Historical bows

By Bernhard Ritschard now available at Ihle Violins in London!

For more details visit http://www.historical-bows.com

Stripping a violin

Never I feel calmer and rarely more at peace then when stripping one of my freshly varnished violins in order to redo it more beautifully. But what is it, that keeps me doing it over and over again. A most dubious way to success and a rather crooked creative process- says my head.

It certainly sets an end to the weeks of doubting, whether it looks great or dreadfull. Then there are moments of big beauty, when the stripper soaks it's way through the layers of patina, varnish and ground, lifting the colour coat like on an air cuscion rendering the ever searched fragility of the colour coat and the never achieved depth to the wood. Once revarnished the purfling will no longer contrast that strongly with the surounding wood, like a cliff falling endlessly down the blue see at Capri.

Or is it only the strippers solvents soothing my restless vanity?

I won a silver Medal at Indianapolis!

So very happy that my copy of the Rouse-Boughton Stradivari has received a Silver Medal for Workmanship at this years VSA Competition in Indianapolis.

Other winners are:

Jeff Phillips- double gold violin

Collin Galahue- gold violin

Jason Viseltear- gold viola

Stephan von Baehr& Paul Belin- silver workmanship violin and tone cello

Anrew Ryan: silver workmanship violin

Rainer Bailharz: silver workmanship, cello

and others

The tone judges for Violin were:

Chiun-Teng Cheng
Austin Hartman

The workmanship judges were:

Carlo Chiesa – Italy
David Folland – USA
Andrea Frandsen – France
Feng Jiang – USA
John Montgomery – USA
Jan Spidlen – Czech Republic

For a full list go to:

http://www.vsa.to/assets/winnerslist2014withnumbers.pdf