My Space: Orest Putsentela, Lviv

Named Ukraine’s Capital of Culture in 2009 the city of Lviv has a vibrant musical life. There is an orchestra, a music academy, an opera and ballet theatre and a state music college, all of which are within walking distance of my workshop. The city’s architecture is remarkably diverse, having been untouched by the two world wars. My workshop is based in an Art Nouveau-style building from the 1890s, designed by the well-known architect Jan Lewiński, and it remains in pristine condition. I’ve been based here for the past seven years and the environment is still an inspiration for me.

The city council gave me the opportunity to move in here because of its ‘Workplace for Creative Artists’ scheme, which offers space and facilities at low rents to artisans who promote the cultural life of Lviv through their work. As well as being the only full-time maker of stringed instruments in the city, I’ve discussed my work on TV and radio programmes and have written the only book on violin making published in Ukrainian. It’s great to have a workshop that’s so centrally located, as it means a lot of musicians drop in to talk about their instruments – they’re still my greatest influence.

UPDATE 11/3/22: Orest Putsentela has sent an update to The Strad: ’Before the war started, I made a prototype of a new kind of shoulder rest, which was to be sent to the United States for further testing. I was developing new models of violin bridges, violins for the VSA Competition in the USA, and I found a way to modify the chinrest for better resonance.

’Then the war came. My family and I had to leave Lviv because of the many alarm alerts, but I have had to return to the city. There is now a high probability that I will be drafted into the army, and for this I need to be at home (this is martial law). There were two air alarms in Lviv today (at 5am and 11pm).