Reviews

Can you tell me a little bit about this bow? Yes - this is a fairly typical but at the same time quite exceptional example of H. R. Pfretzschner's bass bows. In terms of it being fairly typical the stick is quite long and the head is refined, elegant and quite-petite in style and form. In terms of it being quite exceptional one only needs to look at the quality of the workmanship to know that it is a bow of the highest order. What do the initials H. R. stand for? Hermann Richard Pfretzschner was born in Markneukirchen in...

We are looking for a good 5-string instrument but there doesn't seem to be many available on the market - can you tell me why? Yes - there really aren't that many good five string instruments about simply because there aren't that many instruments available that have the correct proportions and structural integrity to be able to handle the fifth string and those lower notes. It's just no good whacking a five-string neck on to a standard sized 4/4 size instrument and expect it to produce the goods. What would make the ideal 5-string instrument then? How about this magnificent...

What is the Cremona School? The Violin Making International School of Cremona was founded on 21st September 1938 The aims were (and still are today) to create a centre of excellence that followed and interpreted the genius of Stradivarius, Amati and Guarneri - in other words the Classical Cremonese makers. The violin making courses last five years. At the end of the first three years the 'Violin craftsman' Certificate is issued. After two more years the final 'Violin -maker' diploma is obtained. Since its foundation - now 67 years ago - the school has helped produce makers of an extremely...

Tell me about Louis Lowendall. The well researched double volume Deutsche Bogenmacher by Klaus Grünke, C. Hans-Karl Schmidt and Wolfgang Zunterer published by Eigenverlag der Autoren in 2000 (ISBN 3-00-005839-7) stipulates Louis Lowendall's dates as b-1842, d-1918 and records that his family name was Löwenthal. It also records that in 1866 he opened a company in Dresden to manufacturer musical instruments called the ‘Lowendall Star Works’ which he moved to Berlin in 1889. What else does the Deutchche Bogenmacher have to say? Obviously being an encyclopaedia on the bow makers of Germany it focuses on bow production rather than on...