Demonstration of 60+ Modern American Violins, Violas, Cellos and Bows at Metzler Violins - 2023
Are you curious about the instruments being produced by modern violin, viola and cello makers? In March, violin dealer Thomas Metzler hosted a demonstration of dozens of violins, violas, cellos and bows made by 60 American makers at Metzler Violin Shop in Glendale, Calif. We now have the videos from these demonstrations, to help introduce you to modern makers and their instruments.
He had some excellent players on hand to demonstrate: violinist Cristian Fatu, violist Che-Yen (Brian) Chen, and cellist Robert deMaine.
If you are in the market for a violin for yourself, your child, or a student, modern is a great way to go for sound, prize, artistry and durability. (Plus you often can meet the maker!) Enjoy exploring with these videos!
VIOLINS and BOWS
Romanian violinist Cristian Fatu, an LA-based musician who is a veteran of the competition scene and who has also served as a Tone Judge for Violin Society of America competitions, demonstrated 12 violin bows and 35 violins. Below is the video, and underneath that, the names of the makers. (To scroll through to a specific maker in the video playlist, click on the three lines in the upper right-hand corner of the video.)
Violins
Charles Arsenault
Kenneth Beckmann
Sam Billings
Peter Bingen (sold)
Andrew Carruthers
David Chrapkiewicz
Douglas Cox
Michael Daddona
Heather Deyette
Anton Domozhyrov
Fernando Fagundes
Rogerio Fagundes Neto
Michael Fischer
Andranik Gaybaryan
Todd Goldenberg
Jeffrey Haas
Pauline Kotlarz
Jeff Manthos
Steve McCann
Ray Melanson
John Osnes
Ernesto Ramirez
Alkis Rappas
Shahram & Saeid Rezvani
Antonio Rizzo
James Ropp
Steve Rossow
Carrie Scoggins
William Scott
Darryn Smalley
Bob Spetz
Christopher White
Isabelle Wilbaux
Stella Eunbyul Yoo
George Yu (sold)
Violin bows
Jesse Berndt
Chris Dickson
Thomas Dignan
Eric Gagne
Thomas Goering
Lee Guthrie
Andre Lavoye
Kanghyun Paul Lee
David Samuels
Shahrokh Tumari
Michael Yeats
David Russell Young
VIOLAS and BOWs
Formosa Quartet founding member and UCLA Professor Che-Yen (Brian) Chen demonstrated 23 violas, and six viola bows. Below is the video, and underneath that, the names of the makers. (To scroll through to a specific maker in the video playlist, click on the three lines in the upper right-hand corner of the video.)
Violas
Pablo Alfaro
Kenneth Beckmann
Frederik Bethke
Andrew Carruthers
Thomas Coleman
Douglas Cox
Michael Fischer
Joseph Grubaugh & Sigrun Seifert
Jeffrey Haas
Dirk Henry & Alex Reza
Helmuth Keller
Stephen Lohmann
Jeff Manthos
John Osnes
Catalin Quercinola
Alkis Rappas
Jeffrey Robinson
William Scott
Theodore Skreko
Timothy Summerville
Sofia Vettori
Christopher White
Ute Zahn
Viola bows
Thomas Dignan
Eric Gagne
Lee Guthrie
Kanghyun Paul Lee
David Samuels
David Russell Young
CELLOS & BOWS
Los Angeles Philharmonic Principal Cellist Robert deMaine demonstrated eight cello bows and 10 cellos. Below is the video, and underneath that, the names of the makers. (To scroll through to a specific maker in the video playlist, click on the three lines in the upper right-hand corner of the video.)
Cellos
Kenneth Beckmann
Andrew Carruthers
Michael Fischer
Carlos Funes
Joseph Grubaugh & Sigrun Seifert
Helmuth Keller & Son
Madison Moran
John Osnes
Jason Starkie
James Wimmer
Cello bows
Thomas Dignan
Eric Gagne
1Lee Guthrie
Andre Lavoye
Kanghyun Paul Lee
David Samuels
David Russell Young
Thomas Goering
Violin makers! L-R: Shahram Rezvani, Stella Yoo, Bill Scott, Saeid Rezvani, Sofia Vettori, Laurie Niles, Dr. William Sloan, Michael Fischer and Peter Bingen.
Here is a digital program with bios of the makers. And here are Metzler's listings for all the exhibit instruments.
If you ever get the chance, I strongly urge you to go seek out some modern instruments for yourself - listen, play, and make some of your own notes!
You might also like:
- Nathan Cole Demonstrates 35 Modern American Violins at Metzler Violin Shop (Plus Viola and Cello Demos)
- Cho-Liang Lin Demonstrates 35 Modern American Violins at Metzler Violin Shop (2019)
- Demonstration of 35 Modern American Violins at Metzler Violin Shop (2018)
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Replies
It's hard to record the sound violin in a library (which is where it was) - or anywhere, for that matter. A church, or a bathroom, would have added "real" reverb - is that less natural? More natural? Anything recorded is going to involve a microphone of varying quality and a degree of processing (or not processing - and a lack of processing doesn't necessarily make it more natural). It's always better to hear something live, for sure, and a Youtube video will always have limitations. Nonetheless, here is a representation of these makers.
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June 1, 2023 at 03:08 PM · Such a fantastic collection of instruments, but it's a shame they all have fake reverb added to try to enhance the sound. I'd prefer to hear the natural sound of the instruments.