Since my apprenticeship as a violinmaker, I have been fascinated by all the different aspects of this profession. Nevertheless, a certain specialization is useful to achieve the best quality in work. I chose restoration and new violin-making as my main priorities.
Restoration fascinates me because with every instrument one has to face new challenges, find individual solutions and keep up with the constant development of new techniques. 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.
Both in restoration as in new violin-making sound is a main aspect. It is very important both in the actual work process, and in the final stages, when the instrument is adjusted to the specifications required by the musician. During my apprenticeship and during the years of work in workshops I gained insight in very different ideas of how an instrument should sound, and learned set up techniques which I now compare and pursue further. That way I hope to find optimum conditions for each player and his instrument.
