker (Canada)

Ian Crawford McWilliams is a Canadian living 80 km west of Berlin in the historical town of Brandenburg an der Havel. He finished his schooling in Vancouver and left for England in 2002 on a path of learning and study.The first step was three years of studying at West Dean College in the south east of England on the stringed instrument making program. After finishing with distinction he spent 3 years working in London for J.P.Guiviers, specializing in bows.From here it was a short hop to warmer climates in Montpellier, France to work for Frederic Chaudiere. Looking to prefect the art of modern violin, viola and cello making. Two years of sweltering heat in the south of France was enough, the clock was ticking and Germany was calling.There was many good reasons to move to Berlin and set up the workshop shortly after in the beautiful town of Brandenburg an der Havel. The town of Brandenburg is a rare gem with history and music around every corner. A perfect place to work and perfect the art of violin making.

Ian McWilliams’ Website

Stefan Lindholm
Stefan Lindholm
Violin Maker (Sweden)

Stefan Lindholm (born 1983) completed his first violin at the age of 15 and have since continued a century old family tradition of violinmaking in Sweden. Stefan’s skills are in great demand and he is repeatedly asked to work with fine restorations in various violin shops around Europe, often focused on complex retouch and varnish work. In his own workshop, Stefan concentrate on making new instruments and often make close copies of classical Cremonese violins, violas and cellos. His instruments have been awarded numerous prizes in Europe and America, among them Gold Medal at the Concorso Internationale di Liuteria in Italy.

Stefan Lindholm’s Website

Frédéric Noharet
Frédéric Noharet
Violin Maker (Italy)

Lover of the free expression of the antique Italian violin making, Frédéric Noharet devote himself to study and research, analyzing each step of the construction under both an acoustic and aesthetic light. The knowledge he acquired led him to a totally personal method of design and construction. His instruments have the taste of the old Italian style and each of them has its own personality and is never a copy of an ancient.

Born in France in 1959 from a three generation carpenter family, Frédéric Noharet began building dulcimers at 13 in his father shop. At 16 he face himself with the construction of a guitar as an autodidact. He move to Italy at 19 to enter the Cremona International Violinmaking School , and then graduate in 1982 under the guidance of Master Francesco Bissolotti. He moved to Parma the year 1986 and since 2014 he is one of the teachers at the” Scuola di Liuteria Accademia Scrolavezza” in Parma.

Frédéric Noharet’s Website

Pietro Gargini
Pietro Gargini
Violin Maker (Italy)

Pietro Gargini was born in Pistoia in 1980, passionate from art and music since childhood, discovered the world of violin making in his adolescence. His apprenticeship begins in the workshops of the few luthiers in his city, then he specializes with internationally renowned masters. He lives and works making new instruments and restoration.

Pietro Gargini’s Website

Other Instrument Makers
Violin, Viola & Cello

Ulf Kloo (Website)

Pietro Rhee (Website)

Alexander Yurovitsky (Website)

Jean-Pierre Voinson (Website)

Jan Bartos (Website)

Michel Eggimann (Website)

Arwed Harms (Website)

Andrea Olivieri

Noèmie Viaud (Website)

Fabrizio Di Pietrantonio (Website)