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Latest lutherie

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    Premium ❘ Feature

    Trade Secrets: Replacement of pearl eyes in a bow

    Sarah Bystrom shares a method for a common task in bow restoration that respects the intention and style of the maker

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    In Focus: A 1753 viola by Carlo Antonio Testore

    Sean Bishop takes a look at a relatively rare example of an 18th-century Italian viola

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    In Focus: A 1923 violin by Michael Dötsch

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    Bottesini’s bass makers: the Rossi family

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    News

    Record breaker: Library of Congress acquires ‘Tuscan-Medici’ Stradivari viola for $30 million

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    Leading the way: the ‘Baron d’Erlanger’ Guarneri ‘del Gesù’ violin 1732

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Latest lutherie

  • Wide images (4)

    Premium ❘ Feature

    Bottesini’s bass makers: the Rossi family

    The development of the double bass in 19th-century Milan owed a lot to the Rossi family. Thomas and George Martin investigate the lives of its members, and the innovations they brought to double bass design

  • Angled

    News

    Record breaker: Library of Congress acquires ‘Tuscan-Medici’ Stradivari viola for $30 million

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  • Wide images (1)2

    Premium ❘ Feature

    Leading the way: the ‘Baron d’Erlanger’ Guarneri ‘del Gesù’ violin 1732

    Guarneri ‘del Gesù’ made the 1732 ‘Baron d’Erlanger’ violin near the start of his most productive period. Florian Leonhard explores how it shows the maker’s early style and reveals the history of its most famous owner

  • 8

    Premium ❘ Feature

    Trade Secrets: Replacement of pearl eyes in a bow

    Sarah Bystrom shares a method for a common task in bow restoration that respects the intention and style of the maker

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    Premium ❘ Feature

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    Sean Bishop takes a look at a relatively rare example of an 18th-century Italian viola

  • Front full

    Premium ❘ Feature

    In Focus: A 1923 violin by Michael Dötsch

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Lutherie Life

  • Patrick Robin

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    23 May 2025

    The renowned French luthier and restorer was 69 years old

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Sharon Que provides an innovative solution to a common – and tricky – repair problem

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Hard and fast rules: tonewood selection

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Trade Secrets: Varnish retouch

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A method for layering pigments and shellac to reproduce the exact colour and thickness of an instrument’s varnish

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In Focus: An 1893 violin by Alexander Smillie

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David Rattray presents a late 19th-century violin by the Scottish maker

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In Focus: 1877 double bass by Gand & Bernardel

7 February 2025

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Historical

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Dual accomplishments: the makers of Markneukirchen

11 April 2025

The workshops of Markneukirchen and its environs made thousands of violins per year – but many were crafted by true artisans. Bruce Babbitt explains how these violins became the basis for a new book and exhibition charting their evolution

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Franz Geissenhof: the Viennese Stradivari

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Franz Geissenhof’s instruments have always been highly regarded, but how far was he influenced by his Cremonese predecessor? Rudolf Hopfner compares a typical Geissenhof violin with Stradivari’s work to find out

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Bow maker James Tubbs: London Calling

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The British bow maker James Tubbs was born 190 years ago this month. John Basford looks back at his life, work and legacy to the bow making community

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Dance of the swans: the bows of Charles Nicolas Bazin

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The Tourte-model bows by Charles Nicolas Bazin represent the pinnacle of elegance and refinement in the history of French bow making. To celebrate the 150th anniversary of the swan-head model, Richard Morency examines some of the finest examples

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‘Master of the violin, artist of the soul’: Władysław Baczyński

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Władysław Baczyński overcame a life of tragedy to become one of Poland’s most highly regarded 20th-century violin makers. Grzegorz Kaproń tells his story

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Blogs

The Giorgis family of violin makers: a response

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Philip Kass gives his thoughts on Claudio Amighetti’s investigation into the lives of Turin maker Nicola Giorgis and his daughter Francesca Maria, published in the November 2024 issue

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