Violin 1

Violin “Opus One”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I made this violin for my friend Steve Tada.  Steve is a very accomplished player who was the concertmaster of the Juneau Symphony for many years.  His teacher, the late Denes Zsigmondy, played a Stradivari violin called the “Ernst”, which was made in 1709.  Steve wanted me to replicate the Ernst, as closely as I could without having the original in hand.  I did a lot of research on line, and I was able to find the dimensions and the arching contours.  As far as I could tell, the Ernst was a one-off for Stradivari.  The body size and shape doesn’t quite match any of his other instruments.  Steve is very happy with this violin, and he is currently using it to record Bach sonatas.